Genesis chapter 25

After reading chapter 25:

*Abraham marries again when he is over 137 years old. In spite of his advanced age, he fathers 6 sons by his new wife. He had more sons by concubines. While he was alive, he gave his concubine's sons gifts and sent them to live in the East, away from Isaac.

* Abraham dies at 175 years of age. Isaac and Ishmael bury him with Sarah. Isaac inherits everything. The year is about 1880 B. C. E., according to Biblical chronology. Shem, the son of Noah would still be alive until 1846 B.C.E.

*We are given the names of the twelve sons/tribes of Ishmael. Ishmael died at the age of 137, which would have been about 1833 B.C.E. His descendents settle in land to the east, which some people believe was the Arabian peninsula. There is no concrete evidence supporting this.

*Isaac had married Rebekah at the age of 40. She didn't have children until Isaac prayed for them. (Barrenness, and praying for a child who is granted by God, who then becomes something special, is another theme we see throughout scripture. ) Rebekah found she was going to have twins, and they were wrestling inside her. Yahweh told her that her boys would be the fathers of two nations and the older would serve the Younger Brother. The first boy was red and hairy, they named him Esau. The second boy was born holding on to his brother's foot, they named him Jacob. Thier names are puns associated with their birth. In fact, so many bible names are so punny, it makes you wonder if they were made up to fit the story.

*Esau became a hunter and daddy's boy. Jacob was quiet and stayed at home with mom, who loved him best. One day, Esau came home from a hunt famished and saw Jacob cooking stew. Esau begged for some stew and Jacob said he would give Esau stew in return for the right to inherit the firstborn's portion of their father's estate. Esau agreed, which was awfully stupid. Here, we see an etiological story that plays right into the theme of the book of Genesis. Later descendants of Esau will encounter descendants of Jacob and the reader will look back and say, look there is the reason life is the way it is today. The storyteller knows all this in advance, of course.

*Esau swore to give his birthright to Jacob. Jacob gave him stew. According to the text, Esau despised His birthright. Clearly, Jacob despised Esau. A person who thought he was a descendant of Jacob wrote this story.