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Genesis 25-26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Abraham Marries Keturah

25 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.(A) 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.(B) 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

The Death of Abraham

7 This is the length of Abraham’s life, one hundred seventy-five years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, old and full of years, and was gathered to his people.(C) 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah.(D) 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.(E)

Ishmael’s Descendants

12 These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham.(F) 13 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,(G) 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.(H) 17 (This is the length of the life of Ishmael, one hundred thirty-seven years; he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria; he settled down[a] alongside[b] all his people.(I)

The Birth and Youth of Esau and Jacob

19 These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean.(J) 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.(K) 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?”[c] So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other;
    the elder shall serve the younger.”(L)

24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle, so they named him Esau.(M) 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob.[d] Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.(N)

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.(O) 28 Isaac loved Esau because he was fond of game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

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

Isaac and Abimelech

26 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines.(Q) 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac[f] and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you.(R) 3 Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.(S) 4 I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves through your offspring,(T) 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say “my wife,” thinking, “or else the men of the place might kill me for the sake of Rebekah, because she is attractive in appearance.”(U) 8 When Isaac had been there a long time, King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw him fondling his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “So she is your wife! Why, then, did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I might die because of her.” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”(V) 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall be put to death.”

12 Isaac sowed seed in that land and in the same year reaped a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him,(W) 13 and the man became rich; he prospered more and more until he became very wealthy. 14 He had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.(X) 15 (Now the Philistines had stopped up and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.)(Y) 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”

17 So Isaac departed from there and camped in the Wadi Gerar and settled there. 18 Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham, and he gave them the names that his father had given them.(Z) 19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, 20 the herders of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herders, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the well Esek,[g] because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also, so he called it Sitnah.[h] 22 He moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it, so he called it Rehoboth,[i] saying, “Now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”(AA)

23 From there he went up to Beer-sheba. 24 And that very night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you and make your offspring numerous for my servant Abraham’s sake.”(AB) 25 So he built an altar there, called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.(AC)

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.(AD) 27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?”(AE) 28 They said, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you, so we say, let there be an oath between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you(AF) 29 so that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.” 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths, and Isaac set them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.(AG) 32 That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water!” 33 He called it Shibah;[j] therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba[k] to this day.(AH)

Esau’s Hittite Wives

34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite,(AI) 35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.(AJ)

Footnotes

  1. 25.18 Heb he fell
  2. 25.18 Or down in opposition to
  3. 25.22 Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
  4. 25.26 That is, he takes by the heel or he supplants
  5. 25.30 That is, red
  6. 26.2 Heb him
  7. 26.20 That is, contention
  8. 26.21 That is, enmity
  9. 26.22 That is, broad places or room
  10. 26.33 In Heb Shibah resembles the word for oath
  11. 26.33 That is, well of the oath or well of seven
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Genesis 25-26
New International Version

The Death of Abraham(A)

25 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran,(B) Jokshan, Medan, Midian,(C) Ishbak and Shuah.(D) 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba(E) and Dedan;(F) the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah,(G) Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.(H) 6 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)

7 Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.(L) 8 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) 9 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.

Isaac and Abimelek(BS)

26 Now there was a famine in the land(BT)—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines(BU) in Gerar.(BV) 2 The Lord appeared(BW) to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;(BX) live in the land where I tell you to live.(BY) 3 Stay in this land for a while,(BZ) and I will be with you(CA) and will bless you.(CB) For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands(CC) and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.(CD) 4 I will make your descendants(CE) as numerous as the stars in the sky(CF) and will give them all these lands,(CG) and through your offspring[g] all nations on earth will be blessed,[h](CH) 5 because Abraham obeyed me(CI) and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees(CJ) and my instructions.(CK)” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.(CL)

7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,(CM)” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines(CN) looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?(CO)”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”

10 Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us?(CP) One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

11 So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms(CQ) this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”(CR)

12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold,(CS) because the Lord blessed him.(CT) 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.(CU) 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants(CV) that the Philistines envied him.(CW) 15 So all the wells(CX) that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up,(CY) filling them with earth.

16 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us;(CZ) you have become too powerful for us.(DA)”

17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar,(DB) where he settled. 18 Isaac reopened the wells(DC) that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.

19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled(DD) with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!”(DE) So he named the well Esek,[i] because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled(DF) over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.[j] 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[k](DG) saying, “Now the Lord has given us room(DH) and we will flourish(DI) in the land.”

23 From there he went up to Beersheba.(DJ) 24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham.(DK) Do not be afraid,(DL) for I am with you;(DM) I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants(DN) for the sake of my servant Abraham.”(DO)

25 Isaac built an altar(DP) there and called on the name of the Lord.(DQ) There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.(DR)

26 Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.(DS) 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?(DT)”

28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you;(DU) so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty(DV) with you 29 that you will do us no harm,(DW) just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”(DX)

30 Isaac then made a feast(DY) for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath(DZ) to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.

32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well(EA) they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” 33 He called it Shibah,[l] and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.[m](EB)

Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing

34 When Esau was forty years old,(EC) he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.(ED) 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.(EE)

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.
  7. Genesis 26:4 Or seed
  8. Genesis 26:4 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
  9. Genesis 26:20 Esek means dispute.
  10. Genesis 26:21 Sitnah means opposition.
  11. Genesis 26:22 Rehoboth means room.
  12. Genesis 26:33 Shibah can mean oath or seven.
  13. Genesis 26:33 Beersheba can mean well of the oath and well of seven.
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