Genesis 25

Abraham's Death and His Descendants

¹Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.²She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.³Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.⁴The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.⁵Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.⁶But 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.

⁷These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years.⁸Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.⁹Isaac 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,¹⁰the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife.¹¹After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

¹²These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham.¹³These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,¹⁴Mishma, Dumah, Massa,¹⁵Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.¹⁶These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.¹⁷(These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.)¹⁸They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac,²⁰and 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.²¹And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.²²The 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.²³And 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.”

²⁴When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.²⁵The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.²⁶Afterward 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.

²⁷When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.²⁸Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

²⁹Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.³⁰And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.³¹Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.”³²Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”³³Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.³⁴Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.