Genesis 25

₁Abraham married again. His new wife's name was Keturah. ₂They had 6 sons. Their names were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah.

₃Jokshan had sons, whose names were Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the people of Ashur, Letush and Leum.

₄The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah.

₅Isaac inherited everything that Abraham had. ₆But before Abraham died, he gave gifts to the sons of Hagar and Keturah and he sent them away to live in the east, away from his son Isaac.

₇Abraham lived for 175 years. ₈He was an old man when he died. He lived a full life and he died like his fathers before him. ₉His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the Machpelah Cave near Mamre in the field that had belonged to the Hittite Ephron, son of Zohar. ₁₀They buried Abraham there with his wife Sarah.

₁₁After Abraham died, God blessed Isaac, and Isaac lived near Beer-Lahai-Roi.

₁₂This is the story of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar, the Egyptian woman who was a slave of Sarah. ₁₃Here are the names of the sons of Ishmael, from the oldest to the youngest. They were Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ₁₄Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ₁₅Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. ₁₆Each son of Ishmael was a leader of a tribe and the places where they lived had the same names as the leaders.

₁₇Ishmael lived for 137 years, then he died like his fathers before him. ₁₈His descendants went to live in the land between Havilah and Shur, on the road to Ashur, near Egypt. They were enemies of their family.

₁₉Here is the story of Isaac, the son of Abraham.

₂₀Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. She was the daughter of Bethuel. Rebekah was the sister of Laban, from the Aramean people. ₂₁Isaac and his wife could not have children. Then Isaac prayed to the Lord and asked Him to bless his wife, Rebekah. The Lord listened to Isaac's prayer and Rebekah became pregnant.

₂₂She felt 2 babies pushing against each other inside her womb and she asked the Lord: ‘What is happening to me?’

₂₃The Lord said to her:

₂₄When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, she had 2 sons. ₂₅The first baby had a lot of red hair all over his body, so they named him Esau.

₂₆When his brother was born, he was holding onto Esau's heel, so they named him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when his 2 sons were born.

₂₇Jacob and Esau grew older. Esau loved to go out into the field, and he was a good hunter. But Jacob was a quiet man. He was a shepherd who lived in a tent.

₂₈Isaac loved Esau more because he liked to eat the meat of wild animals. But Rebekah loved Jacob more.

₂₉One day, Jacob was cooking soup when Esau came home from the field. He was hungry. ₃₀Esau said to Jacob: ‘I am very hungry. If I do not get food, I will die. Please give me some of your red soup.’

This is how Esau got the name of Edom.

₃₁Jacob said: ‘I will give you the soup if you give me your birthright.’

₃₂Esau answered: ‘I am going to die if I don't get food and my birthright will not help me. You can have it.’

₃₃Jacob said to him: ‘You must first promise that you will give your birthright to me. Promise and say that God is our Witness.’

Esau promised and he gave his birthright to Jacob. ₃₄Jacob then gave Esau some bread and the soup. When Esau had finished eating and drinking, he got up and went away. Esau showed that his birthright was not important to him.