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

The Death of Abraham

1Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 4Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah.

5Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac. 6But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac.

7Abraham lived for 175 years, 8and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 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 Abraham had purchased from the Hittites and where he had buried his wife Sarah. 11After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahai-roi in the Negev.

Ishmael’s Descendants

12This is the account of the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant. 13Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael’s descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped. 17Ishmael lived for 137 years. Then he breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death. 18Ishmael’s descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives.#25:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

The Births of Esau and Jacob

19This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. 20When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.

21Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked.

23And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”

24And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! 25The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.#25:25 Esau sounds like a Hebrew term that means “hair.” 26Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob.#25:26 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “heel” and “deceiver.” Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

Esau Sells His Birthright

27As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. 28Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)

31“All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”

32“Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”

33But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.

34Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

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Genesis 25

Genesis 25