18. Abraham's death 25:1-11

Before Abraham died, he made sure that God's covenantal blessing would be Isaac's by sending his other sons away. After he died, God confirmed his decision by blessing Isaac.

"In the short span of one chapter, the writer shows how Isaac's entire life was a repetition of that which happened to Abraham. Thus the lesson is that God's faithfulness in the past can be counted on in the present and the future. What he has done for the fathers, he will also do for the sons."⁶¹⁵

 Abraham's sons by Keturah 25:1-6 

Keturah may have been a concubine like Hagar (v. 6; 1 Chron. 1:32). It is not possible to prove that Abraham married Keturah and that she bore him six sons after Sarah's death, though this was probably the case. He may have married her earlier in his life while Sarah was alive.

The information revealed in these verses may appear at this point in the narrative simply to introduce the Midianites who come into prominence later in Genesis. They were a group of tribes that inhabited the deserts surrounding Israel. Probably Moses also included this data because this passage confirms God's faithfulness in giving Abraham many descendants, though Isaac and his branch of the family would be the recipients of God's special blessings.

In this section and the following two (vv. 7-11 and 12-19) those characters who play minor parts in the drama take their curtain calls making way for the chief actors who follow.

God's promise that "through Isaac your descendants shall be named"(21:12) led Abraham to act as he did as Moses recorded here.

"The land of the East"(v. 6) to which Abraham sent his sons other than Isaac was evidently Arabia. It lay to the east and south of Canaan.

"In this case the sending away of the sons is to make Isaac's position more secure."⁶¹⁶

 Abraham's death and Isaac's blessing 25:7-11

Isaac would have been 75 years old and Jacob 15 when Abraham died (v. 7; cf. 21:5; 25:26).⁶¹⁷

"It is one thing to live a long life. It is another thing to live a long life that is also a happy life. This obituary notice about Abraham draws attention to the fact that Abraham died not only at an elderly age but in a frame of mind filled with inner shalomand satisfaction. That is the thrust of the phrase full of daysor contented.'"⁶¹⁸

The phrase "gathered to his people"(v. 8) implies reunion in Sheol, the place of departed spirits, with friends who had died previously. It presupposes continued personal existence after physical death (cf. 15:15; Heb. 11:13).

Abraham was buried in the Cave of Machpelah near Mamre, the old site that later became a part of Hebron (v. 9).

God's dealings now focus on Isaac who presently lived near Hagar's well at Beer-lahai-roi (v. 11; cf. 16:14; 24:62).⁶¹⁹

God's servants should do all in their power to insure the continuation of God's program to bless from one generation to the next.