The more I read and study the Bible, the more I know of it. But the more I know of it, the more I find how much there is yet to discover. The story of Keturah in the Bible stands as a prime example. Mentioned in the Bible in only a few verses, obscurity surrounds her. Yet, a deeper look into her life reveals that Keturah leaves a valuable legacy often overlooked.
As the patriarch Abraham and Keturah’s stories intertwine, we begin to see just a glimpse of God’s much bigger picture and plan for all who trust in Christ. God chose Abraham to be the first recipient of His covenant. This unconditional promise impacted not only the nation of Israel but all believers even today.
While Keturah’s connection with Abraham captivates us, it also leaves a myriad of unanswered questions.
Where Is Keturah Mentioned in the Bible?
Only two verses in the Bible mention Keturah by name. We find her story early in Scripture in the first book of the Bible, in Genesis 25:1-6. Later in 1 Chronicles, the naming of Keturah’s sons expands the picture. There, we recognize not just a union with Abraham, but we also see her as a mother and grandmother (1 Chronicles 1:32).
Our first introduction to Keturah comes after Abraham’s first wife, Sarah’s death. In Genesis 25:1, she is referred to as Abraham’s wife.
“Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah” (ESV).
1 Chronicles 1:32 mentions Keturah as Abraham’s concubine. “The sons born to Keturah, Abraham’s concubine...” (ESV)
No details describe Keturah’s background or how they met. We don’t know her ethnicity or where she came from. “Incense” or “fragrance,” as the name Keturah signifies, may have permeated a lovely personality. But Scripture does not tell us her character or beliefs, but we do know Keturah was young enough to give the elderly Abraham six sons.
Who Was Keturah in the Story of Abraham?
To get a fuller picture of Keturah in the story of Abraham, we need to look at the backdrop.
Abraham’s first wife Sarah suffered from infertility. After God promised Abraham a son, she waited long, difficult years. As the years passed and Sarah still did not conceive, she gave her servant Hagar to become Abraham’s concubine. Through Hagar, Abraham fathered Ishmael.
However, God’s promise of a son was specific to Abraham and his wife Sarah.
Sarah, whose idea it was to have Abraham father a son by Hagar, then turned against Hagar and their son. Caught in the crosshairs, Abraham desired for God to recognize Ishmael as heir.
“God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him” (Genesis 17:19 ESV). Sarah birthed Isaac in her 90’s. Ishmael was fourteen when Isaac was born.
God confirmed Isaac as the promised son of God’s covenant. This becomes important because Isaac was not Abraham’s only son, but rather the only son of Sarah and Abraham.
There is debate about whether Sarah was alive when Keturah became his second wife or concubine, but most Biblical scholars believe the union happened after Sarah’s death.
Keturah may have begun as Abraham’s concubine, acting as a wife, or later becoming a wife. In the ancient culture of Abraham, a concubine had the status of a lesser “wife,” or a secondary wife. A concubine did not have the same status as a wife, nor did her children.
Although Keturah’s name is not mentioned in Genesis 25:6, the verse seems to confirm Keturah’s role as Abraham’s concubine.
“But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country” (Genesis 25:6 ESV).
In early biblical history, taking several “wives” or “concubines,” occurred most often among those seeking to produce an heir and with the financial means to support another family.
Marriage established and designed by God at creation was monogamous. As sin entered the world, polygamy also appeared in the Bible. Certain legal provisions, protections, and privileges distinguished it from other greater or lesser roles.
The practice of polygamy exploded in Solomon’s day but became less common in later portions of Scripture. Today, it remains a puzzling piece of Old Testament history.
What Do We Know about Keturah’s Children?
Together , Abraham and Keturah had six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
If Abraham took Keturah as wife or concubine after Sarah’s death as commonly believed, he would have likely been around 140 years old. Yet, from their union, the Bible lists six sons and at least seven grandchildren. By sending away his concubines and children before his death, Abraham effectively removed them from the rightful heir. This way he proclaimed Isaac the promised son of the covenant.
Keturah’s children went “eastward, to the land of the East” (Genesis 25:6). Generations born to Abraham through Keturah lived on. They fathered nations and tribes. Descendants of their son Midian played a big role in Israel’s history. Moses married a Midianite woman. Keturah’s children were fathers of Arabian tribes.
Abraham was 175 years old when he died. At his burial, the Bible mentions only Ishmael and Isaac.
How Does Keturah’s Story Fit into God’s Covenant With Abraham?
Abraham’s marriage to Keturah became a piece of a much greater redemptive story. When God first chose Abraham, he called him out of paganism to bestow on him an unconditional covenant. God promised land, a nation to his offspring, and blessings for all the world through his descendants. He offered a possibility of relationship between His created beings and a Holy God.
The specific covenant given by God to Abraham and Sarah spawned hope and promise to a nation and to the world. Galatians 3:7 calls believers today the “sons of Abraham.” Keturah, with her lack of status, yet intimately woven in God’s dealings with Abraham, testifies of God’s broad redemptive plan.
In Romans, Paul holds the faith of Abraham as an example for us.
“He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb” (Romans 4:19 ESV).
God’s covenant looked far beyond Abraham and Sarah, beyond Hagar, and beyond Keturah. As we try to picture their nomad existence, with their tents, livestock, and laborers, real people emerge. They lived joy and sorrow, laughter and tears. Desire and jealousy raged. Hearts loved deeply. Birth and death cycled throughout one generation to another. But grief and desperation also ruled. Into that world came God’s unconditional hope and promise.
And in that big arch of humanity, God picked Abraham from all other humans. He called him and set him apart, providing a conduit for blessing to all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-21, and 17:1-27).
What Does Keturah Teach Us about God’s Faithfulness?
As we contemplate such an astounding choosing of a mere man by an omnipotent God, the story of Keturah accentuates our own state. For we who know Christ are chosen to enter a divine covenant. Without merit, excellence, or ability, a faithful Father designed us to be His.
With each passing generation God’s divine plan pointed to a Savior. Biblical stories layer onto one another, continuing a covenant given to God’s chosen people promising a Redeemer. Until one day in a little town of Bethlehem, the time arrived. God sent His only Son, through a virgin, chosen to bear Incarnate God.
Jesus lived and died so that not just those of Hebrew heritage but all families of the earth could receive the blessing of sins forgiven. God included in His Word the name Keturah, despite her obscure status and unknown past. Today, she reminds us that each person has value in His sight, not just those of a certain position or recognition.
We are neither second class nor lesser in His eyes. We bear His fragrance.
Perhaps Keturah never understood her seemingly insignificant role in the Abrahamic covenant, but her life linked to the greatest promise of all. Christ offers a new covenant through his life, death, and resurrection, fulfilling all that the old covenant represented.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Natali_Mis
Her love for pasta and all things Italian stems from years of ministry abroad. She’d love to tell you about it over a steaming cup of cappuccino. Connect with Sylvia on her blog, When the House is Quiet, her Facebook page, or Twitter.
