9And Isaac and Ismael, his sons, buried him in the double cave, which was situated in the field of Ephron, the son of Seor the Hethite, over against Mambre;

10Which he had bought of the children of Heth. There was he buried, and Sara his wife.

11And after his death, God blessed Isaac his son, who dwelt by the well named, Of the Living and Seeing.

12These are the generations of Ismael the son of Abraham, whom Agar the Egyptian, Sara's servant, bore unto him:

13And these are the names of his children according to their calling and generations. The firstborn of Ismael was Nabajoth, then Cedar, and Adbeel, and Mabsam.

14And Masma, and Duma, and Massa,

15Hadar, and Thema, and Jethur, and Naphis, and Cedma.

16These are the sons of Ismael: and these are their names by their castles and towns, twelve princes of their tribes.

17And the years of Ismael's life were a hundred and thirty-seven: and decaying he died, and was gathered unto his people.

18And he dwelt from Hevila as far as Sur, which looketh towards Egypt, to them that go towards the Assyrians. He died in the presence of all his brethren.

19These also are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac.

20Who, when he was forty years old, took to wife Rebecca the daughter of Bathuel the Syrian, of Mesopotamia, sister to Laban.

21And Isaac besought the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and he heard him, and made Rebecca to conceive.

22But the children struggled in her womb; and she said: If it were to be so with me, what need was there to conceive? And she went to consult the Lord.

23And he answering said: Two nations are in thy womb and two peoples shall be divided out of thy womb. And one people shall overcome the other; and the elder shall serve the younger.

24And when her time was come to be delivered, behold twins were found in her womb.

25He that came forth first was red, and hairy like a skin: and his name was called Esau. Immediately the other coming forth, held his brother's foot in his hand, and therefore he was called Jacob.

26Isaac was threescore years old when the children were born unto him.

27And when they were grown up, Esau became a skillful hunter, and a husbandman: but Jacob a plain man dwelt in tents.

28Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his hunting: and Rebecca loved Jacob.

29And Jacob boiled Pottage: to whom Esau, coming faint out of the field,

30Said: Give me of this red pottage, for I am exceeding faint. For which reason his name was called Edom.

31And Jacob said to him: Sell me thy first birthright.

32He answered: Lo, I die. What will the first birthright avail me?

33Jacob said: Swear therefore to me. Esau swore to him, and sold his first birthright.

34And so, taking bread and the pottage of lentils, he ate, and drank, and went his way; making little account of having sold his first birthright.

An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

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Genesis 25

Abraham and Keturah

(1 Chronicles 1:32–33)

1Now Abraham had taken another wife, named Keturah, 2and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

3Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites.

4The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.

All these were descendants of Keturah.

5Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.

The Death of Abraham

7Abraham lived a total of 175 years. 8And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.

9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. 10This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.

11After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.

The Descendants of Ishmael

(1 Chronicles 1:28–31)

12This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13These are the names of the sons of Ishmael in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

16These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their villages and encampments—twelve princes of their tribes. 17Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. Then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.

18Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur.#25:18 Or Assyria And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

Jacob and Esau

(Malachi 1:1–5; Romans 9:6–29)

19This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram #25:20 That is, northwest Mesopotamia and the sister of Laban the Aramean.

21Later, Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.

22But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So Rebekah went to inquire of the Lord, 23and He declared to her:

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you will be separated;

one people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”#25:23 Cited in Romans 9:12

24When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. 25The first one came out red, covered with hair like a fur coat; so they named him Esau.#25:25 Esau sounds like a Hebrew term that means hairy. 26After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.#25:26 Jacob means he grasps the heel or he deceives. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

27When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. 28Because Isaac had a taste for wild game, he loved Esau; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

29One day, while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished. 30He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” (That is why he was also called Edom.#25:30 Edom means red.)

31“First sell me your birthright,” Jacob replied.

32“Look,” said Esau, “I am about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”

33“Swear to me first,” Jacob said.

So Esau swore to Jacob and sold him the birthright. 34Then Jacob gave some bread and lentil stew to Esau, who ate and drank and then got up and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

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Genesis 25

Genesis 25