And Abraham took another wife named Keturah.
Genesis ends Abraham's story with a wedding, not a funeral. Sarah is dead and Isaac has his bride; now the old man marries again, and readers ask when this happened and why Scripture records it.
Older English versions open the verse with "Then," which sounds like the next step in a sequence. One writer checks the verb and the timing:
"Then" is hardly a note of time; or rather, there is no "then." It reads, "And Abraham added to take a wife." Abraham lived 35 years after Isaac's marriage. How long Sarah had been dead by then is not stated, though chapter 24:67 would suggest not very long. The word "added" stands for "again" or "another."
An old Jewish tradition claimed Keturah was Hagar under another name. One writer rejects that, pointing to the words Scripture itself uses:
The Jewish tradition that identifies Keturah with Hagar has no proof behind it. Verse 6 also sets it aside, since it speaks of "the sons of the concubines whom Abraham had." Hagar was one, and Keturah the other. I do not think this implies that she held that place during any part of Sarah's life. It states her lower position. Scripture directly calls Keturah Abraham's "concubine" in 1 Chronicles 1:32, while it calls Hagar his "wife" in Genesis 16:3.
Commentators differ on when the marriage took place, since Scripture gives no date. One writer weighs both possibilities:
Scripture mentions Abraham's marriage to Keturah only after Sarah's death, but it may have happened long before. Polygamy was common everywhere at that time. Yet the circumstances around Hagar and Ishmael make us lean this way: Sarah was his only wife during her lifetime, and Abraham took Keturah after her death. God renewed his strength to fulfil the promise of Isaac's birth, and He kept that strength going. It was as easy for God to continue it as to give it at all.
The power that gave Abraham a son in old age did not stop with Isaac:
So the marriage of Abraham with Keturah points to the future blessing of the nations in resurrection power. Abraham's faith had reached to resurrection, to life from the dead. Everything that follows carries the stamp of resurrection, starting with his receiving Isaac back from the image of death... The man whose body was dead has many sons.
Abraham's later sons arrive only after the heir has his bride. One writer sees a picture of the future in them:
This family by Keturah is, we may surely judge, a distinct mystery... In these children of the second wife we get, in figure, the millennial nations. They are the nations that will fill the earth in the days of the kingdom — branches of the great family of God in that day, and children of Abraham. They may lie far off, at the ends of the earth. But they shall have their allotments, and be owned as part of the one extended family of that day... Abraham's children will be all the world over.
Abraham had children by three women, and each line carries its own meaning:
Abraham's three families show the range of God's blessing. Ishmael, the son of the slave woman, stands for the people of God tied to the Jerusalem on earth. Isaac, the son of the free woman, stands for those tied to the Jerusalem above. The sons of Keturah stand for the saved nations outside Israel, blessed through the millennial reign of Christ.
A second family changes nothing about who inherits. The chapter draws a sharp line between what the other sons receive and what belongs to Isaac alone:
Still it is written that "Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac." The risen son is the heir of all things. If we are Christ's, then we are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. But to the sons of the concubines Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away. They receive gifts, not the inheritance of the promises; and they are sent away, instead of remaining in the house forever, as the son does.
- Word. The verb says Abraham "added" a wife. Scripture gives no date, so commentators differ over when he married her.
- Woman. Keturah is not Hagar. Scripture calls her a concubine in 1 Chronicles 1:32, a word that marks her position as lower than Sarah's.
- Power. The man whose body was dead has many sons. The strength that brought Isaac did not run out.
- Picture. Abraham's three families show how far God's blessing reaches. Keturah's sons stand for the nations of a coming day — far off, yet owned as part of one family.
- Portion. Abraham sent the other sons away with gifts. Isaac got everything — and those who are Christ's are heirs according to promise.
And she bore him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
After Sarah dies and Isaac marries, Abraham takes another wife, and this verse names six more sons. Two questions follow: how could a man whose body was as good as dead father a second family, and why record these names at all?
One writer reads this second family as a work of resurrection:
So Abraham's marriage to Keturah points to the future blessing of the nations in resurrection power. Abraham's faith had reached to resurrection, to life from the dead. Everything that follows carries the stamp of resurrection, starting with his receiving Isaac back from what was as good as death... The man whose body was dead has many sons.
Readers have long asked how a man that old could father six more sons. One answer is that God did not take back the strength He had given:
Scripture mentions Abraham's marriage to Keturah only after Sarah's death, but it may have taken place long before... Yet the circumstances around Hagar and Ishmael lead us to think otherwise. We lean to the view that Sarah was his only wife while she lived, and that Abraham took Keturah after her death. God renewed Abraham's strength so that His promise could be fulfilled in Isaac's birth, and that strength continued. It was as easy for God to continue it as to give it in the first place.
On Keturah herself, one writer corrects a common assumption:
Whatever tradition may say to the contrary, Keturah was not a slave woman like Hagar. She was not the mother of the promised seed either. She was the mother of six sons born to Abraham, the father of the faithful.
These are not private family details. Midian, the fourth name here, grew into a people Israel met again and again:
Midian was a descendant of Abraham. By birth, then, he was related to Israel, as were many of these peoples. But from an early day they had shown themselves the enemies of God's people. It was they who with the Ishmaelites carried Joseph down into Egypt and sold him into bondage there. Later God freed the nation from that bondage. As Israel drew near their inheritance, it was the Midianites, along with Moab, who first tried to bring God's curse on them through Balaam.
Yet the same family carries a brighter meaning. One writer sees in these sons a picture of the nations in the coming kingdom:
In these children of the second wife we see, in picture, the millennial nations. They are the nations who will fill the earth in the days of the kingdom. They are branches of the great family of God in that day, and children of Abraham. They may lie far off, even at the ends of the earth. Yet they will each have their portion, and will be counted as part of the one extended millennial family... Abraham's children will be all the world over.
The names themselves turn up again in prophecy:
Isaiah 60:6 names Midian, Ephah and Sheba. There the prophet speaks of Gentile nations converted in the coming millennial age.
Why keep these names at all? One writer reads Abraham's three households as a map of God's blessing:
Abraham's three families show the range of God's blessing. Ishmael, the son of the slave woman, stands for the people of God linked with the Jerusalem on earth. Isaac, the son of the free woman, stands for those linked with the Jerusalem above. The sons of Keturah stand for the saved nations of the Gentiles, blessed through the millennial reign of Christ.
Abraham is generous and exclusive at once. He gives gifts to many sons, but everything to one:
Abraham was indifferent to none of them. Neither is the God of Abraham, who will remember them in the coming age of earth's joy and gladness. But Isaac has a place altogether distinctive. To the rest Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, to whom he "gave all that he had."
- Death first. Abraham's body was as good as dead. The six sons of this verse came after that, so his later family bears the stamp of resurrection.
- Strength continued. God did not withdraw the power He gave for Isaac's birth. It was as easy for Him to keep giving it as to give it once.
- Names spread wide. Midian and his brothers became real peoples, kin to Israel by nature yet often its bitter enemies.
- Reach to the ends. Midian, Ephah and Sheba turn up again in prophecy as nations brought into blessing. Abraham's children are all the world over.
- One heir still. Gifts went to many sons. The inheritance went to Isaac alone, and a wider blessing never blurs that line.
And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan; and the sons of Dedan were the Asshurim, and the Letushim, and the Leummim.
Genesis 25:3 belongs to a short family list that follows Abraham's marriage to Keturah. It names grandsons and great-grandsons who never appear again in Genesis, which raises a fair question: why record them at all?
Sheba and Dedan are not unique names in Scripture. Several different men carry them. One writer counts the men named Sheba and shows which one belongs to this verse:
Sheba needs the greater care because in the inspired history we hear of no less than three heads of tribes who bore the name: the tenth of Joktan's sons now in question, preceded by Sheba the son of Raamah, who descended from Cush (Genesis 10:7), and followed by Jokshan, Abraham's son by Keturah, who fathered another Sheba (Gen. 25:2-3).
Dedan needs the same care. Two different Dedans appear in one chapter of Ezekiel, and the goods they trade tell them apart:
In the same way the men of Dedan in Ezekiel 27:15 appear to be descendants of Cush living on the Persian Gulf, where the island of Dadan preserves the name. Their imports and exports match that. But verse 20 names a different Dedan, who appears to descend from Shem through Keturah.
Abraham did not keep this branch of the family near him. He sent them east, into desert country:
We read that Abraham sent the sons of Keturah and of his concubines "eastward to the east country" (Gen. 25:6). There were also the descendants of Ishmael and those of Esau. Many of these became "princes," and there can be no doubt that their descendants still hold the land.
Sheba, Dedan and Dedan's three sons — Asshurim, Letushim and Leummim — received something from Abraham, but not everything. One writer draws the line sharply, and without coldness:
To none was Abraham indifferent, nor the God of Abraham who will remember them in the coming era of earth's joy and blessedness. But Isaac has a place altogether distinctive. To the rest Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, to whom he "gave all that he had."
Keturah's sons had sons of their own. One writer sees in that growing family the final stage of a lesson Abraham began learning when God promised him Isaac:
Abraham's faith had reached to resurrection — life from the dead. Everything that follows has a resurrection stamp on it, starting with his receiving Isaac back from the image of death. The power of it, the first lesson, was taught when the promise was given that Sarah should have a son... fully learned when he was ready to offer up Isaac, and abundantly proved in his children by Keturah. The man whose body was dead has many sons.
One writer reads this spreading family as a picture of something later:
In these children of the second wife we get, as a picture, the millennial nations. They are the nations that will fill the earth in the days of the kingdom, branches of the great family of God in that day, and children of Abraham. They may lie far off, at the ends of the earth. But they will have their allotments, and be owned as part of the one extended family. "Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people," will be said to them... Abraham's children will be all the world over.
That reading rests on the prophets. Names from this family list appear again there:
The names Midian, Ephah and Sheba appear in Isaiah 60:6, where the prophet speaks of Gentile nations converted in the coming millennial age.
Commentators differ on how far each prophetic mention traces back to Keturah's line, and how far to the other men named Sheba and Dedan.
- Branch — Jokshan's sons are the second generation from Keturah. Abraham's family widens into tribes, not just one chosen son.
- Distance — Abraham sent this branch "eastward to the east country." One writer notes that their descendants still hold that land.
- Gift — Isaac received all that Abraham had; Sheba, Dedan and the rest received gifts. Neither is nothing, but only one is the inheritance.
- Proof — a man whose body was dead ends up with grandsons. One writer sees resurrection power still at work.
- Reach — Sheba appears again in Isaiah 60:6. Commentators see here a picture of far-off nations counted among Abraham's children.
And the sons of Midian were Ephah, and Epher, and Enoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah.
Genesis 25:4 ends a short family list: five grandsons of Abraham through Midian, all counted as Keturah's children. Every one of them is Abraham's own flesh and blood, yet not one of them inherits the promise.
Who was Keturah? One writer marks what her place was, and what it was not:
Whatever tradition may say, Keturah was not a slave woman like Hagar. She was not the mother of the promised seed either. She was the mother of six sons born to Abraham, the father of the faithful.
These are not private family details. The names in the verse grew into tribes that Scripture meets again much later:
Son of Midian, being the son of Abraham and Keturah, and referred to by Isaiah as the head of a tribe. Genesis 25:4; 1 Chronicles 1:33; Isaiah 60:6.
Right after this list, Abraham divides what he owns. One writer marks the difference between what Isaac received and what the other sons received:
Still it is written that "Abraham gave all he had to Isaac." The risen son is the heir of all things. And if we are of Christ, then we are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise. But to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away. They receive gifts, not the inheritance of the promises. They are sent away, instead of staying in the house for ever, as the son does.
What then of the sons who were sent away? One writer answers by looking to the future:
In these children of the second wife we get, as a picture, the millennial nations. They are the nations who will fill the earth in the days of the kingdom. They are branches of the great family of God in that day, and children of Abraham. They may lie far off, at the ends of the earth. But they will have their own portions, and they will be owned as part of the one extended millennial family. "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people," will be said to them. […] Abraham's children will be all the world over.
Another writer sets Keturah's sons beside the rest of Abraham's household:
These three are Isaac and his bride, Ishmael, and Keturah's sons. Together they seem enough to show the different blessing of the family of faith — in the Church, in Israel, and in the millennial nations.
Two names from this verse appear again in a prophecy about Zion: Midian, and his first son Ephah. One writer describes that coming day:
It will be a day when all burdens will be taken away and the earth will yield its increase. No doubt man's heart will be opened, and "a multitude of camels shall cover Zion, the young camels of Midian and Ephah. All those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and incense, and they shall publish the praises of Jehovah."
The ESV reads: "they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD."
The real history of Midian runs the other way. One writer holds both sides together, and finds the name itself telling:
Midian was a son of Abraham by Keturah. As we have seen in Genesis 25, he and Abraham's other children are the witness and pledge of how the nations of the earth will find blessing at last in Abraham. […] The history of both Ishmael and Midian, however, speaks of something very different from God's grace. Man's history everywhere speaks the same way. […] Midian in this way stands for the world, as its history has shown it to be. The name matches this: it means "strife".
That strife shows up early. Another writer traces it:
Midian was a descendant of Abraham, and in that way related by nature to Israel, as many of these peoples were. But from an early day they had shown themselves the enemies of God's people. It was they who, with the Ishmaelites, carried Joseph down into Egypt and sold him into slavery there. Later the nation was freed from that slavery and was nearing its inheritance. Then the Midianites joined with Moab and were the first to try to get God's curse on Israel, through the prophet Balaam. That failed, so they defiled Israel instead. Israel shared in the unholy rites of Baal Peor, and God's hand of affliction came on them because of it.
- Kinship — Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah are Abraham's grandsons through Midian. Their line goes back to Keturah, who was no slave woman like Hagar, and no mother of the promised seed.
- Gifts — these sons received gifts and were sent away. Isaac alone received everything, so blood ties never equalled the inheritance of promise.
- Reach — as a picture, these distant sons stand for the nations of the coming kingdom. Abraham's children will be all the world over.
- Strife — in real history this same family became the enemy of God's people. Midian helped sell Joseph, then tried to curse Israel through Balaam, and the name itself means "strife".
- Return — yet Midian and Ephah appear again in prophecy, bringing gold and incense to Zion. The branch that was sent away comes back praising.
And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.
One line settles the future of Abraham's household. Everything he owns goes to one son. The other children receive gifts and leave. Commentators read this as more than a will. It is a picture of sonship, inheritance, and the place Christ holds.
The verse splits Abraham's family into two groups. The difference is not between something and nothing. It is between a gift and an inheritance.
Scripture still says, "Abraham gave all he had to Isaac." The risen son is the heir of all things. And if we belong to Christ, we are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. But to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away. They receive gifts, not the inheritance of the promises. They are sent away, instead of staying in the house forever, as the son does.
Every one of Abraham's children could call him father. Only one held the position of son.
Child tells of the birth-tie between the parent and the child, and nothing is closer than that. Son speaks of the position enjoyed before others: "not a servant, but a son" (Gal. 4:7)... Abraham had several children by his wife Keturah, as well as Isaac by Sarah. All of them could call him father; all were his children; but Isaac alone had the privilege and position of his son. He gave all he had to Isaac (Gen. 25:5), and everyone knew Isaac as his son. The inheritance was his, and his alone (Gen. 24:36). To be Abraham's offspring was one thing; to be his son was quite another.
The pattern does not stop with Isaac. Jesus speaks of what the Father has given Him in the same terms.
Abraham had given all things to Isaac as the only heir. His other children received presents only, and he sent them to the east country (24:36 and 25:5-6). So all the treasures belonged to Isaac. It is the same with Christ. He could say, "All that the Father has is mine" (John 16:15), and, "The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand" (John 3:35).
What Christ inherits reaches far beyond one household's property.
First, He is "Heir of all things." Everything we can imagine is His by right and by gift. His earthly people Israel; all the nations joined with His people in blessing in the millennium; the Church, which is the Bride, the Lamb's wife. Everything is His as Heir and Lord of all. God has put all into His hands, as Abraham gave all his possessions to his son Isaac.
Sarah once demanded in anger that her son alone be heir. Abraham's will ended up matching her words.
Until we enter into God's thoughts in giving us the Scriptures, how impossible it is to find a profound spiritual truth here. It looked like nothing more than the passionate speech of an angry woman: "the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac." And so it happened in history. "Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac." Isaac was heir according to God's original promise (Gen. 15:4). Others might have gifts, and do well; but nothing would satisfy Sarah except the heirship for her son. It is the same now. Men are content with an outward knowledge of Christ and the many gifts they get by it. But they stand entirely apart from the true heirs of God.
The sons sent away are not written off. Their place in other lands has its own meaning.
In that day of glory, the King of Israel will be the God of the whole earth... If Israel is honoured by Him, all the nations will be blessed in Him. He is the light for the nations, as He is the glory of His people Israel. Keturah's children, settled in other lands, speak of this mystery. They will be second to Israel, true; but they will still be chosen and loved.
Abraham kept his other sons away from the inheritance. Christ does the opposite.
This is a beautiful picture of the Father and Son. Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. He sent his other sons away eastward so that they would not inherit along with him (Gen. 25:5-6). It is in contrast to this that the grace and love of Christ shine out. He brings others in to share all He owns, as His loved brothers and co-heirs.
- Gifts — the other sons got presents and a send-off; only one son got the estate. Kindness is not the same as inheritance.
- Sonship — all Abraham's children shared his blood. Only sonship carried the position and the property.
- The Son — the pattern points to Christ: the Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand, so that He is Heir of all things.
- Reach — the sons sent east are not forgotten. The nations share in blessing, though it comes through the chosen line.
- Better — Abraham kept the others away from Isaac's inheritance. Christ does the reverse. He brings His own in as co-heirs, to share everything He owns.
And to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and, while he yet lived, sent them away from Isaac his son, eastward to the east country.
At the end of his life Abraham settles everything himself, while he is still alive. Isaac keeps all. The other sons receive gifts and go east. Why give generously to sons you are also sending away?
One writer shows that the wording here rules out an old idea: that Keturah was really Hagar.
The Jewish tradition that Keturah was Hagar has no proof, and verse 6 sets it aside. It speaks of "the sons of his concubines." Hagar was one, and Keturah was the other. I do not think this means she held that place at any time during Sarah's life. It marks her lower position. 1 Chronicles 1:32 calls Keturah Abraham's "concubine," while Genesis 16:3 calls Hagar his "wife."
All of these boys were Abraham's offspring. That is not the same as holding the place of the son:
A word here on the meaning of these terms. Child speaks of the birth link between a parent and the child, and nothing is closer than that. Son speaks of the position held in front of others. Abraham had several children by his wife Keturah, as well as Isaac by Sarah. All of them could call him father; all were his children; but Isaac alone had the privilege and position of his son. He gave all he had to Isaac (Gen. 25:5), and everyone knew Isaac as his son. The inheritance was his, and his alone (Gen. 24:36). To be Abraham's offspring was one thing; to be his son was quite another.
The verse separates two kinds of receiving: gifts that are given, and a place in the house that never ends:
Still it is written that "Abraham gave all he had to Isaac." The risen son is the heir of all things; and if we are of Christ, then we are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise. But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away. They receive gifts, not the inheritance of the promises. They do not stay in the house forever, as the son does; Abraham sends them away.
Another writer brings the contrast up to today:
Isaac was "heir" according to God's original promise (Gen. 15:4). Others might have gifts and do well, but nothing would satisfy Sarah except the place of heir for her son. It is the same now. People are content with an outside knowledge of Christ and the many gifts they get from it, yet they stand completely apart from the true heirs of God.
Isaac's whole portion points to someone greater:
So Isaac stands before us as a picture of the declared heir of all things (Heb. 1:2). This title, of course, belongs only in its full sense to Jesus the Son of God. As the Creator of all, it is fitting that He should inherit all (Heb. 1). Through redemption, having paid the price for it (Heb. 2), He will take all in the day of displayed glory, as the exalted Son of Man.
Being sent east does not mean abandonment. Writers see in these scattered families a picture of far-off nations blessed in the coming age of God's kingdom on earth:
In these children of the second wife we get a picture of the millennial nations. They are the nations that will fill the earth in the days of the kingdom, branches of the great family of God in that day, and children of Abraham. They may lie far off, at the ends of the earth. But they will have their portions, and God will own them as part of the one extended millennial family. "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people," shall be said to them.
One writer points to where some of these names appear again:
Though God's prime interests are centred in His Son and the bride His Son receives, He does not forget His kindness toward Gentile nations... The names Midian, Ephah and Sheba appear in Isaiah 60:6, where the prophet speaks of Gentile nations converted in the coming millennial age.
Christ does the opposite:
In the beautiful picture of the Father and Son, we read that Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. He sent his other sons away eastward, so that they should not inherit along with him (Gen. 25:5-6). Against this, the grace and love of Christ shine out. He brings others in to share all He has, as His loved brothers and co-heirs.
- Place — Keturah is called a concubine. This verse itself shows she was not Hagar, and the word marks her lower standing.
- Gift — the other sons receive real gifts. But gifts are not the inheritance of the promises.
- Son — all of them could call Abraham father. Only Isaac held the position of son, so only he received everything.
- Distance — sent east, they are still provided for. They picture far-off nations counted as Abraham's children.
- Contrast — Christ reverses the pattern. He does not send others away; He brings them in to share all He has as co-heirs.