Genesis – Chapter 25: The Death of Abraham

~ thepoisedatheist

In the last chapter we learned of the story of Isaac finding a wife.  Abraham was very picky as to where Isaac’s wife came from and sent a servant to find Isaac a wife.  The servant asked for permission from the family, but did not ask the soon to be wife, Rebekah, for permission, thus making Rebekah little more than a sex slave.  As the title suggests, Chapter 25 brings us the death of Abraham.

“Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.” – Genesis 25:1

No problems here.  Every human being has the right to fall in love and marry.  We don’t know what is meant by ‘took’, but assuming it wasn’t a forced marriage, everything is good.

“She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.” – Genesis 25:2

Okay, this IS a problem.  Abraham was already 100 when Isaac was born.  The Bible expects us to believe Abraham remarried and had 6 more sons AFTER the age of 100?  Sorry, not buying that.

“Altogether, Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.” – Genesis 25:7

ROFL!!!  Again, God ignores His own command!  LOL!  As we learned in Genesis 6, God declared that no human would live longer than 120 years.  Once again, God is a liar and someone NOT to be trusted.  We next receive a count of Ishmael’s sons.

“Altogether, Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty seven years.” – Genesis 25:17

Well, not as ridiculous as Abraham living 175 years, but still greater than what God commanded in Genesis 6.

“And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.” – Genesis 25:18

This refers to Ishmael’s sons, but remember this is the direct result of God who said that Ishmael would live in hostility all his life.  God is such a nice guy.  Next comes the story of Isaac.

“Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren.” – Genesis 25:21

How do we know Rebekah is barren?  There’s no medical test at this time to determine this.  For all we know, Isaac is shooting blanks.  The only way to know if Rebekah is barren is if Isaac sleeps with another woman and impregnates her.  But then he’d be breaking his marriage vows.  Rebekah does become pregnant, but let’s face it, there’s only one way for her to become pregnant.  Isaac is shooting blanks and she slept with another man and Isaac passed it off as God’s ‘miracle’.  Either that or she was never really barren.  Either way, a bit messed up.

“The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, ‘Why is this happening to me?’  So she went to inquire of the Lord.  The Lord said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.’” – Genesis 25:22-23

This is completely messed up.  First, no.  Rebekah is having twins and they are sitting close to each other in the womb.  That’s it.  Second, assuming this is all true, God is pre-determining that one people will serve (be slaves) to the other.  These are unborn people who, through no choice of their own, will suffer in life.  Wow.  That’s a just God for you.

“The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment.” – Genesis 25:25

Um…this is perfectly normal.  Every baby that comes out of the womb is reddish in color for period of time.  On top of that, having a hairy body is NOT uncommon.

Is It Normal For My Baby To Be Hair

The Bible leads us to believe that Esau looking weird at birth was pre-determined by God and will lead to Esau’s people serving Jacob’s (the second baby) people.  Um, no.  ALL babies look a bit weird right after birth.

“After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.” – Genesis 25:26

Again, no, if Jacob was grasping Esau’s heel, he’d certainly be forced to release that hold as Esau proceeds through the birth canal.  Again, this story makes no medical sense.  It is simply NOT true as written.

“Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.” – Genesis 25:26

At least the Bible is using more appropriate ages!

“Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” – Genesis 25:28

I don’t get this and it’s a horrible statement in the Bible.  Why can’t both parents love both children?  A parent may have favorite activities they do with one child compared to another, but I’ve never met a parent with multiple children who didn’t love them all equally!

Next Esau comes in the house hungry and asks Jacob for some stew.  Jacob says okay, but only if Esau sells Jacob his birthright.  Esau is apparently so hungry that he does so.  WTF?!?!?!  First, you can’t sell your birthing order.  Esau will always be the first born regardless of how hungry he is.  Secondly, is Jacob really that stupid to think this is how life works?  Well, given how the God of the Bible works, maybe Jacob is really a genius, as well find out. (verses 29-34)

To conclude, Abraham and Ishmael both died in this chapter.  Isaac and Rebekah have two sons through a weird story that probably involved an affair.  Esau got the ‘hangries’, and Jacob took advantage.  One big happy family, right???

Coming Soon:  Genesis – Chapter 26:  Isaac and Abimelech

9 thoughts on “Genesis – Chapter 25: The Death of Abraham”

      1. BTW… You’ve mentioned the 120 year thing. The apologist explanation is that the 120 years was referring to the time until the Flood, during which Noah built the ark, and preached. I wonder what Hebrew scholars say about it?

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      3. No, that there would be 120 years from that announcement until the flood. They claim it has nothing to do with lifetimes because of the clear contradictions you have noticed.

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      5. I’d have to see the Hebrew before saying that. One thing for sure is that different translations translated it differently. Which brings up other problems with trusting the Bible, of course.

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