Chapter 25

1 The sons of Abraham by Keturah. 5 The division of his goods. 7 His age, and death. 9His burial. 12 The generations of Ishmael. 17 His age, and death. 19 Isaac prayeth for Rebekah, being barren. 22 The children strive in her womb. 24 The birth of Esau and Jacob. 27 Their difference. 29 Esau selleth his birthright.

1. Again Abraham took a wife. Though Abraham’s loneliness following the death of Sarah had impressed upon him an awareness of his own advancing age (see on ch. 24:1), he still enjoyed remarkable physical and mental strength and lived for 38 years after her death. Isaac’s marriage may have left Abraham even more lonely than before and led him to take another wife to make his last years happy ones. That this new wife, Keturah, meaning “incense,” is called a concubine, like Hagar (v. 6), does not imply that he had married her while Sarah was still alive, though this is not impossible. The context conveys the impression that Abraham’s marriage to Keturah occurred after Sarah’s death.

2. She bare. Abraham was 137 years of age at the death of Sarah, and 140 at the marriage of Isaac. He who blessed the aged patriarch with a son at the century mark of life now granted him the joy of additional sons and daughters. Nothing could make the sunset hours of life brighter for the Oriental heart than to be surrounded by a large and happy family. With one exception the Keturah sons of Abraham, as far as can be identified, settled in Arabia. Like Ishmael, they migrated to the south and east of the Negeb.

Zimran. Possibly meaning “antelope,” and tentatively identified with the Arabian town of Zambran, between Mecca and Medina.

Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian. Though nothing is known concerning the first two sons, other than their names, the tribe of Midian appears often, both in the Bible and in inscriptions. This tribe settled in the northern part of the Sinai peninsula and in northwestern Arabia across the Gulf of Aqaba. Moses later found refuge among them, in the house of Jethro, who worshiped the true God (Ex. 2:15; 3:1; 18:1–6). During the time of the Judges the Midianites repeatedly attacked the people of Israel (Judges 6 to 8).

Ishbak and Shuah. Ishbak may be identified with the people of Jasbuqu, mentioned in cuneiform inscriptions. Shuah seems to have been the ancestor of a tribe to which Bildad, one of Job’s friends, belonged (Job 2:11; 8:1; etc.). If this is correct, the tribe of Shuah settled down in northern Mesopotamia instead of in Arabia with the other sons of Keturah. The cuneiform texts mention a land SuЖchu, south of Carchemish on the Euphrates.

3. Sheba, and Dedan. The descendants of Jokshan, Sheba, and Dedan, cannot be identified with the southern Arabic tribes of the same names, mentioned in ch. 10:7 as coming from Ham. It is inconceivable that Moses should have attributed the origin of these tribes to the Hamite Cush in one text and to the Shemite Abraham in another. Their identification is uncertain.

Asshurim. This tribe is mentioned in a Minaean inscription of northwestern Arabia. Of the other two Dedan tribes, the Letushim and Leummim, nothing is known.

4. The sons of Midian. Ephah, Midian’s son, apparently gave his name to the Arabic tribe appearing in cuneiform inscriptions under the name ChajapaЖ. The other sons have not yet been identified.

6. Sent them away. Toward the close of his life Abraham appointed Isaac his legal heir (see ch. 15:4) and bequeathed to him most of his property. To the sons of Hagar and Keturah he gave token gifts. In view of Abraham’s great wealth and hundreds of servants (see chs. 13:2; 14:14), he was in a position to give each of these seven sons a number of servants and some of his flocks without perceptibly diminishing Isaac’s inheritance. Presumably, each son received sufficient for a good start in life. Sending these other sons “eastward” while he lived was a precaution against strife after his death, particularly in respect to the right Isaac to the land of Canaan.

8. Gave up the ghost. Literally, “he expired.” The RSV translation, “breathed his last,” is preferable (see v. 17; ch. 35:29).

Gathered to his people. See on ch. 15:15.

9. Isaac and Ishmael buried him. As the chief heir of Abraham, Isaac is mentioned first. That Ishmael, Isaac’s older half brother, participated in the last rites for their father is evidence of a reconciliation between them (see also ch. 35:29). The sons of Keturah are not mentioned, their distant habitat, perhaps, making it impossible for them to arrive in time for the funeral at Hebron.

11. Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi. God honored Isaac as Abraham’s heir, and repeated to him the promises and blessings vouchsafed to Abraham. For a time after Abraham’s death Isaac continued to reside at Lahai-roi, where his father’s last years had been spent and where he had met Rebekah for the first time (ch. 24:62). It was now 35 years since that memorable event in his life, and his own sons, Jacob and Esau, were 15 years of age (see v. 26).

12. The generations of Ishmael. A new section begins, in which Moses traces briefly the family and fortunes of Abraham’s eldest son before proceeding with his main theme, the line of Isaac.

13. The names of the sons. That the sons of Ishmael gave their names to tribal divisions and geographical localities is clear from v. 16. Some are either mentioned again in the Bible or are found as place names in northern Arabia. The following can be identified:

Nebajoth; and Kedar. These are mentioned also together in Isa. 60:7. Kedar alone appears in several Bible passages, Isa. 21:16 and Eze. 27:21 designating his posterity as an Arabic tribe.

Adbeel. Mentioned elsewhere only 1 Chron. 1:29. This may be IdibiРil, mentioned in cuneiform inscriptions of the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III as a tribe near the border of Egypt.

14. Mishma. Identified with the Arabic tribe IsammeХ, of the inscriptions of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.

Dumah. Probably a north Arabian oasis mentioned repeatedly in ancient texts. Its modern name is El Djouf.

Massa has been identified with a tribe of northern Arabia, called MasХu in the cuneiform inscriptions of Mesopotamia.

15. Hadar. The best Hebrew manuscripts read Hadad, found in cuneiform inscriptions of Chudadu. In Hebrew the letters equivalent to “r” and “d” are very similar, and one may easily be mistaken for the other.

Tema. Mentioned also in Job 6:19; Isa. 21:14; and Jer. 25:23. This is the modern Teima in northwestern Arabia. In ancient times it was an important trade center, and became for some years the residence of the Babylonian king Nabonidus, father of Belshazzar.

Jetur, Naphish. Found in 1 Chron. 5:19 fighting the trans-Jordanian tribes of Gad, Manasseh, and Reuben. It is probable that the name Ituraea mentioned in Luke 3:1 as a region south of Mt. Hermon was derived from Jetur.

16. Castles. Literally, “encampments.”

17. The life of Ishmael. Ishmael’s long life was doubtless due to the vigor he inherited from his father, Abraham. On the expressions “gave up the ghost” and “was gathered unto his people” see respectively on v. 8 and ch. 15:15.

18. From Havilah unto Shur. The location of Havilah is uncertain (see on ch. 2:11). For this reason the eastern extent of the Ishmaelite dominion in Arabia cannot be determined. Its western border was Shur (chs. 16:7; 20:1), not far from the land of Egypt.

As thou goest toward Assyria. This does not mean that the Ishmaelite domain extended as far as Assyria, in Mesopotamia, but rather its extension in a general northerly direction. The Ishmaelites therefore bordered on Egypt in the west and Havilah to the southeast and extended some distance northward into the north Arabian Desert.

He died in the presence of all his brethren. Naphal, “to fall,” here translated “died,” may also mean “to encamp,” as an army (Judges 7:12, 13), and “to divide,” as an inheritance (Ps. 78:55). The expression, “He died in the presence of all his brethren,” should be translated in harmony with the prediction of ch. 16:12, “he settled over against [close by] all his people” (RSV).

19. The generations of Isaac. Moses returns to the main theme of his narrative, the history of the chosen people. Some events described in the succeeding verses occurred during the lifetime of Abraham. Since Abraham lived to be 175 years of age (ch. 25:7), and was 100 at the birth of Isaac (ch. 21:5), he must have been 160 years old at the birth of Esau and Jacob (ch. 25:26), who were therefore 15 years old at his death. Ishmael’s death, at the age of 137 (v. 17), occurred much later, when Jacob and Esau were 63. Ishmael was 14 years older than Isaac (ch. 16:16), and was therefore 74 years old when Isaac’s two sons were born. Chronologically out of place, the new section finds its logical place here in the narrative because it is Moses’ purpose to present Esau and Jacob’s life story without a break.

20. The Syrian. “Syrian,” more accurately, “Aramaean,” according to the Hebrew. Bethuel, a grandson of Terah (ch. 22:20–23), was, like Abraham, a descendant of Shem’s son Arphaxad (ch. 11:10–27) and not of Shem’s son Aram, ancestor of the Aramaeans (see on ch. 10:22). He is called “Aramaean” here merely because Terah’s family had settled in Aramaic territory, and was gradually absorbed by the Aramaeans. Moses refers to both Bethuel and Laban as Aramaeans.

Padan-aram. The location of “Padan-aram” is not clear. It occurs only in Genesis (chs. 28:2, 5–7; 31:18; etc.), and has been explained as designating a region that constituted part of ХAramРnaharayim (see on ch. 24:10). Again, it may refer to Haran, inasmuch as Padan and Haran have similar meanings in the Assyrian language.

21. Isaac intreated the Lord. Like his father, Isaac was to learn that children of the promise were not to be simply the fruit of nature, but manifestly the gift of grace as well. When Isaac and Rebekah had been married for 19 years (vs. 20, 26), and were still childless, Isaac made the matter a subject of prayer. He chose to rely upon the mercies of God rather than to trust his own clever devices, as had Abraham (ch. 16:3). His confidence in God was not exercised in vain, nor did he have long to wait before faith became fact.

22. The children struggled. Rebekah became apprehensive, both for her own and for her children’s safety. Perplexed, she went to the Lord for an explanation. Various ancient and modern commentators notwithstanding, this does not necessarily imply the use of an intermediary, much less the need of one. Melchizedek, Abraham, and Isaac have been suggested as the ones to whom she may have gone. Most likely, she simply went to the Lord in prayer. Why should it seem strange for her to talk to God personally? He is no respecter of persons.

23. Two nations. An angel revealed to Rebekah something of the future of the two sons soon to be born (PP 177). Already, it seemed, they were struggling for the supremacy. The angel’s prediction was fulfilled in the later history of Esau’s and Jacob’s descendants, the Edomites and the Israelites. These two brother nations were ever enemies, Israel usually proving to be the stronger of the two. David subjugated the Edomites (2 Sam. 8:14; 1 Kings 11:16), and King Amaziah later defeated them (2 Kings 14:7; 2 Chron. 25:11, 12). The Hasmonaean king John Hyrcanus I finally brought their independence to an end in the year 126 b.c., when he forced them to accept the rite of circumcision and the law of Moses, and to submit to a Jewish governor. God’s insight into the respective characters of Esau and Jacob and His foresight into their future made possible His selection of Jacob as inheritor of the birthright and progenitor of Christ even before his birth (Rom. 8:29; 9:10–14).

25. Red. Heb. Хadmoni, probably the root from which the name Edom was derived (see also v. 30). The same Hebrew word is used to describe David’s appearance (1 Sam. 16:12; 17:42). It is similar in meaning to the Latin Rufus the name assigned to two men of NT times (Mark 15:21; Rom. 16:13). Esau’s excessive growth of hair, known medically as hypertrichosis, already noticeable at birth, later became the most significant feature of his physical appearance.

They called his name Esau. Both parents agreed upon the appropriateness of this name. The context has led some scholars to suggest its derivation from an unknown root signifying “to be covered with hair.” Its meaning, however, cannot be determined from available information.

26. His name was called Jacob. The Hebrew word for “heel,” Фaqeb, is related to the verb Фaqab, “to take by the heel,” figuratively, “to deceive.” The personal name Jacob, meaning “he grasps the heel” or “he deceives,” was therefore most appropriate. It was not only reminiscent of the incident at his birth, but prophetic of his character and destiny. On the age of Isaac at the time of the birth of his two sons, see on vs. 19-21.

27. Esau was a cunning hunter. As the two boys grew up a great difference in character became evident. Esau displayed a rough, capricious disposition, and reveled in the wild, adventurous life of field and forest (see ch. 27:3).

Jacob was a plain man. The Hebrew word tam, here translated “plain,” suggests an amiable, pious, and cultured personality. The duties and responsibilities of settled family life, so monotonous and irritating to Esau, came naturally to Jacob, “a plain man, dwelling in tents.” Whereas Esau never outgrew the physical and emotional restlessness of adolescence, Jacob developed the stability of character and soundness of judgment that should come with maturity.

28. Isaac loved Esau. Isaac’s blind partiality for his first-born, irrespective of the son’s character qualifications for family leadership, brought division into the family. As a result, wrong, misery, and injustice marked relations between the brothers and their posterity for centuries. Isaac’s preference for Esau seems to have been based, in part at least, on his love for venison. The extent to which the patriarch let his love and his sense of justice and piety be controlled by his appetite is surprising and disappointing. His experience is, furthermore, a warning to us. To prefer one child above another inevitably creates jealousy, division, bitterness, and misery.

29. Sod pottage. The difference in character between the two brothers was soon apparent in a singular situation, one which proved to be a turning point in their lives. Jacob had cooked a meal of lentils (v. 34). Red lentils are to the present day a favorite food in Palestine, where they are prepared with onions, garlic, rice, and olive oil. Occasionally, meat is added also.

30. Feed me. The word translated “feed” occurs only in this passage, and means “to eat greedily” or “to devour.”

Therefore was his name called Edom. From Хadom, “red.” There is no discrepancy in ascribing his name both to his red complexion (v. 25) and to the color of the lentils. The name was thus doubly appropriate. The Arabs are still fond of giving surnames such as this to famous persons. The Edomites are mentioned more frequently in Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions than are the Israelites. In Egypt the name Edom appears as Idwm, and in cuneiform texts as UduЖmu.

31. Sell me this day thy birthright. Jacob knew of the angel’s prophecy concerning himself and his brother, made prior to their birth (see v. 23; PP 178). Now he took advantage of what appeared to him to be a fair, though unusual, opportunity. Under the Mosaic legislation the privileges of the first-born were: (1) succession to the official authority of the father, (2) the inheritance of a double portion of the father’s property, (3) the privilege of becoming the family priest (see Ex. 22:29; Num. 8:14–17; Deut. 21:17). To the descendants of Abraham the birthright also implied: (1) succession to the promise of the earthly Canaan and other covenant blessings, (2) the honor of being a progenitor of the promised Seed.

Jacob’s proposal was unscrupulous and contemptible. It reveals, as well, a spirit of impatience, and a lack of confidence in the overruling providence of God, similar to that manifested by Abraham in his marriage to Hagar (Gen. 16:3). Jacob’s conditions of sale were exacting, selfish, and base. The theory that the end justifies the means does not have the approval of Heaven (see Matt. 4:3, 4; DA 121, 122). God could not approve the act, but He did overrule it to the eventual accomplishment of His purpose.

32. At the point to die. The KJV leaves the impression that Esau meant, “I shall die of hunger if I do not get food immediately. In that case my birthright would be of no profit to me. It is therefore better for me to get food and live on without a birthright than to die now while I am in possession of it.” Many commentators have followed this line of reasoning. Another explanation understands this expression to mean, “Earlier or later I must die anyway, and then it will not matter whether I possess the birthright or not.” The latter interpretation seems more plausible in the light of the words of v. 34, that he “despised his birthright.” Being indifferent about the blessings that were to be his, Esau regarded them lightly and was therefore unworthy of them (PP 181).

33. Swear to me. Jacob’s conduct in this transaction is difficult to defend. His attitude and words reveal premeditation (PP 179). It is a dangerous and sometimes fatal mistake to anticipate and run ahead of Providence, which in due time and without human conniving will accomplish the divine purpose.

34. Despised his birthright. To Esau the only thing of value was the momentary satisfaction of appetite; future spiritual blessings seemed remote and unreal. In this he showed himself to be a “profane [irreligious] person” (Heb. 12:16), insensible to spiritual things. He cared for nothing but the gratification of sensual desire. Like the dumb brute, he based his decisions only on sense considerations of the moment. The extent to which a person is willing to sacrifice present desires for future good is an accurate measure of emotional and spiritual maturity. On this basis, only the Christian can ever become fully mature, for he alone is ready and willing to forfeit all this life has to offer in order that he may be accounted worthy of the life to come (see 2 Cor. 4:17, 18; Phil. 3:7–15; Acts 20:24; Luke 20:34, 35; Heb. 11:10). The trifling way in which Esau sold his birthright for a dish of lentils demonstrated his unfitness to become heir to the gracious promises of God. While Jacob’s conduct cannot be condoned, that of Esau is deserving of the most severe condemnation. Jacob repented and was forgiven; Esau was beyond forgiveness, because his repentance consisted only of regret for the results of his rash act, not for the act itself (Heb. 12:16, 17; PP 181).

Ellen G. White comments

19-34PP 177-179; SR 87

23 PP 181, 196; SR 88

28 PP 177

29-33CH 110

29-342T 38

32 PP 179

34 PP 179, 208