Genesis 25 Study – “Abraham & Keturah” – “The Death and Burial of Abraham” – “The Genealogy of Ishmael and Isaac” – “Esau Sells His Birthright”
Abraham and Keturah
25 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living, he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.
Abraham’s Death and Burial
7 This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.
The Families of Ishmael and Isaac
12 Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13 And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 [a]Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their [b]settlements, twelve princes according to their nations. 17 These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people. 18 (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He [c]died in the presence of all his brethren.
19 This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So, she went to inquire of the Lord.
23 And the Lord said to her:
“Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”
24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name [d]Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called [e]Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a [f]mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Esau Sells His Birthright
29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called [g]Edom.
31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”
32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so, what is this birthright to me?”
33 Then Jacob said, [h]“Swear to me as of this day.”
So, he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus, Esau despised his birthright.
Notes Genesis 25 Study – (vv. 1-33)
25:1-4: The children of God are not Abraham’s children according to the flesh … If this were so, the six children of Abraham by Keturah would be the children of God … So also, would be the Jews, the Ishmaelites, and the Edomites by the right of birth … For the Jews came from Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel … The Ishmaelites sprang from Hagar, Abraham’s concubine … The Edomites were the offspring of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother … But the children of God are all who embrace the faith of Abraham through the word of promise …
25:5-7: Abraham sent all the children of Keturah away from Isaac, who was born according to the word of promise … he sent them away to emphasize that the children of God are born according to this word …
25:7-8: Abraham died IN A GOOD OLD AGE, OLD AND FULL OF DAYS; that is, he died full of faith and blessing from God … He WAS ADDED TO HIS PEOPLE, that is, to the children of God … These children are awaiting the resurrection from the dead and the life of the world to come – (CREED) …
25:11: ISAAC DWELT AT THE WELL OF THE VISION, where the Son of God appeared to Hagar – (Genesis 16:7-14) … He knew the Son of God …
Genesis 16:7-14
7 Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her:
“Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name [a]Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-[b]the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here [c]seen Him who sees me?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi;[d] observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
25:19: Christ came through the genealogy of Isaac – (Matthew 1:2) …
Matthew 1:2
2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.
25:23: This prophecy shows that God’s purpose for salvation stands based on His calling, and not based on works, either good or bad – (Romans 9:11) … For God foreknew which of the two sons would believe the word of promise given to Abraham … Jacob embraced the faith of Abraham, whereas Esau rejected it … Both were called, but Jacob alone responded to God’s calling, as did Jacob, are the children of God … For the Jews who do not embrace Abraham’s faith are like Esau …
Romans 9:11
11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),
25:27-33: Esau was the older son, so the right of the firstborn was his … This right taught the firstborn to embrace Abraham’s faith … But he despised this faith, because of his fear of death – (v. 32) … he despised the very faith that could save him from death – (Hebrews 12:16-17) …
Hebrews 12:16-17
16 lest there be any fornicator or [a]profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
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