1 Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba, and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac, 6 but Abraham gave gifts to the sons of Abraham’s concubines. While he still lived, he sent them away from Isaac his son, eastward, to the east country. 7 These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Abraham gave up his spirit, and died at a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is near Mamre, 10 the field which Abraham purchased from the children of Heth. Abraham was buried there with Sarah, his wife. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac, his son. Isaac lived by Beer Lahai Roi. 12 Now this is the history of the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to the order of their birth: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages, and by their encampments: twelve princes, according to their nations. 17 These are the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years. He gave up his spirit and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 They lived from Havilah to Shur that is before Egypt, as you go towards Assyria. He lived opposite all his relatives. 19 This is the history of the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to be his wife. 21 Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. The LORD was entreated by him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her. She said, “If it is like this, why do I live?” She went to enquire of the LORD. 23 The LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb. Two peoples will be separated from your body. The one people will be stronger than the other people. The elder will serve the younger.” 24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esau. 26 After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esau’s heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 The boys grew. Esau was a skilful hunter, a man of the field. Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he ate his venison. Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Jacob boiled stew. Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with some of that red stew, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 Jacob said, “First, sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” He swore to him. He sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. He ate and drank, rose up, and went his way. So Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis · World English Bible British Edition (with Deuterocanon)
Genesis 25 World English Bible British Edition (with Deuterocanon)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- "World English Bible" is a trademark of eBible.org; the text is shown unaltered.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abida
One of the five sons of Midian, descendants of Keturah.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:4; 1 Chronicles 1:33
Abraham
Called by God, he left home in faith to become the father of a chosen people.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 12–25
Adbeel
One of the twelve sons of Ishmael, listed among the princes of his people.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:13
Dedan
A son of Jokshan, grandson of Abraham and Keturah; the Asshurites, Letushites and Leummites are listed as his sons.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:3; 1 Chronicles 1:32
Dumah
A son of Ishmael whose name is also attached to a place in Arabia.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:14
Eldaah
The last-named of the five sons of Midian, descendants of Keturah.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:4; 1 Chronicles 1:33
Ephah
The first-named of the five sons of Midian, descendants of Keturah.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:4; 1 Chronicles 1:33
Epher
One of the five sons of Midian, descendants of Keturah.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:4; 1 Chronicles 1:33
Ephron
A Hittite at Hebron, son of Zohar, who sold Abraham the field and cave of Machpelah for four hundred shekels of silver, where Abraham buried Sarah and was himself buried.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 23:8–10; Genesis 23:16; Genesis 25:9
Esau
Isaac's elder son, who traded his birthright for a bowl of stew.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25–27; 36
Hadad
A son of Ishmael numbered among the twelve princes of his people.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:15
Hanoch
One of the five sons of Midian, descendants of Keturah.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:4; 1 Chronicles 1:33
Isaac
The long-promised son, nearly offered on Moriah, through whom the covenant continued.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 21–27
Ishbak
A son of Abraham by Keturah who fathered an Arabian people of the east.
Cited in the guide: Gen. 25:2
Ishmael
Abraham's son by Hagar, blessed by God to become a great nation.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 16; 17:20; 21; 25:12–18
Jacob
He wrestled with God through the night and rose as Israel, father of twelve tribes.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25–35; 46–49
Jetur
One of Ishmael's twelve sons, later linked to the Itureans.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:15
Jokshan
A son of Abraham by Keturah and father of the trading peoples Sheba and Dedan.
Cited in the guide: Gen. 25:2-3
Kedar
Second son of Ishmael whose name marks a prominent northern Arabian tribe.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:13
Kedemah
The last-named of Ishmael's twelve sons in the genealogy.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:15
Keturah
The wife Abraham took after Sarah's death, mother of six more sons.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:1-6
Laban
Bethuel's son and Rebekah's brother, who welcomed Abraham's servant, later became Jacob's uncle and father-in-law, deceived him by giving him Leah, and pursued him to Gilead when…
Cited in the guide: Genesis 24:29; Genesis 25:20; Genesis 29:13
Massa
One of the twelve sons of Ishmael listed among his tribal princes.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:14
Medan
A son of Abraham by Keturah who fathered a people of the Arabian east.
Cited in the guide: Gen. 25:2
Mibsam
A son of Ishmael counted among the twelve princes of his descendants.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:13
Midian
A son of Abraham by Keturah and ancestor of the Midianites of the northwestern Arabian desert.
Cited in the guide: Gen. 25:2
Mishma
One of Ishmael's twelve sons, named among the tribal princes.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:14
Naphish
A son of Ishmael counted among the twelve tribal princes.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:15
Nebaioth
Ishmael's firstborn son and one of the twelve princes God promised him.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:13
Rebekah
Wife of Isaac and mother of the twins Jacob and Esau.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 24-27
Sheba
A son of Jokshan, grandson of Abraham and Keturah.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:3; 1 Chronicles 1:32
Shuah
The youngest son of Abraham by Keturah and ancestor of an eastern desert people.
Cited in the guide: Gen. 25:2
Tema
A son of Ishmael whose name marks an oasis and tribe of the desert.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25:15
Zimran
A son of Abraham by Keturah, the wife he took after Sarah's death.
Cited in the guide: Gen. 25:2
Zohar
A Hittite named only as the father of Ephron, from whom Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 23:8; Genesis 25:9
Cross references (32)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 Chronicles 1:32–33; Genesis 28:1; Genesis 23:1–2
- 2 1 Chronicles 1:32–33; Numbers 31:8; Genesis 37:36; Numbers 25:17–18; Numbers 31:2
- 3 Ezekiel 25:13; 1 Kings 10:1; Ezekiel 27:6; Jeremiah 49:8; Job 6:19
- 4 Isaiah 60:6
- 5 Genesis 24:36; Galatians 3:29; Hebrews 1:2; Matthew 11:27; Romans 8:32
- 6 Genesis 21:14; Judges 6:3; Acts 14:17; Matthew 5:45; Judges 19:1–2
- 7 Genesis 12:4
- 8 Genesis 35:28–29; Genesis 15:15; 1 Chronicles 29:28; Genesis 49:33; Job 5:26
- 9 Genesis 50:13; Genesis 35:29; Genesis 49:29–30; Genesis 21:9–10; Genesis 23:9–20
- 10 Genesis 23:16; Genesis 49:31
- 11 Genesis 16:14; Genesis 22:17; Genesis 24:62; Genesis 12:2; Genesis 17:19
- 12 Psalm 83:6; Genesis 17:20; Genesis 21:13; Genesis 16:10–15
- 13 1 Chronicles 1:29–31; Isaiah 60:7; Isaiah 42:11; Psalm 120:5; Song of Songs 1:5
- 14 Isaiah 21:16; Isaiah 21:11
- 15 1 Chronicles 5:19; Job 2:11
- 16 Genesis 17:20; Genesis 17:23
- 17 Genesis 15:15; Genesis 25:7–8
- 18 Genesis 16:12; Genesis 20:1; Genesis 21:21; 2 Kings 23:29; Psalm 78:64
- 19 Matthew 1:2; Luke 3:34; Acts 7:8; 1 Chronicles 1:32
- 20 Genesis 24:29; Genesis 24:67; Genesis 22:23; Deuteronomy 26:5; Genesis 31:24
- 21 2 Chronicles 33:13; Ezra 8:23; Luke 1:13; Isaiah 58:9; 1 Chronicles 5:20
- 22 1 Samuel 9:9; 1 Samuel 28:6; 1 Samuel 30:8; 1 Samuel 10:22; Ezekiel 20:31
- 23 Romans 9:10–13; Genesis 27:40; Genesis 27:29; 2 Samuel 8:14; Malachi 1:2–5
- 25 Genesis 27:11; Genesis 27:23; Genesis 27:16
- 26 Genesis 27:36; Hosea 12:3; Genesis 38:28–30
- 27 Hebrews 11:9; Genesis 21:20; Genesis 28:10–11; Genesis 6:9; Genesis 10:9
- 28 Genesis 27:19; Genesis 27:31; Genesis 27:4; Genesis 27:9; Genesis 27:25
- 29 Isaiah 40:30–31; Proverbs 13:25; 1 Samuel 14:28; Judges 8:4–5; 1 Samuel 14:31
- 30 Numbers 20:14–21; Genesis 36:43; Genesis 36:1; Deuteronomy 23:7; Exodus 15:15
- 32 Job 34:9; Job 22:17; Job 21:15; Malachi 3:14; Exodus 22:9
- 33 Hebrews 12:16; Genesis 27:36; Hebrews 6:16; Genesis 24:3; Genesis 36:6–7
- 34 Hebrews 12:16–17; Philippians 3:18–19; Matthew 26:15; Isaiah 22:13; 1 Corinthians 15:32
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth, it was said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people are in thy body; and the one people shall overcome the other, and the elder shall serve the younger." From which it is evident, that not only [were there] prophecies of the patriarchs, but …
I know, too, that Esau was deceived by a longing for lentiles, and that David took blame to himself for desiring water, and that our King was tempted not by flesh but bread.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
Thus, in the first place, at his birth, since he laid hold on his brother's heel, he was called Jacob, that is, the supplanter--one who holds, but is not held; binding the feet, but not being bound; striving and conquering; grasping in his hand his adversary's heel, that is, victory.
… her handmaid, after Abraham had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife." And of Keturah, whom he took after Sarah's departure, we read, "Then again Abraham took a wife, whose name was Keturah." Lo!
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
But unto the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from his son Isaac, (while he yet lived,) eastward, unto the east country." Therefore the sons of the concubines, that is, the heretics and the carnal Jews, have some gifts, but do not attain the promised kingdom; "For they which are the children of the flesh, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)