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Genesis

About this book

Abraham's Other Descendants and Death

Chapter 25

1 Abraham had taken another wife, named Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. 5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. 7 Abraham lived a total of 175 years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life.⁠ He joined his ancestors. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hittite. 10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

Ishmael's Descendants

12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 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 settlements and their camps—twelve princes according to their clans. 17 Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 18 His descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next to Egypt all the way to Asshur. They settled away from all their relatives.

The Birth of Jacob and Esau

19 This is the account of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 But the children struggled inside her,⁠ and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she asked the Lord, 23 and the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from within you. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”⁠ 24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, there were twins in her womb.⁠ 25 The first came out reddish all over, like a hairy garment, so they named him Esau.⁠ 26 When his brother came out with his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

Esau Sells His Birthright

27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents.⁠ 28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished.⁠ 30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed me some of the red stuff—yes, this red stuff—because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) 31 But Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” 33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” So Esau swore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. So Esau despised his birthright.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 25:27 and Jubilees 19:14 and Genesis Rabbah 63:11

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions · Rabbinic

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Summary

Genesis 25 says Jacob lived in “tents,” and both Jubilees and Genesis Rabbah use the plural to heighten the contrast with Esau. They turn Jacob’s tents into a sign of devotion to study, showing him as focused on learning when Esau was not.

Passages

Genesis 25:27

Hebrew Bible
25 The first came out reddish all over, like a hairy garment, so they named him Esau. 26 When his brother came out with his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Jubilees 19:14

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
13 And in the sixth week, in the second year of it [2046], Rebekah bore to Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau, and Jacob was a smooth and upright man, and Esau was fierce, a man of the field, and hairy, and Jacob lived in tents. 14 And the youths grew, and Jacob learned to write; but Esau did not learn, for he was a man of the field and a hunter, and he learned war, and all his deeds were fierce. 15 And Abraham loved Jacob, but Isaac loved Esau.
170–125 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jubilees

Genesis Rabbah 63:11

Rabbinic · Aggadah
hunted in the field. In the house, [he said]: ‘How does one prepare salt?’ In the field, [he said:] ‘How does one prepare straw?’ Rabbi Ḥiyya said: He abandoned himself like a field. Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, is it not enough that you subjugated us to seventy nations, but even to this one, that engages in relations like a woman?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to them: ‘I, too, will exact retribution against him with that expression.’ That is what is written: “The heart of the valiant of Edom will be on that day like the heart of a woman in anguish” (Jeremiah 49:22). “Jacob was a simple man, a dweller in tents” – two tents; the study hall of Shem, and the study hall of Ever. “Isaac loved Esau because of the game in his mouth, and Rebecca loved Jacob” (Genesis 25:28). “Isaac loved Esau because of the game in his mouth” – good meat for his mouth and a good cup for his mouth. “And Rebecca loved Jacob” – the more she would hear his voice, the more she would add love onto her love for him.
500 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis Rabbah

References

"... Esau is not only “a man of the field” but also a “hunter” (Jubilees 19:14; compare Genesis 25:27) and one who “learned (the art of) warfare” (Jubilees 19:14). The mention that he was “harsh” is repeated (Jubilees 19:14), and in contrast to Jacob it is said that Esau did not learn the art of writing (Jubilees 19:14). Jacob “learned (the art of) writing” (Jubilees 19:14), which might be an elaboration of the remark that “Jacob dwelt in tents” (Jubilees 19:13d; Genesis 25:27d) ... Compare Genesis Rabbah 63:11: “Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents: in two tents, namely in the academy of Shem and the academy of Eber.” Targum Onqelos Genesis 25:27: “Jakob was a man peaceful in his works, a minister in the house of instruction.” ..."
Jacques T. A. G. M. van Ruiten, Abraham in the Book of Jubilees: The Rewriting of Genesis 11:26–25:10 in the Book of Jubilees 11:14–23:8, JSJSup 161 (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 242.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 25:27 and Jubilees 19:14 and Genesis Rabbah 63:11

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