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Abraham's Second Marriage
v. 1. Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. This woman was not a concubine during the lifetime of Sarah, but his wife by a second marriage, although she did not hold the status of the mother of the promised Seed, she was not included in the Messianic promise.
v. 2. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
v. 3. And Jokshan begat Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
v. 4. And the sons of Midian: Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. The rich blessing of God shows that there was no stain attaching to this second marriage, but that it was entered into in sanctification and honor, for mutual care and assistance and for the procreation of children, the strength of Abraham having been retained in a remarkable manner, even to extreme old age. The children and grandchildren of Keturah, like those of Ishmael, became the forefathers of Arabian tribes, chiefly along the Ailanitic Gulf and northeast of it (Midianites), along the Red Sea, and along the Persian Gulf, most of them commercial nations.
v. 5. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. Isaac was the recognized legal heir, who also received the stock of the herds and the essential parts of Abraham's possessions. He was, moreover, the bearer of the Messianic blessing.
v. 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. Although neither Keturah nor even Hagar were concubines in the later sense of the term, yet, in comparison with Sarah, the mistress and mother by special divine interposition, they were of secondary rank. Their children, therefore, could not claim an equal division of the property with Isaac, the heir of the promise, whose inheritance the land of Canaan was to be. Abraham simply established Ishmael and all the sons of Keturah with enough property in small herds and flocks, together with the necessary servants, that they had their maintenance. They moved into the country toward the southeast and east, and there grew up into tribes. Among these descendants of Abraham the knowledge of the true God was found for a long time, their spiritual inheritance thus proving of greater value than the temporal gifts.