Genesis 25:6

6 But before Abraham died, he did give gifts to the sons of his other wives, then sent them to the East to be away from Isaac.

Genesis 25:6 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 25:6

But unto the sons of the concubines which Abraham had
These were Hagar and Keturah, though they are both called his wives, ( Genesis 16:3 ) ( 25:1 ) ; yet they were concubines; so Keturah, ( 1 Chronicles 1:32 ) ; they were, as some render the word, "concubine wives" ^F5; 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, ( Judges 6:3 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 (Myvglyph) "concubinarum uxorum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Genesis 25:6 In-Context

4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.

6 But before Abraham died, he did give gifts to the sons of his other wives, then sent them to the East to be away from Isaac.

7 Abraham lived to be one hundred seventy-five years old.

8 He breathed his last breath and died at an old age, after a long and satisfying life.