And the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years.
Isaac's life closes in one sentence: 180 years, longer than Abraham lived, with no story attached. That short notice raises two questions. Why so little about the quietest of the three fathers in Genesis? And why record his death here, when the events around it came much later?
Isaac never left Canaan. One writer weighs his long life by that: not by great deeds, but by a quiet life as a stranger in the land God promised him.
William KellyNotice how truly Isaac lived to the end of his long life. He confessed himself a stranger and sojourner on the earth. Isaac never even had to ask for a foot of the land of promise. Abraham did, when he needed a burial place for Sarah and those who followed. He too knew what famine in the land was, but under its pressure he did not go down into Egypt as his fathers had. Isaac stays in the land, peaceful and little seen. He is not marked out by victorious energy like Abraham. He is not an exile and wanderer like Jacob either.
Genesis records his death at the end of chapter 35, but the event falls much later in the story. One commentator works it out from the ages Genesis gives:
L. M. GrantMany years pass after this before Isaac died at the age of 180 years. Jacob and Esau were 120 years old at this time, since Isaac was 60 when they were born (Gen. 25:16). Ten years after Isaac's death Jacob stood before Pharaoh at age 130 (Gen. 47:9). But Joseph was sold into Egypt at age 17 and rose to rule over Egypt 13 years later at age 30 (Gen. 37:1; Gen. 41:46). Following this there were seven years of plenty in Egypt and some years of famine. So it seems that Isaac died at about the time Joseph rose to power in Egypt.
The words used at Isaac's death put him in a small company.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe phrase "gathered to his people" is used only of six persons: Abraham (25:8); Ishmael (Gen. 25:17); Isaac (35:29); Jacob (49:29-33); Aaron (Num. 20:24); and Moses (Deut. 32:50).
One writer takes that phrase to mean more than burial:
W. W. FeredayThe Old Testament often says that a person "slept with his fathers" and "was buried with his fathers." Both expressions refer to the body only, and they follow each other in natural order. The sleeping body was buried. The expression "gathered to his people" may have a larger meaning. It may point to the one who has died joining his forefathers in the unseen world.
They buried Isaac in the same cave where Abraham and Sarah already lay. One writer sees all three fathers held together there by one hope.
J. G. BellettIn this life of faith and hope, we see the fathers of the book of Genesis as one. It is a happy thing to know this. They illustrate different mysteries, and they teach us different moral lessons. But in this life of faith and hope they are one. Each in his own day — Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Gen. 25, Gen. 35, Gen. 49) — is alike gathered to his people. Each is "a handful of sacred dust" in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. Each lies there in sure and certain hope of a resurrection to life and to the inheritance.
A funeral brought Esau and Jacob together again.
William KellyEsau and Jacob came to bury their aged father. He was old and full of days, beyond even the good old age of Abraham. Isaac and Ishmael had buried their own father in the same way. Death speaks with a powerful, subduing voice to the heart of man, even where there is no faith. Believers should not keep their close relatives away from the grave. They should welcome them there. At a graveside many a self-seeking and proud soul has bowed under the solemn issues of salvation on one side and judgment on the other.
Another writer draws out the practical arrangements behind the scene:
L. M. GrantEsau and Jacob were both present for Isaac's funeral. Therefore Jacob must have sent word to Esau at the time, so that Esau could come. But at least it is good that the brothers met face to face again. The wisdom of God arranges matters of this kind.
- Stayed — Isaac lived all 180 years without once leaving Canaan, a stranger and sojourner in a land he held only by promise.
- Placed — Genesis records his death in chapter 35, but the numbers put it around the time Joseph rose to power in Egypt.
- Gathered — Scripture uses that phrase of only six men, and it may point beyond the body to the unseen world.
- Buried — he lies in the cave in the field of Ephron, beside Abraham and Sarah. All three fathers share one hope: resurrection and the inheritance.
- Joined — the grave brought Esau and Jacob together again, where death speaks with a subduing voice even to those without faith.
And Isaac expired and died, and was gathered to his peoples, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Genesis closes Isaac's story in one quiet sentence. He died old and full of days, and his two sons buried him. A stolen blessing had once driven those brothers apart. Commentators ask what "gathered to his people" means, and why Scripture tells so little about Isaac's last years. They also ask why his death appears here, when it happened much later.
Isaac lived longer than Abraham or Jacob. Yet Scripture says almost nothing about his old age.
William KellyIsaac's life took a long time to reach its close. His years went beyond Jacob's, and even beyond Abraham's. But the last forty years of it gave the Spirit of God no occasion to dwell on them.
That silence sets the tone for how much anyone should say about him. His life kept one shape: he stayed in the land, and he never owned it.
William KellyAs the Holy Spirit says little, it is not for a believer to say much. But we may notice how truly he lived to the end of his long life, calling himself a stranger and a temporary resident on the earth. Isaac did not even need a foot of the land of promise, as Abraham needed a burying place for Sarah and those who followed. He too knew what famine in the land was. But even under that pressure he did not go down into Egypt, as his fathers had.
This phrase is not the Bible's usual way of reporting a death. Scripture keeps it for a handful of names.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe phrase "gathered to his people" is used only of six persons. Of Abraham (25:8); Ishmael (25:17); Isaac (35:29); Jacob (49:29-33); Aaron (Num. 20:24); and Moses (Deut. 32:50).
One writer sets this wording apart from the Old Testament's other ways of speaking about death.
W. W. FeredayThe Old Testament often says that a person "slept with his fathers" and "was buried with his fathers." Both expressions refer to the body only, and they follow each other in natural order. The sleeping body was buried. The expression "gathered to his people" may carry a larger meaning. It may show that the one who died had joined his forefathers in the unseen world.
Esau had once planned to kill Jacob as soon as the mourning for their father ended. At the funeral that plan was gone.
William KellyEsau and Jacob came to bury their aged father, old and full of days beyond even Abraham's good old age. Isaac and Ishmael had done the same for their father before them. Death has a powerful and subduing voice for the heart of man, even where there is no faith... When Esau's rage turned to killing his brother Jacob, the days of mourning had not yet come. When they did come, God, who has power over all hearts, so worked that no such intention was left.
Esau lived far away in his own territory, which means someone had to arrange his coming.
L. M. GrantEsau and Jacob were both present for Isaac's funeral. Therefore Jacob must have sent word to Esau at the time, so that Esau could come... But at least it is good that the brothers met face to face again. The wisdom of God arranges matters of this kind.
Isaac's grave was the cave Abraham had bought as a burial place for Sarah. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all lie in that one plot, and that says something about what they expected.
J. G. BellettEach in his day — Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — is gathered to his people in the same way. Each is "a handful of sacred dust" in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. Each is laid up there in the sure and certain hope of a resurrection to life and to the inheritance.
The two brothers stood at one grave, but they were not looking the same way.
William KellyEsau still lived to himself and for the present enjoyment of the world and its things. Jacob saw the promises and welcomed them from a distance, like his father and his grandfather. Those who say such things show clearly that they do not yet possess, but are seeking a better homeland — a heavenly one.
The chapter ends with Isaac's burial, but the order of the telling is not the order of the calendar.
William KellyIsaac's death is named here, along with his great age, which went beyond Abraham's. But we must keep in mind that it did not happen until Joseph was sold into Egypt and had risen to the seat next to the throne, unseen and unknown to Israel. It is told here because the burial at Mamre brought the two sons together again in a sorrow that set aside their strife.
- Lived quietly. Isaac lived longer than Abraham or Jacob. Yet his last forty years get no comment. His life is marked by staying put, not by great deeds.
- Died a stranger. He never owned a foot of the land and never fled to Egypt in famine; he held the promise without the possession.
- Gathered, not buried. Scripture uses this phrase of only six people. It may point beyond the grave, to the one who died joining those who went before.
- Reconciled at the grave. Esau's old murderous anger was gone. God has power over hearts, and the two brothers stood together in one sorrow.
- Laid up in hope. The family cave was no ordinary tomb. Their dust lies there in the sure hope of resurrection and of the inheritance still to come.