Verse Lens · Context pointer
Genesis 25:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The descendants of Midian are named, and the genealogy closes by identifying all the listed lines as Keturah's children.
Read It With
- Genesis 25:1–11
Read verses 1–4 together. Verse 4 finishes the Midian branch and closes the entire Keturah list; verses 5–6 then change from genealogy to inheritance and separation. Reading verse 4 alone can flatten the many later Midianite stories into one permanent judgment.
Why It Needs Context
This closing list verse does not narrate the later history or moral character of every Midianite person, and it cannot support a one-note judgment about an ancient or modern people.
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.
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 context pointer
How certain is this explanation? very strong
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 ↗