The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 25
Chapter XXV · Vol. I, pp. 253–254
1 The sons of Abraham by Keturah. 5 The division of his goods. 7 His age, death, and burial. 12 The generations of Ishmael. 17 His age, and death. 21 Isaac prayeth for Rebekah, being barren. 22 The children strive in her womb. 24 The birth of Esau and Jacob. 27 Their difference. 29 Esau selleth his birthright.
1 Then aagain Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
B.C. 1853.
a ch. 23.1. 1 Ch. 1.32, 33.
3 And Jokshan begat Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were dAsshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
4 And the sons of Midian; eEphah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
e Is. 60.6. See Introduction.
5 And Abraham fgave all that he had7 unto Isaac.
f Typical of God's giving all fulness to Christ, Col. 1.19. Jn. 3.35; 17.2. Mat. 11.27; 28.18. Ps. 68.18.
7 That is, all that he had at his death he bequeathed to Isaac; his other sons he had previously sent, with sufficient means, to the countries eastward of Canaan. A wise provision to guard against jealousy of the minor branches against the greater, as well as against that spirit of indolent neglect apt to be generated by dependence. What an advantage also to the countries of their adoption, if Abraham's sons carried with them their father's activity, industry, and piety.—C.
6 But unto the sons of the gconcubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts,8 and sent them away from Isaac his son (while he yet lived) eastward unto the east country.9
g Hagar and Keturah, ch. 16.3; ver. 1.
8 Emblem of what God gives to reprobates.
9 It would appear that these children of Abraham settled in Arabia, and became the progenitors of tribes, most of which gradually amalgamated with the Joktanites. Of them all the Midianites alone attained to historic importance. They settled on the eastern borders of Moab and Edom, and pastured their flocks as far south as the peninsula of Sinai. Among them Moses took refuge when he fled from Egypt. And Jethro, his father-in-law, was priest of Midian. A section of the Midianites subsequently became Israel's worst enemies, and for this a terrible revenge was taken, Nu. xxxi.—P.
7 And these are the days of the years1 of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.
1 1821.
8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died hin a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him ini the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;
i ch. 29.16,17,19; 49.29,30,50.13.
10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God kblessed his son Isaac: and Isaac dwelt by lthe well Lahai-roi.
A.M. 2183. B.C. 1821.
k ch. 12.2?; 14.19; 22.17.
l ch. 16.14; 24.62.
12 Now these are mthe generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham.
m ch. 16.10-12; 17.20; 21.13. 1 Ch. 1.29-31. See Introduction.
13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The first-born of Ishmael, nNabajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
15 Hadar,p and qTema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
p Or, Hadad, 1 Ch. 1.30.
q Job 6.19. 1 Ch. 5.19.
16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; rtwelve princes according to their nations.
r ch. 17.20.
17 And these are the years2 of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died, and was sgathered unto his people.3
2 1723.
s ch. 15.15; ver. 8.
3 The junction of Ishmael with Isaac in the burial of Abraham, shows that they must have lived not very far from each other, and in a considerable degree of intimacy. Hence we conclude, with every reasonable probability, that Abraham and Isaac must have exercised considerable influence over the religious opinions and character of Ishmael. This idea is further strengthened by the fact that when Esau perceived that Isaac was displeased with his Hittite wives, ch. 28.8, he went to Ishmael and married one of his daughters, with the expectation of her being more acceptable; what, from his knowledge of her father, he could not reasonably have expected upon any ground but the religious character of Ishmael's family. Accordingly, we interpret the phrase—was gathered to his people—to intimate Ishmael's dying in faith and entering into rest.—C.
18 And they4 dwelt from tHavilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died5 in the presence of all his brethren.
19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac.
20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac xentreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And6 the children struggled together within her: and she said, If it be so,7 why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD.
6 1837.
7 The Hebrew original—If—why I thus? is evidently very elliptical; and the words in italics supplied by the translators do not seem to bring out the full meaning. Is not this their import? If, I be a mother in answer to prayer (see ver. 21), why am I thus? And knowing that God alone could answer the question, she went to inquire of the Lord.—Query, Have believers now no way of inquiring and ascertaining wherefore God contends with them? Job 10.12. They have two: First, God's word, which is a lamp, a light, and an oracle, Ps. 119.105; 28.2. Secondly, self-examination and self-judgment; for it is written—'if we judge ourselves, we shall not be judged,' 1 Co. 11.1.—C.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and ythe elder shall serve the younger.
y Ro. 9.12. Mal. 1.2,5.
24 And when her days7 to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
A.M. 2183. B.C. 1821.
7 1836.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.8
8 Perfectly made. [Completed, hairy.—C.]
26 And after that came his brother out, and hisz hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:9 and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.1
27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
28 And Isaac loved Esau, because ahe did eat of his venison; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
a Heb. venison was in his mouth, ch. 27.4.
29 And Jacob sod pottage:2 and Esau came from the field, and he was faint.
2 It is truly wonderful to observe, upon what apparently unimportant and trifling circumstances the greatest events depend. Jacob prepares a mess of pottage, Esau returns hungry, their characters are exhibited, and their own future lives, and the conditions of their descendants, are decided. Jacob commercially buys, and Esau profanely sells, the patriarchal birthright. Esau, as a man of the field, is justly condemned because he does not more manfully endure a little hunger; while his contempt of the civil and religious privileges of his birth indicates a man who, lightly valuing his own rights, is not likely to respect the rights of others. Nor is Jacob, though he seeks a right object, to be praised or imitated in seeking it by wrong means.—C.
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage;3 for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.4
3 Heb. with that red, i.e. with that red pottage.
4 Edom, 'The Red.'—P.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die;5 and what profit shall this birthright do to me?6
5 Heb. going to die.
6 1805.
Notes
Ver. 1-4, 6. The natural vigour wherewith God had endowed Abraham, for the procreation of Isaac, continued with him for the further enlargement of his family. These children of Keturah, and their posterity, peopled a considerable part of Arabia to the south and the east of the Promised Land, under the name of Midianites, Shuhites, Sabeans, and Ashurites.
Ver. 5. Isaac was his only heir by his complete wife, and his only child by promise, ch. 24. 39; 21. 12; and is herein a type of Jesus Christ and his seed, who are heirs of all things by promise, He. 1. 2; Jn. 3. 34; Re. 2. 10; Gal. 3. 29; Ro. 8. 17.
Ver. 13. [Nabajoth was the progenitor of the Nabathæans, who, about four centuries before the Christian era, drove the Edomites out of Petra, and constructed most of those rock tombs and temples whose splendours astonish the modern traveller.—The black tents of Kedar are mentioned in Canticles; and the people are often mentioned by the sacred writers, Is. 42. 11; Je. 49. 32; Eze. 27. 21. P.]
Ver. 15. [Jetur settled at the eastern base of Mount Hermon, and gave his name to a province, which exists to this day. The Greeks called it Ituræa, Lu. 3. 1, and the Arabs now call it Jedur. The other sons of Ishmael were founders of Arab tribes. P.]
Ver. 18. They dwelt all along the south of the Moabites, eastern Midianites, Edomites, and Israelites, almost from the river Euphrates on the east to the border of Egypt on the west.—[He died—rather, it (that is, his dwelling-place) fell to him, according to divine appointment and prediction, in the presence of all his brethren. C.——Compare with the prophetic words of the Angel of the Lord in ch. 16. 12. The prophecy was fulfilled in Ishmael's personal history, as well as in that of his descendants. P.]
Ver. 20. ['The cultivated plain of Aram.' This was the name of that district of Mesopotamia in which Haran was situated. It ought to be noted that the word 'Syrian' here and elsewhere is Aramæan in Hebrew. P.]
Ver. 21-23. For almost twenty years Isaac continued praying for children. Their struggling in their mother's womb presaged that they and their posterity would live at variance one with another, and exceedingly differ in their religion, laws, manners, &c. The Edomites, descended from Esau, were at first the strongest people, ch. xxxvi.; but the Israelites, sprung from Jacob, under David (2 Sa. 8. 14), under Amaziah (2 Ch. 25. 11, 12), and under Hyrcanus, subdued them. Nay, Jacob's obtaining the birthright and blessing, ver. 29-34; 27. 29, 37, 40, rendered him and his posterity superior to Esau and his Edomite seed.
Ver. 25. That redness and hair marked the present strength of Esau's body, and the savage and cruel disposition of him and his posterity, ch. 27. 11, 40, 41; Ob. 10; Eze. 25. 12; 35. 3-5.
Ver. 26. Jacob took hold of his heel, as if he would have drawn him back, so that himself might be born first, or as if he would overthrow and suppress him, as he afterwards did, ver. 33; ch. xxvii. And rightly was he named Jacob, a heel-holder, or supplanter, on that account, ch. 27. 36.
Ver. 27. Esau was a wild, savage kind of man, spending most of his time in hunting, learning the art of war, and the like, ch. 10. 9; 16. 12. Jacob was a sincere, mild, plain-dealing man, keeping much at home, attending to his household affairs, and to his father's flocks and herds, ch. 6. 9; 46. 34.—[And the boys grew. The early development of different propensities in Esau and Jacob is very remarkable, and the visible causes of their respective characters may be traced to the dispositions and partialities of the parents. Isaac loves venison, and first to please his father, and then to gratify his own acquired habits, Esau becomes a cunning hunter. Rebekah loves domestic retirement, finds her comfort in the society of her infant Jacob, and forms his future character on the model of her own.—Note, These things are to be carefully observed: (1) How early, and insensibly, some part of the character of a father or mother may be propagated in their children. (2) The consequent importance of well considering all the habits in which a child is indulged or encouraged, as part, and often the most influential part, of its education. (3) The danger of parental partialities, from which, in this remarkable instance, many of the future troubles of Isaac and Rebekah, and Esau and Jacob, arose. C.]
Ver. 30. The name Edom, signifying red, at once marked his origin and colour, and his excessive lust after the red pottage, and his selling his birthright to obtain them.
Ver. 31-34. This birthright entailed upon the possessor a double portion of the paternal inheritance, De. 21. 16, 17; a claim to his father's principal blessing, and to the promise of Canaan, and a peculiar relation to God therein.——[Ver. 34. Altogether this is a most painful narrative. One does not know whether most to condemn the folly and recklessness of Esau, bartering his birthright for a mess of pottage; or the unbrotherly spirit and grasping selfishness of Jacob, refusing to a fainting brother a mouthful of food until he had given him all he possessed. P.]
Reflections.—Before I part with Abraham, this celebrated patriarch, let me, in him, contemplate Jesus the everlasting Father. How astonishing his meekness—his kindness to men—his intimacy with, fear of, obedience to, and trust in his God! He is the chosen favourite of Jehovah—the father and covenant-head of innumerable millions of saved men. To him all the promises relative to the evangelical and eternal state of his church were originally made. All obedient at his Father's call, he left his native abodes of bliss, and became 'a stranger and sojourner on earth,' not having where to lay his head. At his Father's call, he offered himself an acceptable sacrifice to God; by his all-prevalent intercession, and supernatural influence, he offers men salvation from sin and from the hand of their enemies; and, after long patience, he wins untold disciples in the Jewish and gospel church. In his visible family are many professors, children of the bond-woman, the covenant of works; who, in the issue, are like Ishmael, or the modern Jews, whose unbelief brings them to misery and woe; others are children of the free-woman, the covenant of grace, and are, like Isaac, begotten to God because of their faith in Christ. Now let me observe, how invigorating is a strong faith in God's promise; for God delights to add abundant blessings to such as, by courageous believing, give him the glory of his power and faithfulness. Often the best of men have little remarkable fellowship with God in old age, but must live even to the end by faith, and not by sight; while wicked families are loaded with temporal mercies for the sake of their pious progenitors. Promised events are often ushered in by the most discouraging appearances; and mercies must be long prayed and waited for ere they be granted. It is good when husbands and wives unite their supplications; for to spread our griefs before a throne of grace is the greatest and surest relief. How often much trouble and vexation attend what is too eagerly desired! But how tender is God, in fixing the temporal, and even eternal, states of persons according to their faith! And how early are children known by their doings! yet in their education great care is to be taken in consulting their tempers and dispositions. Parents frequently expose themselves to future troubles by their partial regard to children. But why should we set our hearts on them, or any other worldly comfort, when we must so quickly leave them by death? At that time it should be the concern of parents so to dispose of their effects, that there may be no disputes after they are gone; and such deserve to have most assigned them as are likely to make the best use of it. How often the wisest worldlings act the most foolish part, while 'the Lord preserveth the simple!' How marvellously God overruleth even the sins of men, to the accomplishment of his purpose or promise, and the advancement of his glory! How dreadful, when men, even those who have had a religious education, gratify their sensual appetites at the expense of the temporal and eternal ruin of themselves and their seed; and when God permits them to be afterwards hardened in their sin, and standing monuments of that affecting truth, that numbers of the descendants of God's children are sometimes left out of his church, and unacquainted with their parents' blessings!