Open English Translation GEN Chapter 25

25 Then Abraham married another woman named Keturah, 2 and she gave birth to Zimran, Yokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Yokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan, and the descendants of Dedan were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim. 4 Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of those were Keturah’s descendants.

5-7 5-7Abraham went on to live to be 175 years old. He gave valuable gifts to all the sons of his slave wives, then he forced them to move to the east to ensure that they would be removed from his son Yitshak. Then he left everything else he owned to Yitshak.

8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, elderly and satisfied, and he joined his ancestors in death. 9 His sons Yitshak and Ishmael buried him in Machpelah’s cave (in the field of Efron, Zohar the Hittite’s son, which faced Mamre)—10 the field that Abraham had bought from Het’s sons. So Abraham’s body was laid there alongside that of his wife Sarah.[ref] 11 After his death, God blessed his son Yitshak who lived near Be’er-Lahai-Roi.

12 Now these are the generations of Ishma’el the son of Abraham, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s female slave, had given birth to for Abraham. 13 These are the names of Ishma’el’s sons, by their names according to their births: Ishma’el’s firstborn was Nevayot, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedermah. 16 Those were Ishma’el’s sons, and those are their names by their settlements and by their camps—twelve rulers according to their tribes. 17 Ishma’el went on to live to be 137 years old, before breathing his last and dying and joining those who’d gone before. 18 His descendants settled from Havilah to Shur (which is near Egypt as you go toward Asshur). He fell in the face of all his brothers.[fn]

19 These are the generations of Abraham’s son Yitshak: Abraham fathered Yitshak 20 and Yitshak was forty years old when he married Rebekah. (She was the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, the sister of Lavan the Aramean.) 21 In due course, Yitshak prayed to Yahweh on his wife’s behalf because she was barren. Yahweh answered his prayer and his wife Rebekah got pregnant, 22 but the twins kept jostling each other within her womb, so she asked, “Why’s this happening to me?” She also asked Yahweh about it 23 and he responded,[ref]

“There’s two nations inside your womb—

two different peoples will come from within you.

One group will become stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

24 When the time came to give birth, she gave birth to twin boys. 25 The firstborn came out quite red and covered with hair like a fur coat, so they named him ‘Esaw’ (which means ‘hairy’). 26 Then his brother was born and his hand grabbed Esaw’s heel, so he was named ‘Yacob’ (which means ‘heel-grabber’). Yitshak was sixty years old when they were born.

27 As the boys grew up, Esaw got good at hunting, a man of the outdoors, but Yacob was a quiet man who stayed around the tents. 28 Yitshak liked the taste of game meat so he loved Esaw, but Rebekah loved Yacob.

29 One day, Yacob was cooking some stew when Esaw arrived home from being out, and he was very hungry 30 and asked Yacob, “Can I have some of that red stuff because I’m starving.” (Esaw’s nickname became ‘Edom’, meaning ‘red’, because of that.)

31 “Well, today,” Yacob answered, “sell me your future inheritance.”

32 “Listen, I’m dying of starvation,” said Esaw, “so what use would a future inheritance be to me?”

33 “Well now, make a vow to me,” insisted Yacob.[ref]

So Esaw promised him, effectively selling his future inheritance to Yacob, 34 and Yacob gave him some of the lentil stew and some bread. So Esaw ate and drank and left again, thus despising his own inheritance as firstborn son.