Kejadian 25:23

25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ¹  are in your womb,

and two peoples will be separated from within you.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

Kejadian 25:1

The Death of Abraham

25:1 Abraham had taken ²  another ³  wife, named Keturah.

1 Samuel 16:6-11

16:6 When they arrived, Samuel ⁴  noticed ⁵  Eliab and said to himself, ⁶  “Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!” ⁷  16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by ⁸  his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. ⁹  People look on the outward appearance, ¹⁰  but the Lord looks at the heart.”

16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. ¹¹  But Samuel ¹²  said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” 16:9 Then Jesse presented ¹³  Shammah. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 16:10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. ¹⁴  But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?” Jesse ¹⁵  replied, “There is still the youngest one, but he’s taking care of the flock.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here.”

[25:23]  ¹ sn By metonymy the two children in her womb are described as two nations of which the two children, Jacob and Esau, would become the fathers. The language suggests there would be a struggle between these nations, with one being stronger than the other. The oracle reveals that all of Jacob’s scheming was unnecessary in the final analysis. He would have become the dominant nation without using deception to steal his brother’s blessing.

[25:1]  ² tn Or “took.”

[25:1]  sn Abraham had taken another wife. These events are not necessarily in chronological order following the events of the preceding chapter. They are listed here to summarize Abraham’s other descendants before the narrative of his death.

[25:1]  ³ tn Heb “And Abraham added and took.”

[16:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “saw.”

[16:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “said”; the words “to himself” are implied, given the secrecy surrounding Samuel’s mission to Bethlehem (v. 2).

[16:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “his anointed one.”

[16:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “don’t look toward.”

[16:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “for not that which the man sees.” The translation follows the LXX, which reads, “for not as man sees does God see.” The MT has suffered from homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 274.

[16:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to the eyes.”

[16:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and caused him to pass before.”

[16:8]  ¹² tn Heb “he” (also in v. 9); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “caused to pass by.”

[16:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “caused seven of his sons to pass before Samuel.” This could be taken as referring to seven sons in addition to the three mentioned before this, but 1 Sam 17:12 says Jesse had eight sons, not eleven. 1 Chr 2:13-15 lists only seven sons, including David. However, 1 Chr 27:18 mentions an additional son, named Elihu.

[16:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jesse) has been specified in the translation both here and in v. 12 for clarity.