Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Genesis
Chapter 25: Abraham's Death and Two Brothers
Genesis 25 closes the life of Abraham and opens the story of his grandsons. Abraham dies "in a good old age, full of years," and his sons Isaac and Ishmael bury him beside Sarah at Machpelah. God keeps His word to Ishmael, making him twelve princes, and then the promise narrows again to Isaac. Rebekah, like Sarah before her, is barren until Isaac prays, and then she carries twins who struggle even in the womb. God tells her, "the elder shall serve the younger." Esau is born first, then Jacob, and the chapter ends with Esau trading his birthright for a single bowl of stew. It is a chapter about a finished life of faith, God's sovereign choice, and the eternal worth of what we are tempted to sell cheap.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Genesis chapter 25. For each section you will find the KJV text, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus where the text touches faith, God's purpose, and the value of His promises. Chapter 25 records the death of Abraham, the line of Ishmael, and the birth of Jacob and Esau, with Esau's sale of his birthright. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
A Life of Faith Completed
Abraham dies at a hundred and seventy-five, "full of years," and is buried by both his sons. The father of the faithful finishes his course and is gathered to his people.
Ishmael's Twelve Princes
God had promised to make Ishmael a nation, and He does. The list of twelve princes shows that God keeps even the promises made on the edges of the main story.
The Elder Shall Serve the Younger
Before the twins are born or have done anything, God announces His purpose: the line of promise will run through Jacob, the younger, not Esau, the elder.
A Birthright Sold Cheap
Esau trades his birthright for a bowl of stew, valuing a moment's hunger over an eternal inheritance. The New Testament calls him a warning to us all.
Gathered to His People (Genesis 25:1-11)
Abraham gives all he has to Isaac, dies full of years, and is buried beside Sarah, and God's blessing passes to his son.
Died in a Good Old Age
"Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi. Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham: And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:"
Hebrew Study
"Keturah," Qeturah (קְטוּרָה). The wife Abraham took after Sarah's death (called a concubine in 1 Chronicles 1:32); her name comes from the root qatar, "to burn incense," and so means "incense" or "fragrance."
"gave up the ghost," vayyigva (וַיִּגְוַע). Hebrew has more than one word for dying. The everyday word is muth; this rarer word, gava, pictures a last breath quietly going out. Scripture uses it again for Abraham's own son and grandsons at the end of their long lives -- Ishmael (v. 17), Isaac (35:29), Jacob (49:33) -- marking each as a life finishing in peace, not a life cut short.
"in a good old age," beseivah tovah (בְּשֵׂיבָה טוֹבָה). The Hebrew word for "old age" here, seivah, literally means "gray hair" -- the phrase pictures a man who lived long enough to go white-headed, honored elsewhere as "a crown of glory" (Proverbs 16:31). And this exact promise was made to Abraham decades earlier: "thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age" (Genesis 15:15). This verse is not decoration; it is that old promise coming true, word for word.
"gathered to his people," vayyeʾasef el-ammav (וַיֵּאָסֶף אֶל־עַמָּיו). More than a poetic way of saying "buried" -- see the Gospel Focus below for why.
Abraham gives "all that he had unto Isaac," the son of promise, then dies "in a good old age" and is "gathered to his people," a peaceful end for the father of the faithful.
Explanation
After Sarah's death Abraham married Keturah and had more sons (verses 1-4), but he kept the inheritance clear: "Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac," and sent the other sons away with gifts (verses 5-6). The son of promise receives the promise. Then Abraham dies at a hundred and seventy-five, "in a good old age... and full of years." This is the death of a man at peace, a long life of faith completed. Isaac and Ishmael, the two sons once divided, come together to bury their father in the cave he had bought at Machpelah, beside Sarah. And the story moves on: "God blessed his son Isaac." The blessing did not die with Abraham; it passed to the next generation, as God had promised.
Gospel Focus
"Full of years" and "gathered to his people" are gentle words for a believer's death -- and that second phrase is worth weighing, for it is more than a poetic way of saying "he was buried." Scripture keeps the two acts separate: Abraham "was gathered to his people" (v. 8), and then, as a distinct thing, "his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him" (v. 9). The gathering comes at the moment of death, before the burial. Nor can "his people" mean joining his kin in one grave, for Abraham's fathers were buried far away in Haran, not in the cave of Machpelah. The same idiom is even spoken of Moses, whom God buried alone on a mountain with no kinsman's tomb near (Deuteronomy 32:50). So the phrase points past the body to the person: at death Abraham was gathered to the company of those who had gone before -- a quiet witness, this early in the Bible, that the grave is not the end and a man outlives his own funeral. What that gathering is for the faithful, the Lord Jesus later made plain: God "is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matthew 22:32), for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob live to Him still; and the believing poor man was carried into "Abraham's bosom" (Luke 16:22). Abraham "died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off" (Hebrews 11:13). He never owned the land except a grave, never saw the nations blessed, yet he died content, because he trusted the God who promised. That is how faith finishes: not always seeing the promise fulfilled, but sure of the One who gave it. And notice the mercy in the burial. Isaac and Ishmael, sons of very different mothers and a painful parting, stand together at their father's grave. Death has a way of drawing family back together, and grace can heal what years divided.
The Generations of Ishmael (Genesis 25:12-18)
Before the story narrows to Isaac, Scripture pauses to record that God kept His word to Ishmael, making him a great nation of twelve princes.
Twelve Princes According to Their Nations
"These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations. And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people. And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren. And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac: And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian."
Hebrew Study
"twelve princes," shenem-asar nesiʾim (שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂר נְשִׂיאִם). This is not a vague blessing coming true in a general way -- it is an exact number, promised by name decades earlier: "twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation" (Genesis 17:20). Here is the count, kept to the letter.
"gave up the ghost," vayyigva (וַיִּגְוַע). The same solemn word used of Abraham's own death a few verses above (v. 8) -- Ishmael, son of the bondwoman, is given the same dignified language of a peaceful ending as his father.
"the generations of Isaac," toledot Yitzchaq (תּוֹלְדֹת יִצְחָק). Toledot ("generations," or "family history") is the hinge-word that structures the whole book of Genesis, marking each time the story turns to follow a new family line -- the same word introduces Noah's account (6:9) and will introduce Jacob's (37:2). Its appearance here is a signpost: Ishmael's story is now finished, and Genesis is formally turning the page to follow Isaac, the son of the covenant.
Ishmael's line is recorded as "twelve princes according to their nations," the promise to him kept, before the story turns back to the covenant line of Isaac.
Gospel Focus
God had told Hagar in the wilderness that Ishmael would become a great nation, and He had promised Abraham twelve princes from him (17:20). Here, quietly, it comes to pass: twelve sons, twelve princes, spread across their towns and territories. The covenant line does not run through Ishmael, but God does not forget him. He keeps the promises He makes on the edges of the story as faithfully as the ones at its center. This is a comfort. God's main purpose in the world runs through Christ, but no one who touches His promises is overlooked. The God who saw and heard the outcast boy in the wilderness kept His word to him to the end.
Explanation
Scripture pauses to record the line of Ishmael, "twelve princes according to their nations," showing that God kept His promise to make Ishmael a nation as well; then, with the words "these are the generations of Isaac," it turns to the line that carries the covenant. Ishmael's death is briefly noted, and Scripture leaves him there; the spotlight returns to the son of promise. Even the way the story is told teaches the mystery of election: God is genuinely kind to Ishmael, giving him princes and greatness, but His covenant purpose runs through Isaac, not by human deserving but by God's free choice.
The Birth of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:19-26)
Rebekah is barren until Isaac prays, and the twins who struggle in her womb are told apart by God before they draw a breath.
The Elder Shall Serve the Younger
"And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. 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 the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom."
Hebrew Study
"intreated the LORD," vayyeʿtar (וַיֶּעְתַּר). The same root is used twice in one verse -- Isaac "intreated," and the LORD "was intreated of him" -- a deliberate echo in the Hebrew that the English can only show by repeating "intreated." It marks persistent, wrestling prayer, not a passing request, and the doubled verb underlines that this exact prayer was met with this exact answer.
"struggled together," vayyitrotzatzu (וַיִּתְרֹצֲצוּ). This verb comes from a root, ratsats, that means to crush or smash -- the same word used of a millstone crushing a skull (Judges 9:53) and of the powerful "which oppress the poor, which crush the needy" (Amos 4:1). It is far more violent than the English "struggled" suggests. Rebekah is not feeling ordinary kicking; she feels a crushing contention, which is exactly why she is alarmed enough to go and "enquire of the LORD" -- and exactly why His answer speaks of two nations in open conflict, not two brothers at play.
"the elder shall serve the younger," rav yaʿavod tzaʿir (רַב יַעֲבֹד צָעִיר). Stated as flatly as any promise in Genesis, overturning the ancient right of the firstborn before either child has done anything, good or bad (see Romans 9:11-12). God's choice of Jacob rests on grace, not birth-order.
"Jacob," Yaʿaqov (יַעֲקֹב). From ʿaqev, "heel," because "his hand took hold on Esau's heel" -- a name that would follow him as both nickname and rebuke, "heel-catcher," one who grasps by the heel or supplants (see 27:36).
Explanation
Like Sarah before her, Rebekah cannot have children. For twenty years she is barren, until Isaac "intreated the LORD for his wife," and God answers. The line of promise keeps coming this way, not by human strength but by God opening the womb, so that everyone knows the children are His gift. Rebekah's pregnancy is troubled: the twins "struggled together within her," and, unable to understand it, she goes "to enquire of the LORD." God's answer explains the wrestling: two nations, two peoples, are in her womb, and against all the custom of the ancient world, "the elder shall serve the younger." The line will run through Jacob, the second-born, by God's own choice.
Gospel Focus
Paul takes hold of these very verses to teach God's freedom to choose. The twins were "not yet born, neither having done any good or evil," yet God had already said, "The elder shall serve the younger" (Romans 9:11-12). God's choice of Jacob to carry the promise did not depend on anything Jacob had done; it rested on God's own purpose. This is humbling and comforting at once: our place in God's plan begins in His grace, not our merit. And it should be read the way Malachi read it: "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Romans 9:13) is covenant language for choosing one line over another, not petty spite. Esau was not shut out against his will; as the next verses show, he threw his birthright away. God's sovereign choice and man's real responsibility stand side by side, and both are true.
Esau Sells His Birthright (Genesis 25:27-34)
Faint from the field, Esau trades his birthright for a single meal, showing how little he valued the holy inheritance he was born to.
Thus Esau Despised His Birthright
"And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright."
Hebrew Study
"birthright," bekhorah (בְּכֹרָה). Built directly from bekhor, "firstborn" -- the word for the privilege is simply the word for the status turned into a noun, "firstborn-ness." It was never a thing Esau earned; it was his by the plain fact of being born first, which is exactly what makes trading it away so reckless.
"I am at the point to die," hinneh anokhi holekh lamut (הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ לָמוּת). Literally, "behold, I am walking toward death" -- the dramatic, exaggerated speech of a hungry man, not a dying one. Esau lived on for decades afterward; this is the overstatement of an appetite that cannot see past the next meal.
"pottage of lentiles," nezid adashim (נְזִיד עֲדָשִׁים). Lentils were the plainest, cheapest food a household could make -- peasant food. Esau did not sell the covenant blessing for a feast; he sold it for the least expensive dish in his brother's kitchen.
"despised," vayyivez (וַיִּבֶז). From bazah, "to despise, to treat as worthless, to hold in contempt." Scripture sums up Esau's whole heart in this one word: "Esau despised his birthright," selling the eternal cheaply for a moment's appetite.
Explanation
The twins grow into very different men. Esau is "a cunning hunter, a man of the field"; Jacob is "a plain man, dwelling in tents." Isaac favors Esau for his venison, and Rebekah favors Jacob, a divided house that will bring grief later. One day Esau comes home from hunting "faint," and smells Jacob's stew. Jacob, seizing the moment, offers food for the birthright, and Esau agrees: "what profit shall this birthright do to me?" The birthright meant a double portion of the inheritance and the leadership of the family, and for Isaac's heir it carried the covenant promise itself. Esau swears it away for one meal, then "did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way." Scripture's verdict is blunt: "thus Esau despised his birthright." He did not value what God valued.
Gospel Focus
Jacob's grasping is not held up as an example; his methods will cost him dearly, and God will spend years reshaping him. But the chapter's warning falls squarely on Esau. Hebrews names him a warning to every believer: "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright" (Hebrews 12:16). A "profane person" is someone who treats holy things as common, who trades the eternal for the immediate. Esau was not evil in some dramatic way; he was simply a man who wanted his appetite satisfied now and could not be bothered with a promise he could not eat. And the loss was real: "afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears" (Hebrews 12:17). The question the chapter presses on us is sharp: what eternal birthright are we tempted to sell for a moment's craving? What God calls holy, we must never treat as cheap.
Chapter 25 in Review
Genesis 25 both ends and begins. Abraham dies full of years and is buried by Isaac and Ishmael at Machpelah, his life of faith complete, and God's blessing passes to Isaac. God keeps His word to Ishmael, who becomes twelve princes, and then the story narrows to the promised line. Rebekah is barren until Isaac prays, and God gives her struggling twins with a word about their future: "the elder shall serve the younger." Esau is born first, then Jacob, and the chapter ends with Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of stew, despising the inheritance he was born to hold.
For the Apostolic reader, this chapter holds together two truths that are easy to pull apart. God chooses. He set the promise on Jacob before the twins were born or had done anything, and that choice rested on His grace alone. Yet man is responsible. Esau was not robbed of his birthright; he threw it away, valuing a meal over a promise, and he is held up ever after as a warning against treating holy things as common. The God who finished Abraham's life in peace and kept His word to Ishmael is the same God who calls us to prize what He has given us in Christ. The birthright of the believer, a share in God's own promise, is not for sale at any price -- there is no meal, no pressure, and no moment's craving worth trading it for.
- Abraham died "full of years," a life of faith completed, and was gathered to his people (25:8; Hebrews 11:13).
- God keeps even His secondary promises: Ishmael became twelve princes as He had said (25:16; 17:20).
- The line of promise came by prayer and God's gift, not human strength; Isaac entreated the LORD (25:21).
- God chose Jacob before the twins were born, by grace, not works (25:23; Romans 9:11-13).
- Esau despised his birthright, trading the eternal for a meal; a warning against treating holy things as cheap (25:34; Hebrews 12:16-17).
Questions for Reflection
- Abraham died content though he never saw the promise fulfilled. Can you trust God for things you may not see in your lifetime?
- Isaac prayed twenty years for a barren wife. Where do you need to keep entreating the LORD and not give up?
- Esau sold an eternal birthright for a moment's appetite. What holy thing are you tempted to trade for something immediate?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The names and customs are standard and can be checked in any Bible reference. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The death and burial of Abraham: Genesis 25:1-11; 15:15.
- God's promise to make Ishmael a nation, kept: Genesis 25:12-18; 17:20; 21:18.
- God's choice of Jacob before birth: Genesis 25:23; Romans 9:10-13; Malachi 1:2-3.
- Esau's despised birthright as a warning: Genesis 25:29-34; Hebrews 12:16-17.