Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Genesis 25:1 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 1. 1Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Genesis introduces Keturah as another wife of Abraham before listing her descendants. The notice completes Abraham's wider family record here, but it does not securely date the marriage or identify Keturah as Hagar.
Read It With
- Genesis 25:1–11
Read verses 1–6 together and compare Genesis 16; 21; and 1 Chronicles 1:32. Verses 2–4 explain why Keturah is introduced, while verses 5–6 place these descendants within Abraham's inheritance arrangement. Reading verse 1 alone can turn narrative placement into false chronology or later tradition into textual fact.
Why This Verse Appears Here
After Isaac and Rebekah's household is established, the narrator returns to Abraham to account for another named wife and the descendants connected with her before Abraham's death.
Read Genesis 25:1–4 together
Why these verses belong together: Keturah's introduction, her six sons, selected descendant branches, and the closing family formula form one genealogy.
Verse 1. 1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
Verse 2. 2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
Verse 3. 3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
Verse 4. 4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
Follow the Context
- Keturah and the descendants associated with her broaden Abraham's named family beyond Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, and Ishmael (25:1–4).
- Abraham gives his estate to Isaac but gives gifts to sons of his concubines and sends them east during his lifetime (25:5–6).
- Abraham dies at 175, old and full, and is gathered to his people (25:7–8).
- Isaac and Ishmael bury Abraham with Sarah in the purchased field and cave of Machpelah (25:9–10).
- After Abraham's death, God blesses Isaac, who lives near Beer Lahai Roi (25:11).
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“Then again”
In plain language: The KJV introduces another Abraham family notice.
The genealogy is placed before Abraham's death to complete his descendants and succession.
Why it matters: Narrative order does not securely date the marriage after every event in Genesis 24.
How certain? very strong“took a wife”
In plain language: Genesis calls Keturah Abraham's wife.
She is a recognized part of Abraham's family and mother of six named sons.
Why it matters: The wording must remain alongside verse 6 and 1 Chronicles 1:32 rather than be simplified into one modern status label.
How certain? very strong“her name was Keturah”
In plain language: The woman is named personally.
Her named identity begins the list of descendants associated with her.
Why it matters: Later identification with Hagar is reception history, not the verse's statement.
How certain? very strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Verse 1 does not prove that Abraham married Keturah only after Sarah's death or after Isaac's marriage.
Genesis does not identify Keturah as Hagar.
Calling Keturah a wife does not erase verse 6's concubine language or 1 Chronicles 1:32.
The verse does not explain Keturah's ancestry, age, consent process, or full legal status.
The Keturah notice does not diminish Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, Ishmael, or the other named descendants' humanity.
What Remains True
Biblical family records may preserve both a person's real place in the family and unequal social status without explaining every chronological or legal detail.
How It Can Shape Life
- When Scripture gives incomplete family information, preserve every stated relationship and resist filling gaps with confident chronology, romantic reconstruction, or inherited tradition.
Teach It Back
Explain Genesis 25:1's contribution to Genesis 25:1–11. Include why the nearby verses are required, what the verse clearly says, and one conclusion it does not justify.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 25:1–11 — Abraham's Life ClosesSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? very strong
Where care is needed
Genesis does not provide enough information to date Abraham's marriage to Keturah or to reconstruct every feature of her household status.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, thought-unit boundary, Keturah, descendants, inheritance and gifts, ages, death, burial, Machpelah, Beer Lahai Roi, Isaac's blessing, and canonical status language.
Exact location: Genesis 25:1–11 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 16:13–14; 17:15–21; 21:1–21; 23:1–20; 24:62–67; 25:12–26; and 1 Chronicles 1:28–34
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Household-status terms, inheritance syntax, death formula, fullness, gathering language, blessing, and supplied-word checks.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 25:1–11; forms for ishshah, pilagshim, vayyigva, savea, vayye'asef el-ammav, and vayvarekh
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Non-strict chronology, genealogical names, concubine and eastward language, expanded age formula, old/full wording, gathered-to-people distinction, Machpelah, and blessing without immediate fertility.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 25:1–11 and translator notes 1–21; compared with notes at Genesis 25:19–26
Open NET Genesis 25 ↗modern scholarly monograph record and limited preview
Abraham: Trials of Family and Faith
Terence E. Fretheim
Augsburg Fortress / Fortress Press, 2007
Supports: Abraham story framed by family and genealogy, significant roles of Hagar and Ishmael, election and outsider questions, and interreligious reception at the publicly inspectable scope.
Exact location: Abraham: Trials of Family and Faith, JSTOR book record, description, table of contents, chapter 2 pages 14–28 description, and chapter 6 pages 93–109 description
Open source ↗modern scholarly literary commentary publisher preview
Genesis as Dialogue: A Literary, Historical, and Theological Commentary
Thomas L. Brodie
Oxford University Press, 2001
Supports: Literary placement of Genesis 24:1–25:18 as betrothal and genealogy closure before the Jacob movement; Brodie's larger diptych model remains one proposal.
Exact location: Genesis as Dialogue, Oxford Academic book record and publisher preview; chapter 'Rebekah, Betrothal, and Genealogy (24:1–25:18),' pages 277–292, with Genesis 25:19 beginning the next major movement
Open source ↗