50 | Genesis 25:3
3
Jok shan was the fa ther of She ba and De dan ; the de scen dants of De dan were the Ash ur ites , the Letu shites and the Le um mites . 4 The sons of Mid i an were Ephah , Epher , Ha nok , Abi da and El da ah . All these were de scen dants of Ke tu rah .
5
Abra ham left ev ery thing he owned to Isaac .
6
But while he was still liv ing , he gave gifts to the sons of his con cu bines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east .
7
Abra ham lived a hun dred and sev en ty-five years . 8 Then Abra ham breathed his last and died at a good old age , an old man and full of years ; and he was gath ered to his peo ple . 9 His sons Isaac and Ish ma el bur ied him in the cave of Mach pe lah near Mam re , in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hit tite , 10 the field Abra ham had bought from the Hit tites . a There Abra ham was bur ied with his wife Sar ah . 11 Af ter Abra ham ’ s death , God blessed his son Isaac , who then lived near Beer La hai Roi .
Ishmael ’ s Sons
25:12-16pp — 1Ch 1:29-31
12
This is the ac count of the fam i ly line of Abraham ’ s son Ish ma el , whom Sar ah ’ s slave , Ha gar the Egyp tian , bore to Abra ham .
13
These are the names of the sons of Ish ma el , list ed in the or der of their birth : Ne ba ioth the first born of Ish ma el , Ke dar , Ad be el , Mib sam ,
14
Mish ma , Du mah , Mas sa , 15 Ha dad , Tema , Je tur , Na phish and Ked e mah . 16 These were the sons of Ish ma el , and these are the names of the twelve trib al rul ers ac cord ing to their set tle ments and camps . 17 Ish ma el lived a hun dred and thir ty-seven years . He breathed his last and died , and he was gath ered to his peo ple . 18 His de scen dants set tled in the area from Hav i lah to Shur , near the east ern bor der of Egypt , as you go to ward Ash ur . And they lived in hos til i ty to ward b all the tribes re lat ed to them .
Jacob and Esau
19
This is the ac count of the fam i ly line of Abraham ’ s son Isaac .
Abra ham be came the fa ther of Isaac , 20 and Isaac was for ty years old when he mar ried Re bek ah daugh ter of Be thu el the Ar a me an from Pad dan Aram c and sis ter of La ban the Ar a me an .
21
Isaac prayed to the Lord on be half of his wife , be cause she was child less . The Lord an swered his prayer , and his wife Re bek ah be came preg nant .
22
The ba bies jos tled each oth er with in her , and she said , “ Why is this hap pen ing to me ?” So she went to in quire of the Lord .
a
10 Or the descendants of Heth b
18 Or lived to the east of c
20 That is , Northwest Mesopotamia and sold him to Ishmaelites ( Ge 37:28 ). Ishbak The descendants of Ishbak are likely the north Syrian tribe of Iasbuq mentioned in Assyrian sources . 25:3 Ashurites Elsewhere in the OT , this term refers to Assyrians . However , based on chronology ( see v . 18 , where Assyria is already referred to as a region ) as well as ancient Near Eastern sources for the origin of Assyria , it seems that Assyrians are not being referenced here ( compare Nu 24:22,24 ). As is the case with other people terms ( e . g ., Hittites ; see Ge 23:3 and note ), another group of people was likely known by this term . 25:6 sent them away from his son Abraham wanted to ensure that the promised line of Isaac through Sarah would be maintained . See note on 21:11 . 25:8 gathered to his people This Hebrew phrase is used only in the Pentateuch . It likely refers to death itself , with the presumption of being reunited in the afterlife with family or ancestors . 25:11 Beer Lahai Roi This refers to the well where Hagar had a divine encounter . See 16:14 and note .
25:12 – 15 Some names in this passage are distinguished by lineage as from Keturah ( see vv . 1 – 4 ) or Ishmael but such distinctions are not retained in other passages . For example , in Isa 60:6 – 7 , Midian , Ephah and Sheba ( from Keturah ) are listed beside Kedar and Nebaioth ( who are listed as Ishmael ’ s descendants in Ge 25:13 ). This intermingling in other passages may suggest fluid tribal confederations and allegiances . It also forms a backdrop for later Israelite history , where the people of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob are opposed to those from Abraham by concubines . Keturah , though labeled as a wife of Abraham , is affiliated as a concubine via the connections with Ishmael ’ s line and is actually labeled as a concubine elsewhere ( 1Ch 1:32 ). The same problem arises from within the nuclear family of Isaac via the line of Esau — with Jacob ’ s and Esau ’ s lines being enemies .
25:13 Ishmael See note on Ge 16:11 .
25:19 – 26 The birth of Esau and Jacob is a miraculous event . Isaac prays that Rebekah , who is barren , will conceive ( see v . 21 ). Once pregnant , she inquires of God when the children struggle within her . God ’ s answer reveals the future of both sons ( v . 23 ).
25:20 Aramean Genesis seems to connect this term to Aram the son of Kemuel , who was Bethuel ’ s brother thus making Aram Bethuel ’ s nephew ( 22:20 – 21 ). This term refers to western Semitic tribes in the region of what the Hebrew text refers to as aram naharayim ( see 24:10 and note ) and Paddan Aram . According to Dt 26:5 , Israelite farmers were to declare that they were descended from a wandering Aramean ( Syrian ) when they brought their firstfruits offering . Paddan Aram Either another name for what the Hebrew text calls aram naharayim ( see Ge 24:10 and note ) or a town in that region ( see Hos 12:12 ). According to Ge 25:11 , Isaac and Rebekah were living in Beer Lahai Roi , the place where Hagar encountered the Angel of Yahweh ( 16:7 – 14 ). Rebekah may have been aware of this , as places of divine encounter often became sacred sites for worship and , perhaps , contact with the divine ( see 12:6 – 7 ; 13:18 ).