Keturah
“Incense, or possibly 'girdled'”
Summary
The second wife of Abraham, whom he married after Sarah's death, and mother of six sons who became ancestors of various Arabian tribes.
☩Marriage to Abraham
Keturah became Abraham's wife after the death of Sarah, though she is also called his concubine, indicating a status below that of Sarah. Abraham married her when he was at least 140 years old (Sarah having died when he was 137), demonstrating the renewal of his physical vigor that God had granted when promising Isaac. Some scholars have suggested she may have been taken as a concubine earlier, during Sarah's lifetime, since the six sons and their descendants could hardly have all been born and established in Abraham's remaining thirty-five years of life, but the straightforward narrative reading places the marriage after Sarah's death. Regardless of timing, Keturah was not considered equal to Sarah, who was the mother of the son of promise.
☩Her Sons and Their Descendants
Keturah bore Abraham six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. These sons, along with their own descendants, crossed the desert to the region around the Persian Gulf and occupied the whole intermediate country between Palestine and Arabia. Midian became the most notable of these tribes, his descendants later becoming the Midianites who figure prominently in later biblical history. Through these offspring of Keturah, Abraham truly became "the father of many nations" as God had promised. Before his death, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away to the east country, separating them from Isaac to prevent interference with the promised inheritance.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Keturah," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Keturah," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Keturah," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Keturah," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 5.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Keturah," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).