Keturah
Following Sarah's death, Abraham took Keturah as his wife and she bore him six sons whose descendants populated several eastern tribes, most notably the Midianites. This union reveals how the blessings promised to Abraham extended beyond the covenant line secured through Isaac, allowing his influence to shape surrounding nations while the redemptive focus remained fixed on the chosen seed. Keturah thus stands as a quiet yet significant figure whose offspring enriched the broader patriarchal story without altering its central trajectory toward the fulfillment of God's purposes.
Biography
- Occupation
- wife
- Spouse
- Abraham
- Children
- Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, Shuah
- Era
- Patriarchal
- Nationality
- unknown
Family
Did You Know?
Although Genesis 25:1 calls Keturah Abraham's wife, 1 Chronicles 1:32 designates her a concubine, illustrating how later biblical writers sometimes downgraded secondary wives to protect the primacy of the Isaac covenant line.
Keturah's six sons received only gifts rather than inheritance before Abraham dispatched them eastward, a deliberate separation that prevented competition with Isaac while allowing their clans to settle Arabian trade routes.
The name Keturah derives from the Hebrew root for incense, hinting at her possible link to frankincense-producing regions and explaining why Midianite descendants later controlled caravan commerce in the Transjordan.
Midian, one of Keturah's sons, became the eponymous ancestor of the Midianites, whose priest Jethro (Reuel) later advised Moses on judicial organization after the Exodus.
Unlike the detailed Ishmael genealogy, Keturah's line receives only a terse listing, underscoring how biblical writers minimized non-covenant branches while still preserving their ethnic affiliations for later readers.
Key Passages
Abraham marries Keturah
Genesis 25:1-2
Records Keturah becoming Abraham's wife and the birth of her first sons.
1hen again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
Sons of Keturah
Genesis 25:3-4
Lists the descendants of Keturah's sons who formed various tribal groups.
3nd Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
Keturah's descendants in Chronicles
1 Chronicles 1:32-33
Confirms Keturah's sons and their lineage in the genealogical record.
32ow the sons of Keturah, Abrahamโs concubine: she bare Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan; Sheba, and Dedan.