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Keturah

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Incense, the wife of Abraham, whom he married probably after Sarah’s death (Gen 25:1-6), by whom he had six sons, whom he sent away into the east country. Her nationality is unknown. She is styled “Abraham’s concubine” (1 Chr 1:32). Through the offshoots of the Keturah line Abraham became the “father of many nations.”

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ke-tu'-ra, ke-too'-ra (qeTurah; Chettoura, "incense"): The second wife of Abraham (Gen 25:1; 1 Chr 1:32). According to the Biblical tradition, he contracted this second marriage after the death of Sarah (compare Gen 23), and very likely after the marriage of Isaac (compare Gen 24). It is not improbable that, as some writers have suggested, this change in the life of his son prompted Abraham to remarry in order to overcome the feeling of lonesomeness caused by Isaac's entering the state of matrimony.

1 Chr 1:32 (and also Gen 25:6) shows us that Keturah was not considered to be of the same dignity as Sarah who, indeed, was the mother of the son of promise, and, for obvious reasons, the sons of Abraham's concubines were separated from Isaac. She was the mother of 6 sons representing Arab tribes South and East of Palestine (Gen 25:1-6), so that through the offspring of Keturah Abraham became "the father of many nations."

William Baur

See also

Person Keturah

Kilde: Easton's Bible Dictionary (M.G. Easton, 1897) og International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (red. James Orr, 1915/1939), public domain. Translated into Danish with AI and not yet proofread (fully or partially). Links to people and places: Theographic Bible Metadata (CC BY-SA 4.0).