The Death of Abraham

The event

Abraham lives another 35 years after Isaac's marriage — long enough, Genesis notes, to take another wife, Keturah, and father six more sons, ancestors of various Arabian peoples. But everything he owns he leaves to Isaac, sending the sons of his concubines away eastward with gifts, keeping the covenant line clean and singular.

When Abraham dies at 175, "an old man and full of years," it's Isaac and Ishmael together who bury him in the cave of Machpelah beside Sarah — a brief, understated reconciliation between two half-brothers whose births had once split the family in two. Whatever pain the earlier separation caused, both sons show up for their father's burial.

Genesis 25 closes the Abraham narrative not with drama but with genealogy — first Ishmael's descendants, then a formal statement that Isaac is the heir of promise, before the story's camera moves fully onto the next generation. It's a fitting exit for a man whose faith, per Hebrews 11, is the template held up for every believer who comes after him.

Dating

Based on Abraham's stated lifespan of 175 years (Genesis 25:7) from a birth year of c. 2166 BC.

Scripture references

• Genesis 25:1-11
• Hebrews 11:8-19