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).