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Keturah

December 07, 2023

For other uses, see Keturah (disambiguation).

Keturah (Hebrew: קְטוּרָה, Qəṭūrā, possibly meaning "incense";[1] Arabic: قطورة) was a wife[2] and a concubine[3] of the Biblical patriarch Abraham. According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham married Keturah after the death of his first wife, Sarah. Abraham and Keturah had six sons.[2] According to Jewish tradition, she was a descendant of Noah's son Japheth.[4]

Keturah
The wives and sons of Abraham, with Keturah standing at the far right with her six sons. From the 1630 Venice Haggadah.
In-universe information
SpouseAbraham
ChildrenZimran (son)
Jokshan (son)
Medan (son)
Midian (son)
Ishbak (son)
Shuah (son)
RelativesSheba (grandson)
Dedan (grandson)
Ephah (grandson)
Epher (grandson)
Enoch (grandson)
Abida (grandson)
Eldaah (grandson)

One modern commentator on the Hebrew Bible has called Keturah "the most ignored significant person in the Torah".[5] The medieval Jewish commentator Rashi, and some previous rabbinical commentators, related a traditional belief that Keturah was the same person as Hagar, although this idea cannot be found in the biblical text.[5]

Sources edit

Keturah is mentioned in two passages of the Hebrew Bible: in the Book of Genesis[2] and in the First Book of Chronicles.[3] Additionally, she is mentioned in Antiquities of the Jews by the 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian Josephus,[6] in the Talmud, the Midrash, the Targum on the Torah, the Genesis Rabbah, and various other writings of Jewish theologians and philosophers.[7]

Louis Feldman has said "Josephus records evidence of the prolific non-Jewish polymath Alexander Polyhistor, who in turn cites the historian Cleodemus Malchus, who states that two of the sons of Abraham by Keturah joined Heracles' campaign in Africa, and that Heracles, without doubt the greatest Greek hero of them all, married the daughter of one of them."[8]

According to Doctor of Anthropology Paula M. McNutt, it is generally recognized that there is nothing specific in the biblical traditions recorded in Genesis, including those regarding Abraham and his family, that can be definitively related to known history in or around Canaan in the early second millennium B.C.E.[9]

Relationship with Abraham edit

Keturah is referred to in Genesis as "another wife" of Abraham[2] (Hebrew: אִשָּה‎ ‎ Translit.: 'išāh Translated: woman, wife[10]). In First Chronicles, she is called Abraham's "concubine"[3] (Hebrew: פִּילֶגֶשׁ‎ ‎ Translit.: pilegeš Translated: concubine[11]).

According to one opinion in the midrashic work Genesis Rabbah, Keturah and Hagar are names for the same person, whom Abraham remarried after initially expelling.[12] This opinion was adopted and popularized by 11th-century scholar Rashi.[5][13] Possible justifications for this opinion include the fact that Keturah is referred to 1 Chronicles 1:32 as Abraham's concubine (in the singular),[14] and several other verses which suggest that the descendants of Hagar and Keturah lived in the same territory or formed a single ethnic group.[15] However, this idea was rejected by another rabbi in Genesis Rabbah,[12] as well as by traditional commentators such as Ibn Ezra, Nahmanides, and Rashbam.[5] The Book of Jubilees also supports the conclusion that Keturah and Hagar were two different people, by stating that Abraham waited until after Hagar's death before marrying Keturah.[16] According to modern scholar Richard Elliott Friedman, the identification of Keturah with Hagar has "no basis ... in the text".[5]

Genesis Rabbah interprets the name Keturah in accordance with the opinion that she was identical to Hagar: the name was said to be related to the Aramaic ketur (knot) to imply that she was "bound" and did not have sexual relations with anyone else from the time she left Abraham until her return.[17][18] The name Keturah was alternatively said to be derived from the ketoret (meaning "incense" in Hebrew).

Descendants edit

Keturah bore Abraham six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Genesis and First Chronicles also list seven of her grandsons (Sheba, Dedan, Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah).[2][3] Genesis records that Abraham gave them gifts and sent them to the East, while making Isaac son of Sarah his primary heir. Keturah's sons were said to have represented the Arab tribes who lived south and east of Israel (Genesis 25:1–6).[19] According to the Judean authors Josephus and Malchus, Punic people were descended from Epher.[20]

According to the African writer Olaudah Equiano, the 18th-century English theologian John Gill believed the African people were descended from Abraham and Keturah.[21][relevant?] According to the Baháʼí author John Able, Baháʼís consider their founder, Bahá'u'lláh, to have been "descended doubly, from both Abraham and Sarah, and separately from Abraham and Keturah."[22]

References edit

  1. ^ Schloen, J. David. "Caravans, Kenites, and Casus Belli: Enmity and Alliance in the Song of Deborah." The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, vol. 55, no. 1, 1993, pp. 18–38. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43721140.
  2. ^ a b c d e Genesis 25:1–4 (1917 Jewish Publication Society of America translation). "And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah...."
  3. ^ a b c d 1 Chronicles 1:32–33 (1917 Jewish Publication Society of America translation). "And the sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine...."
  4. ^ https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/keturah[bare URL]
  5. ^ a b c d e Friedman, Richard Elliott (2001). Commentary on the Torah. New York, NY: HarperCollins. p. 85. ISBN 0-06-062561-9. Keturah. The most ignored significant person in the Torah. Rashi follows an old rabbinic idea that she is Hagar. But there is no basis for this in the text, and other traditional commentators reject it (Ibn Ezra, Ramban, Rashbam).
  6. ^ Flavius Josephus (1930). Josephus: Jewish Antiquities, Books I–IV. Thackeray, H. St. J. (translator). London: William Heinemann Ltd. p. 117 (book 1, ch. 15, para. 238). Abraham afterwards married Katura, by whom he had six sons....
  7. ^ Harris, Maurice (1901). The Talmud Midrashim and Kabbala. M. Walter Dunne. p. 241. from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2016-11-03. Rashi supposes that Keturah was one and the same with Hagar—so the Midrash, the Targum Yerushalmi, and that of Jonathan.... but Aben Ezra and most of the commentators contend that Keturah and Hagar are two distinct persons....
  8. ^ Feldman, Louis H. (1998). Josephus's Interpretation of the Bible. University of California Press. p. 134. ISBN 9780520208537. from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  9. ^ McNutt, Paula M. (1999). Reconstructing the Society of Ancient Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-664-22265-9. from the original on 2016-12-07. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  10. ^ Strong's Concordance, Hebrew word #376.
  11. ^ Strong's Concordance, Hebrew word #6370.
  12. ^ a b Genesis Rabbah 61:4
  13. ^ Rashi, Genesis 25:1
  14. ^ Singer, Isidore; Adler, Cyrus, eds. (1907). "Keturah". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York, New York: Funk & Wagnalls. from the original on 2015-01-23. Retrieved 2015-01-23.
  15. ^ 1 Chronicles 5:18–20 refers to "Hagrites" (descendants of Hagar?) who later lived in the same region that was known to be inhabited by the descendants of Keturah. Also, in Genesis 37 the "Medanites" (apparently descended from Keturah) and "Ishmaelites" (descended from Hagar) appear to be interchangeable. Also, in Judges 8:22–24 the "Midianites" (descended from Keturah") and "Ishmaelites" appear to be interchangeable. See Yaakov Medan, Ki Karov Elecha: Breishit, p.195
  16. ^ Jubilees 19:11. Singer, Isidore; Adler, Cyrus, eds. (1907). "Jubilees, Book of". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York, New York: Funk & Wagnalls. from the original on 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
  17. ^ Singer, Isidore; Adler, Cyrus, eds. (1907). "Hagar". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York, New York: Funk & Wagnalls. from the original on 2015-01-23. Retrieved 2015-01-23.
  18. ^ Neusner, Jacob (1985). Genesis Rabbah: The Judaic Commentary to the Book of Genesis: A New American Translation. Vol. 2. Atlanta, Georgia: Scholars Press. pp. 334–335 (section 61:4). ISBN 0-89130-933-0. 'Abraham took another wife' ... R. Judah said, 'This refers to Hagar.'
  19. ^ Orr, James, ed. (1915). "Keturah". International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Co. from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  20. ^ Stuckenbruck, Loren T.; Gurtner, Daniel M. (2019-12-26). T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism Volume Two. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-567-66093-0. from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  21. ^ Equiano, Olaudah (1995). The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings. Penguin Books. p. 44. ISBN 0-14-243716-6. from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  22. ^ Able, John (2011). . McLean, Virginia: John Able Books Ltd. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-9702847-5-4. Archived from the original on 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2020-12-31.

December 07, 2023
keturah, other, uses, disambiguation, hebrew, טו, qəṭūrā, possibly, meaning, incense, arabic, قطورة, wife, concubine, biblical, patriarch, abraham, according, book, genesis, abraham, married, after, death, first, wife, sarah, abraham, sons, according, jewish, . For other uses see Keturah disambiguation Keturah Hebrew ק טו ר ה Qeṭura possibly meaning incense 1 Arabic قطورة was a wife 2 and a concubine 3 of the Biblical patriarch Abraham According to the Book of Genesis Abraham married Keturah after the death of his first wife Sarah Abraham and Keturah had six sons 2 According to Jewish tradition she was a descendant of Noah s son Japheth 4 KeturahThe wives and sons of Abraham with Keturah standing at the far right with her six sons From the 1630 Venice Haggadah In universe informationSpouseAbrahamChildrenZimran son Jokshan son Medan son Midian son Ishbak son Shuah son RelativesSheba grandson Dedan grandson Ephah grandson Epher grandson Enoch grandson Abida grandson Eldaah grandson One modern commentator on the Hebrew Bible has called Keturah the most ignored significant person in the Torah 5 The medieval Jewish commentator Rashi and some previous rabbinical commentators related a traditional belief that Keturah was the same person as Hagar although this idea cannot be found in the biblical text 5 Contents 1 Sources 2 Relationship with Abraham 3 Descendants 4 ReferencesSources editKeturah is mentioned in two passages of the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Genesis 2 and in the First Book of Chronicles 3 Additionally she is mentioned in Antiquities of the Jews by the 1st century Romano Jewish historian Josephus 6 in the Talmud the Midrash the Targum on the Torah the Genesis Rabbah and various other writings of Jewish theologians and philosophers 7 Louis Feldman has said Josephus records evidence of the prolific non Jewish polymath Alexander Polyhistor who in turn cites the historian Cleodemus Malchus who states that two of the sons of Abraham by Keturah joined Heracles campaign in Africa and that Heracles without doubt the greatest Greek hero of them all married the daughter of one of them 8 According to Doctor of Anthropology Paula M McNutt it is generally recognized that there is nothing specific in the biblical traditions recorded in Genesis including those regarding Abraham and his family that can be definitively related to known history in or around Canaan in the early second millennium B C E 9 Relationship with Abraham editKeturah is referred to in Genesis as another wife of Abraham 2 Hebrew א ש ה Translit isah Translated woman wife 10 In First Chronicles she is called Abraham s concubine 3 Hebrew פ יל ג ש Translit pileges Translated concubine 11 According to one opinion in the midrashic work Genesis Rabbah Keturah and Hagar are names for the same person whom Abraham remarried after initially expelling 12 This opinion was adopted and popularized by 11th century scholar Rashi 5 13 Possible justifications for this opinion include the fact that Keturah is referred to 1 Chronicles 1 32 as Abraham s concubine in the singular 14 and several other verses which suggest that the descendants of Hagar and Keturah lived in the same territory or formed a single ethnic group 15 However this idea was rejected by another rabbi in Genesis Rabbah 12 as well as by traditional commentators such as Ibn Ezra Nahmanides and Rashbam 5 The Book of Jubilees also supports the conclusion that Keturah and Hagar were two different people by stating that Abraham waited until after Hagar s death before marrying Keturah 16 According to modern scholar Richard Elliott Friedman the identification of Keturah with Hagar has no basis in the text 5 Genesis Rabbah interprets the name Keturah in accordance with the opinion that she was identical to Hagar the name was said to be related to the Aramaic ketur knot to imply that she was bound and did not have sexual relations with anyone else from the time she left Abraham until her return 17 18 The name Keturah was alternatively said to be derived from the ketoret meaning incense in Hebrew Descendants editKeturah bore Abraham six sons Zimran Jokshan Medan Midian Ishbak and Shuah Genesis and First Chronicles also list seven of her grandsons Sheba Dedan Ephah Epher Hanoch Abida and Eldaah 2 3 Genesis records that Abraham gave them gifts and sent them to the East while making Isaac son of Sarah his primary heir Keturah s sons were said to have represented the Arab tribes who lived south and east of Israel Genesis 25 1 6 19 According to the Judean authors Josephus and Malchus Punic people were descended from Epher 20 According to the African writer Olaudah Equiano the 18th century English theologian John Gill believed the African people were descended from Abraham and Keturah 21 relevant According to the Bahaʼi author John Able Bahaʼis consider their founder Baha u llah to have been descended doubly from both Abraham and Sarah and separately from Abraham and Keturah 22 References edit Schloen J David Caravans Kenites and Casus Belli Enmity and Alliance in the Song of Deborah The Catholic Biblical Quarterly vol 55 no 1 1993 pp 18 38 JSTOR www jstor org stable 43721140 a b c d e Genesis 25 1 4 1917 Jewish Publication Society of America translation And Abraham took another wife and her name was Keturah a b c d 1 Chronicles 1 32 33 1917 Jewish Publication Society of America translation And the sons of Keturah Abraham s concubine https www encyclopedia com religion encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps keturah bare URL a b c d e Friedman Richard Elliott 2001 Commentary on the Torah New York NY HarperCollins p 85 ISBN 0 06 062561 9 Keturah The most ignored significant person in the Torah Rashi follows an old rabbinic idea that she is Hagar But there is no basis for this in the text and other traditional commentators reject it Ibn Ezra Ramban Rashbam Flavius Josephus 1930 Josephus Jewish Antiquities Books I IV Thackeray H St J translator London William Heinemann Ltd p 117 book 1 ch 15 para 238 Abraham afterwards married Katura by whom he had six sons Harris Maurice 1901 The Talmud Midrashim and Kabbala M Walter Dunne p 241 Archived from the original on 2021 07 09 Retrieved 2016 11 03 Rashi supposes that Keturah was one and the same with Hagar so the Midrash the Targum Yerushalmi and that of Jonathan but Aben Ezra and most of the commentators contend that Keturah and Hagar are two distinct persons Feldman Louis H 1998 Josephus s Interpretation of the Bible University of California Press p 134 ISBN 9780520208537 Archived from the original on 9 July 2021 Retrieved 25 August 2019 McNutt Paula M 1999 Reconstructing the Society of Ancient Israel Westminster John Knox Press p 41 ISBN 978 0 664 22265 9 Archived from the original on 2016 12 07 Retrieved 2017 06 28 Strong s Concordance Hebrew word 376 Strong s Concordance Hebrew word 6370 a b Genesis Rabbah 61 4 Rashi Genesis 25 1 Singer Isidore Adler Cyrus eds 1907 Keturah The Jewish Encyclopedia New York New York Funk amp Wagnalls Archived from the original on 2015 01 23 Retrieved 2015 01 23 1 Chronicles 5 18 20 refers to Hagrites descendants of Hagar who later lived in the same region that was known to be inhabited by the descendants of Keturah Also in Genesis 37 the Medanites apparently descended from Keturah and Ishmaelites descended from Hagar appear to be interchangeable Also in Judges 8 22 24 the Midianites descended from Keturah and Ishmaelites appear to be interchangeable See Yaakov Medan Ki Karov Elecha Breishit p 195 Jubilees 19 11 Singer Isidore Adler Cyrus eds 1907 Jubilees Book of The Jewish Encyclopedia New York New York Funk amp Wagnalls Archived from the original on 2014 12 23 Retrieved 2014 12 28 Singer Isidore Adler Cyrus eds 1907 Hagar The Jewish Encyclopedia New York New York Funk amp Wagnalls Archived from the original on 2015 01 23 Retrieved 2015 01 23 Neusner Jacob 1985 Genesis Rabbah The Judaic Commentary to the Book of Genesis A New American Translation Vol 2 Atlanta Georgia Scholars Press pp 334 335 section 61 4 ISBN 0 89130 933 0 Abraham took another wife R Judah said This refers to Hagar Orr James ed 1915 Keturah International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Chicago Howard Severance Co Archived from the original on 24 September 2018 Retrieved 21 September 2018 Stuckenbruck Loren T Gurtner Daniel M 2019 12 26 T amp T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism Volume Two Bloomsbury Publishing p 145 ISBN 978 0 567 66093 0 Archived from the original on 2022 01 30 Retrieved 2021 12 11 Equiano Olaudah 1995 The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings Penguin Books p 44 ISBN 0 14 243716 6 Archived from the original on 2021 07 09 Retrieved 2020 12 31 Able John 2011 Apocalypse Secrets Baha i Interpretation of the Book of Revelation McLean Virginia John Able Books Ltd p 219 ISBN 978 0 9702847 5 4 Archived from the original on 2015 07 23 Retrieved 2020 12 31 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Keturah amp oldid 1178235091, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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