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25 Forsooth Abraham wedded another wife, Keturah by name,

which childed to him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

Also Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. Forsooth the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.

And soothly of Midian was born Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah; all these were the sons of Keturah.

And Abraham gave all (the) things which he had in possession to Isaac;

soothly he gave gifts to the sons of [the] concubines, that is, (his) secondary wives; and Abraham, while he lived yet, separated them from Isaac, his son, to the east coast (but Abraham, while yet he lived, separated them from his son Isaac, and sent them away to the east parts).

Forsooth the days of the life of Abraham were an hundred and threescore and fifteen years;

and (then) he failed, and died in [a] good eld (age), and of (a) great age, and full of days, and he was gathered to his people (and he joined his ancestors).

And Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the double den, which is set in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar (the) Hittite, even against Mamre, (And his sons Isaac and Ishmael, buried him in the cave at Machpelah, which is set in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,)

10 which den he bought of the sons of Heth; and he was buried there, and Sarah his wife. (which cave he bought from the Hittites; and he was buried there, with his wife Sarah.)

11 And after the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son, which dwelled beside the well by name of him that liveth and seeth. (And after Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived beside The Well of Lahairoi, or Beerlahairoi.)

12 These be the generations of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, whom Hagar (the) Egyptian, handmaid of Sarah, childed to Abraham; (These be the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave-girl, bare for Abraham;)

13 and these be the names of the sons of Ishmael, in their names and generations. The first begotten of Ishmael was Nebajoth, afterward Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, (and these be the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names, and in their birth order. Ishmael’s first-born was Nebajoth, and then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,)

14 and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,

15 and Hadar, and Tema, and Jetur, and Naphish, and Kedemah.

16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were the names by castles, and towns of them, (named after) [the] twelve princes of their lineages. (These were Ishmael’s sons, and they were also the names of their fortresses, and towns, named after the twelve princes of their tribes.)

17 And the years of [the] life of Ishmael were made an hundred and seven and thirty (years), and (then) he failed, and died, and was put to his people (and joined his ancestors).

18 Forsooth he inhabited from Havilah till to Shur, that beholdeth Egypt, as men entereth into [the] Assyrians; (and) he died before all his brethren. (And Ishmael’s people dwelled from Havilah unto Shur, which is east of Egypt, on the way to Assyria; and he died in the presence of all his kinsmen.)

19 Also these be the generations of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac, (And these be the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begat Isaac,)

20 and when Isaac was of forty years, he wedded a wife, Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, of Syria, of Mesopotamia, the sister of Laban. (and when Isaac was forty years old, he wedded a wife, Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, the Syrian from Paddan-aram, and the sister of Laban.)

21 And Isaac besought the Lord for his wife, for she was barren; and the Lord heard him, and gave conceiving to Rebecca.

22 But the little children were hurtled together in her womb; and she said, If it was so to coming to me, what need was it to conceive? (and she said, If such was to come to me, what meaneth it?) And she went to ask (the) counsel of the Lord,

23 which answered, and said, Two folks be in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy womb, and one people shall overturn a people, and the more shall serve the less. (who answered, and said, Two nations be in thy womb, and two peoples shall be taken from thy womb, and one nation shall be stronger than the other nation, and the older shall serve the younger.)

24 Then the time of child-bearing came, and lo! two children were found in her womb.

25 He that went out first was red, and all rough in the manner of a skin; and his name was called Esau.

26 Anon the other went out (And at once the other went out), and held with his hand the heel of his brother; and therefore he called him Jacob[a]. (And) Isaac was sixty years eld, when the little children were born.

27 And when they were waxen, Esau was a man knowing of hunting, and a man (who was) an earth-tiller; forsooth Jacob was a simple man, and dwelled in tabernacles. (And when they were fully grown, Esau was a man knowledgeable about hunting, and who worked the soil, or was a farmer; and Jacob was a simple man, who stayed at home in the tents.)

28 Isaac loved Esau, for he ate of the hunting of Esau; and Rebecca loved Jacob.

29 Soothly Jacob seethed pottage (And one day Jacob boiled some stew); and when Esau came (in) weary from the field,

30 he said to Jacob, Give thou to me of this red seething, for I am full weary; for which cause his name was called Edom (and for this reason he was called Edom, or Red).

31 And Jacob said to him, Sell to me the right(s) of the first begotten child. (And Jacob said to him, First sell me thy birthright/First sell me the rights of the first-born child.)

32 Esau answered, Lo! I die, what shall the first begotten things profit to me? (And Esau answered, Lo! I am starving right now, and what good is my birthright to me!)

33 Jacob said, Therefore swear thou to me. Therefore Esau swore, and sold the first engendered things. (And Jacob said, And so swear thou to me. And so Esau swore to Jacob, and sold him his birthright.)

34 And so when he had taken bread and pottage, Esau ate and drank, and went forth, and charged little that he had sold the right(s) of the first begotten child (and cared little that he had sold his birthright as the first-born son).

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 25:26 The name sounds like the Hebrew for ‘He who takes by the heel, or supplants’.

The Death of Abraham(A)

25 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran,(B) Jokshan, Medan, Midian,(C) Ishbak and Shuah.(D) Jokshan was the father of Sheba(E) and Dedan;(F) the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. The sons of Midian were Ephah,(G) Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.(H) But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines(I) and sent them away from his son Isaac(J) to the land of the east.(K)

Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.(L) Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age,(M) an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.(N) His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him(O) in the cave of Machpelah(P) near Mamre,(Q) in the field of Ephron(R) son of Zohar the Hittite,(S) 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites.[a](T) There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac,(U) who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.(V)

Ishmael’s Sons(W)

12 This is the account(X) of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar(Y) the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.(Z)

13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth(AA) the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar,(AB) Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah,(AC) Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema,(AD) Jetur,(AE) Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers(AF) according to their settlements and camps.(AG) 17 Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people.(AH) 18 His descendants(AI) settled in the area from Havilah to Shur,(AJ) near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward[b] all the tribes related to them.(AK)

Jacob and Esau

19 This is the account(AL) of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old(AM) when he married Rebekah(AN) daughter of Bethuel(AO) the Aramean from Paddan Aram[c](AP) and sister of Laban(AQ) the Aramean.(AR)

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless.(AS) The Lord answered his prayer,(AT) and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.(AU)

23 The Lord said to her,

“Two nations(AV) are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
    and the older will serve the younger.(AW)

24 When the time came for her to give birth,(AX) there were twin boys in her womb.(AY) 25 The first to come out was red,(AZ) and his whole body was like a hairy garment;(BA) so they named him Esau.[d](BB) 26 After this, his brother came out,(BC) with his hand grasping Esau’s heel;(BD) so he was named Jacob.[e](BE) Isaac was sixty years old(BF) when Rebekah gave birth to them.

27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter,(BG) a man of the open country,(BH) while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game,(BI) loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.(BJ)

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew,(BK) Esau came in from the open country,(BL) famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew!(BM) I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.[f])(BN)

31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.(BO)

32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

33 But Jacob said, “Swear(BP) to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright(BQ) to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew.(BR) He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 25:10 Or the descendants of Heth
  2. Genesis 25:18 Or lived to the east of
  3. Genesis 25:20 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  4. Genesis 25:25 Esau may mean hairy.
  5. Genesis 25:26 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives.
  6. Genesis 25:30 Edom means red.