Genesis 25:6

Gen 25:6 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.

Ver. 6. Abraham gave gifts.] So doth God to reprobates; but they are giftless gifts, better be without them. {a} Saepe Deus dat iratus quod negat propitius. God gives wealth to the wicked, non aliter ac siquis crumenam auto plenam latrinae inieciat. {b} The Turkish empire, saith Luther, as great as it is, is but a crust cast to the dogs by the rich householder, {c} or as Joseph’s cup, &c.

Eastward, to the east country.] To both the Arabias, which were countries rough but rich; looked rudely, but, searched regularly, afforded great store of fine gold, precious stones, and pleasant odours.

{a} Eχθρων αδωπα δωπα και οικ ονησιμα - Soph.

{b} Gasp. Ens.

{c} Panis mica quam dives pater familias proiecit canibus.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 25:6. Abraham gave gifts — Or portions. Abraham may be an example to us in almost every circumstance of life: we find him, with great prudence: making, in his lifetime, proper provision for his sons by his secondary wives, Hagar and Keturah, and sending them away from Isaac; whereby, in all probability, he prevented great animosities and dissensions.

How happy would it be if all parents, in the time of health, would take care to settle, by will, the division of their goods among their children! What confusion! what quarrels! what discord! what never to be reconciled animosity among brethren, might this prevent! These sons of the concubines, as they are here called, were sent into the country that lay east of Canaan, and their posterity were termed the children of the east, famous for their number. Their great increase was the fruit of the promise made to Abraham, that God would multiply his seed.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To avoid the dissention that else might have come because of the heritage.

For by the virtue of God’s word he had not only Isaac, but begat many more.

Read Gen. 22:24.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 6. Unto the sons of the concubines] Viz., Hagar and Keturah, Abraham gave gifts. Cattle for breed, seed to sow the land, and implements for husbandry, may be what is here intended.

And sent them away - while he yet lived] Lest after his death they should dispute a settlement in the Land of Promise with Isaac; therefore he very prudently sent them to procure settlements during his lifetime, that they might be under no temptation to dispute the settlement with Isaac in Canaan. From this circumstance arose that law which has prevailed in almost all countries, of giving the estates to the eldest son by a lawful wife; for though concubines, or wives of the second rank, were perfectly legitimate in those ancient times, yet their children did not inherit, except in case of the failure of legal issue, and with the consent of the lawful wife; and it is very properly observed by Calmet, that it was in consequence of the consent of Leah and Rachel that the children of their slaves by Jacob had a common and equal lot with the rest. By a law of Solon all natural children were excluded from the paternal inheritance, but their fathers were permitted to give them any sum not beyond a thousand drachma by way of present.

Eastward, unto the east country.] Arabia Deserta, which was eastward of Beer-sheba, where Abraham lived.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. But unto the sons of the concubines. Moses relates, that when Abraham was about to die, he formed the design of removing all cause of strife among his sons after his death, by constituting Isaac his sole heir, and dismissing the rest with suitable gifts. This dismissal was, indeed, apparently harsh and cruel; but it was agreeable to the appointment and decree of God, in order that the entire possession of the land might remain for the posterity of Isaac. For it was not lawful for Abraham to divide, at his own pleasure, that inheritance which had been granted entire to Isaac. Wherefore, no course was left to him but to provide for the rest of his sons in the manner here described. If any person should now select one of his sons as his heir, to the exclusion of the others, he would do them an injury; and, by applying the torch of injustice, in disinheriting a part of his children, he would light up the flame of pernicious strifes in his family. Wherefore, we must note the special reason by which Abraham was not only induced, but compelled, to deprive his sons of the inheritance, and to remove them to a distance; namely, lest by their intervention, the grant which had been divinely made to Isaac should, of necessity, be disturbed. We have elsewhere said that, among the Hebrews, she who is a partaker of the bed, but not of all the goods, is styled a concubine. The same distinction has been adopted into the customs, and sanctioned by the laws of all nations. So, we shall afterwards see, that Leah and Rachel were principal wives, but that Bilhah and Zilpah were in the second rank; so that their condition remained servile, although they were admitted to the conjugal bed. Since Abraham had made Hagar and Keturah his wives on this condition, it seems that he might lawfully bestow on their sons, only a small portion of his goods; to have transferred, however, from his only heir to them, equal portions of his property, would have been neither just nor right. It is probable that no subsequent strife or contention took place respecting the succession; but by sending the sons of the concubines far away, he provides against the danger of which I have spoken, lest they should occupy a part of the land which God had assigned to the posterity of Isaac alone.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(6) The east country.—By this is meant Arabia and Southern Mesopotamia, where, by their superior vigour and organisation, the descendants of Abraham were able to establish their supremacy over the natives. Burckhardt tells us that the Bedaween still follow Abraham’s practice. When their children are grown up, they give each of the younger sons his share of their goods (Luk_15:12), whereupon they move to a distance, and leave the eldest brother in quiet possession of the home.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. the concubines] i.e. Hagar and Keturah; although in Gen_16:3 Hagar is called Abraham’s wife, as also is Keturah in Gen_25:1 of this chapter.

sent them away] The present passage belongs to J, a different source of tradition from chap. 21 (E). It ignores the account of the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael related in that chapter, and of the dwelling of Ishmael in the wilderness of Paran (Gen_21:21).

unto the east country] i.e. the Syro-Arabian desert, on the east of Palestine. Gen_29:1; Jdg_6:3; Jdg_6:33; Jdg_7:12; Jdg_8:10; Isa_11:14; Jer_49:28; Eze_25:4; Eze_25:10 are passages in which “the children of the east” (b’nê ḳedem) are mentioned as the nomad occupants of this region.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But unto the sons of the concubines which Abraham had,.... These were Hagar and Keturah, though they are both called his wives, Gen 16:3; yet they were concubines; so Keturah, Ch1 1:32; they were, as some render the word, "concubine wives" (e); they were half wives or secondary ones: the Jewish writers say that they were espoused, but not by writing, as wives were; they were under the lawful wife, when there were any, and a kind of head servants in the family, and their children did not inherit; now the sons of the concubines of Abraham were Ishmael by Hagar, and the six above mentioned by Keturah: to these

Abraham gave gifts; money, gold and silver, of which he had plenty: the Targum of Jonathan calls them substance and movable goods; by this it appears, that though he had sent Ishmael away without anything, yet he afterwards remembered him, and gave him a portion with the rest of the children of his, concubines:

and sent them away from Isaac his son; that they might not be troublesome to him and his family; and that there, might be no contention among them about inheriting the land of Canaan given to him and his seed: and this Abraham did

while he yet lived; or otherwise after his death a separation would not have been easily made; but his authority had weight with them: and they were sent by him

eastward, into the east country; into Arabia, and the parts thereabout, which lay east from the place where Abraham was; these are the children of the east, mentioned along with the Midianites, who sprung from Keturah, Jdg 6:3.

(e) "concubinarum uxorum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Concubines. Agar and Cetura are here called concubines, (though they were lawful wives, and in other places are so called) because they were of an inferior degree: and such in Scripture are usually called concubines. (Challoner) --- The solemnities of marriage were omitted on these occasions, and the children were not entitled to a share in the inheritance. Jacob’s two wives consented that all his children, by their handmaids, should be placed on the same footing with their own. (Calmet) --- Abraham contented himself with making suitable presents to the children, whom he had by these secondary wives, reserving the bulk of his property to Isaac, chap. xxiv. 36. He also provided for their establishment himself, that there might be no contest after his departure.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The concubines, Hagar and Keturah. Concubines are sometimes called wives, as Gen 16:3; Jdg 19:1-3,29, but their children had no right to the inheritance. For though the children of Jacob’s concubines did equally partake of the inheritance with the other children, that was done by Divine appointment, and Jacob’s voluntary act, and upon special reason, because of the vast inheritance promised, and afterwards given to them, which made it no loss, but a great convenience and advantage to the children of the chief wives to have their half-brethren, the sons of the concubines, seated so near to them.

Sent them away from Isaac; partly, that the entire possession of that land might be reserved to the children of Isaac; and partly, lest nearness of relation joined with cohabitation or neighbourhood should beget a great familiarity between them, whereby Isaac’s seed were likely to be infected by their brethren, whose degeneration and apostacy Abraham might easily foresee from the evil inclinations of their own hearts, and God’s exclusion of them from that covenant of grace and life, which was the only effectual remedy against that powerful and universal corruption.

Eastward, unto the east country; into Arabia, and other parts of Asia the Greater, which were situate eastward from the southern part of Canaan where Abraham now was, whence these people are oft called the children of the east, as Jdg 6:3; 7:12; Job 1:3.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. The concubines — Hagar and Keturah.

Sent them away — Some have objected that Keturah’s sons, if born after Sarah’s death, were too young to be thus sent away. But Ishmael was only a lad of fifteen or seventeen years when sent away with his mother into the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

Gen_21:14. But the time of bestowing these gifts on the sons of his concubines, and sending them away, is uncertain. The different facts stated in Gen_25:5-6 may have occurred at very different dates.

From Isaac — Abraham would not have his son and heir troubled by claims or disputes after his death, so he was careful to see that all disposition of his possessions, and of the sons of his concubines, was made while he yet lived. A wise example to fathers who have large estates, and many possible claimants.

Unto the east country — And they became known thereafter as the Easterns, or Bene-Kedem, sons of the East. See Jdg_6:3; 1Ki_4:30; Job_1:3; Isa_11:14.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He gave gifts - Or portions to the rest of his children, both to Ishmael, though at first he was sent empty away, and to his sons by Keturah. It was justice to provide for them; parents that do not that, are worse than infidels. It was prudence to settle them in places distant from Isaac, that they might not pretend to divide the inheritance with him. He did this while he yet lived, lest it should not have been done, or not so well done afterwards. In many cases it is wisdom for men to make their own hands their executors, and what they find to do, to do it while they live. These sons of the concubines were sent into the country that lay east from Canaan, and their posterity were called the children of the east, famous for their numbers. Their great increase was the fruit of the promise made to Abraham, that God would multiply his seed.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

הפילגשים THE CONCUBINES — The word is written deficient, (without י, but our texts have a י in both places) because he had only one concubine, Hagar, who is identical with Keturah. Wives are those whom a man marries with a marriage-contract (Ketubah): concubines have no marriage contract, as we explain in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 21a) in reference to David’s wives and concubines.

נתן אברהם מתנות ABRAHAM GAVE GIFTS — Our Rabbis explained (Sanhedrin 91a) that he transmitted to them the names of impure things. Another explanation is: all that he had received as gifts because of Sarah — and other gifts that people had given him — all these he gave to them because he did not wish to derive any benefit from these.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

BUT UNTO THE SONS OF THE CONCUBINES, THAT ABRAHAM HAD. By way of the plain meaning of Scripture, since it was said to Abraham, For in Isaac shall seed be called to thee, and in no other seed, all his consorts were concubines to him, not as wives since their children would not be among his heirs. Thus, Hagar, Sarah’s handmaid, was his concubine. However, Keturah he took unto himself as a wife for if she whom he took as a concubine had been a handmaid in his house, Scripture would not have said, And Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. She is called “concubine” in Scripture — it is written in Chronicles, And the sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine — only for the reason that I have explained, [namely, that it had been said to Abraham, For in Isaac shall seed be called to thee]. Thus we note that Abraham took unto himself a wife from the daughters of Canaan! And should you say that she was an Egyptian or from the land of the Philistines, we may yet question why he did not send to his country and to his kindred as he did in the case of his son. But the answer is that he guarded only the seed of Isaac since it was concerning him that the Covenant was made. Furthermore, Scripture does not say, “And Abraham took a wife by the name of Keturah, the daughter of a certain Hivite or Philistine or Egyptian from a certain land,” as it says concerning Esau’s wives and similar cases. Rather, Scripture mentions only Keturah’s name because she was a Canaanite, and therefore it cut short her genealogy. Scripture does so in many places where it is not concerned with the genealogy.Perhaps Keturah was called “concubine” because she was a handmaid who was descended from a family of slaves. And if she was a handmaid in his [Abraham’s] household and he had connection with her, Scripture would not mention her genealogy since even among the matriarchs, such as Zilpah and Bilhah, it mentions only their names.Now Rashi wrote, “Wives are those whom a man marries with a marriage-contract; concubines have no marriage-contract, as it says in reference to the wives and concubines of David, in Tractate Sanhedrin.” But the matter is not so. A woman is called a concubine only when there is no betrothal, for a marriage-contract is only a Rabbinic ordinance. And the correct text in Tractate Sanhedrin is: “A concubine has no marriage-contract or betrothal.” However, it is possible that the sons of Noah, Note 222. too when they married wives, as is their law, by intercourse, were accustomed to write them a marriage-contract which granted dowry and gift. However, for one who wished to be a concubine to them, whom he could send away when he pleased and whose children would not be among his heirs, he would not write anything. But according to the opinion of our Rabbis that Keturah is Hagar, she was certainly a concubine [since it clearly says that Hagar was Sarah’s handmaid].

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Avraham gave gifts. He did not wish to rely on a will, so he distributed his property while he was alive.

Sforno on the Tanakh — English translation: “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ולבני הפילגשים he had no concubines from whom he had fathered children, but the concubines in his household were concubines of male servants in his household. Their children were, of course, members of Avraham’s household who had been of service to Avraham and who had adopted his lifestyle. He gave them gifts consisting of silver and gold and livestock according to his own evaluation of who deserved how much. He most certainly gave even more valuable gifts to Ishmael and to the sons of Keturah even though the Torah does not specifically mentions this. If he gave gifts to people towards whom he had no legal obligation at all, it is obvious that people towards whom he did have such an obligation would receive their due.

מעל יצחק בנו, in order that they should not interfere with him after his death and could not quarrel with him about the inheritance.

קדמה אל ארץ קדם, he sent them off in an easterly direction. According to another interpretation, the words refer to a specific country among the countries of the East. It could well refer to Charan or Ur Casdim or both, regions which were generally loosely known as ארץ קדם, [just as we speak about the regions of the Middle East, or the Far East in our time. Ed.]

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.