Translation: ESV
Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.
The birth of multiple nations through Abraham is the fulfillment of the promise that he would be 'a father of a multitude of nations.'
▸After Sarah's death (Gen 23), Abraham takes Keturah as another wife.
After Sarah's death (Gen 23), Abraham takes Keturah as another wife. This record shows that Abraham still had vitality even in old age. Through Keturah, Abraham becomes the ancestor of additional nations.
She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
God fulfills the promise of 'father of a multitude of nations' by causing various peoples to arise through Abraham.
▸Six sons born to Keturah are listed.
Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.
The extension of Abraham's blessing to all nations shows that God's plan of salvation is directed toward all humanity, beyond any particular people.
▸Sheba and Dedan were peoples occupying important positions on the Arabian trade routes.
The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
God's promises are fulfilled in specific history; genealogy is the record of that fulfillment.
▸Five sons of Midian are recorded.
Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.
God's covenant continues through a specific lineage; Abraham's decision regarding Isaac is an act of faith in obedience.
▸Abraham gives 'all he had' only to Isaac.
But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.
God's covenant is exclusive, but even those outside the covenant are under God's protection.
▸Abraham does not treat the sons of the concubines harshly but gives them gifts and sends them away.
These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years.
The life of faith begins with responding to God's calling and ends holding the promise of God.
▸Abraham completes his life at 175 years.
Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
The death of Abraham, the father of faith, was accomplished in peace with God's promises fulfilled.
▸The expression 'gathered to his people' is a Hebrew idiom meaning a peaceful death and union with ancestors.
Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,
Brothers are reconciled in the face of death; burial in the promised land is a confession of faith in resurrection and hope.
▸Isaac and Ishmael together bury their father.
the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife.
The right to the promised land stands on two foundations: God's promise and legitimate purchase.
▸It is again emphasized that the field of Machpelah was the land Abraham legitimately purchased.
After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.
The blessing of the covenant is transmitted across generations; God is newly present with each generation.
▸After Abraham's death, God's blessing passes to Isaac.
These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham.
While God's covenant continues through a specific lineage, God also remembers the history of those outside the covenant.
▸The genealogy of Ishmael is inserted.
These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
God's promises are certainly fulfilled; the blessing for those outside the covenant is also accomplished.
▸The listing of Ishmael's twelve sons begins.
Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
God's history is not just the story of a chosen people but a grand narrative of salvation toward all humanity.
▸The list of Ishmael's sons continues.
Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
God's promises are fulfilled precisely, down to every number.
▸The list of Ishmael's twelve sons is completed.
(These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.)
God is the one who grants order and prosperity not only to the covenant people but also to surrounding nations.
▸The number twelve is reconfirmed.
(These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.)
The life God gives is precious whether or not it is within the covenant lineage.
▸Ishmael dies at 137 years.
They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.
God's prophecies are fulfilled precisely even hundreds of years later; history testifies to God's word.
▸The range of territory where Ishmael's descendants settled is indicated.
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac,
The covenant lineage continues through God's miracle, beyond human impossibility.
▸After Ishmael's genealogy is concluded, the story of Isaac, the covenant lineage, now begins.
and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.
Seeking a partner suitable for God's will is an act of faith; God guides that process.
▸Isaac's marriage to Rebekah is the result of God's guidance described in detail in Genesis 24.
And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Prayer is a powerful means of bringing about God's work; at the end of faithful waiting, God's time arrives.
▸Like Sarah, Rebekah was at first barren.
The children struggled together within her, and she said, 'If it is thus, why is this happening to me?' So she went to inquire of the LORD.
Going to God to ask in the midst of life's pain and confusion is the first response of faith.
▸The two children struggling in the womb from the beginning foreshadows the relationship between Jacob and Esau that follows.
And the LORD said to her, 'Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.'
God's choice transcends human standards; God overturns human expectations to accomplish His will.
▸God's oracle declares that the two children are not merely brothers but the origins of two nations.
When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.
God's word is confirmed and fulfilled in the concrete events of life.
▸Rebekah gives birth to twins.
The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.
God looks at inner choice rather than birth order; He does not judge people by appearance or outward conditions.
▸Esau is red (admoni) and covered all over with hair, so he receives the name 'Esau.
Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
Jacob's name contains his nature, and God will perform the work of transforming that nature.
▸Jacob is born gripping his brother Esau's heel.
When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.
God looks at inner character and orientation toward God rather than outward achievement.
▸The character and lifestyle of the two brothers are contrasted.
Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Favoritism becomes the seed that destroys a family, but God accomplishes His plan even in imperfect families.
▸It is recorded honestly that the parents each favor a different son.
Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.
A moment's hunger can cause one to give up what is eternal. Placing physical needs ahead of spiritual values is dangerous.
▸When Jacob is cooking stew, Esau returns from hunting exhausted.
And Esau said to Jacob, 'Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!' (Therefore his name was called Edom.)
One who chases what they don't even know the name of in an instant of desire is in danger of losing what is eternal.
▸Esau calling the stew 'that red stuff (ha'adom ha'adom)' shows his impulsiveness and ignorance.
Jacob said, 'Sell me your birthright now.'
Longing for God's blessing is good, but the method must also be right.
▸Jacob uses Esau's exhausted situation to demand the birthright.
Esau said, 'I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?'
When one fails to realize the value of the eternal, a momentary need leads to a wrong choice that changes one's entire life.
▸Esau says with exaggeration 'I am about to die.
Jacob said, 'Swear to me now.' So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.
A rash oath brings life-changing consequences. An attitude of treating God's things lightly leads oneself to ruin.
▸Jacob's demand for an oath was to make this transaction binding.
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
The moment of despising spiritual values is brief, but the consequences remain forever.
▸The expression that Esau ate and drank and 'rose and went his way' shows that he left without any lingering regret.