- For the kibbutz in the far south of Israel, see Ketura (Kibbutz).
According to the Hebrew Bible, Keturah or Ketura (Hebrew: קְטוּרָה, Standard Qətura Tiberian Qəṭûrāh ; "Incense") was the woman whom Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, married after the death of his wife, Sarah. The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic Tiberian Hebrew is an extinct (yet very well documented Oral tradition of pronunciation for ancient Hebrew, especially the Hebrew of the Tanakh, that was Abraham ( Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a Pater familias over an extended family See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. Sarah (; Arabic: سارة, Sārah; "a woman of high rank" is the wife of Abraham as described in the Hebrew Bible Her nationality is unknown. Keturah bore Abraham six sons, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. According to the Hebrew Bible, Zimran ( also known as Zambran. Jokshan ("an offense" "hardness" or "a knocking" most probably Josephus' Jazar. Medan (Hebrew "contention to twist conflict" also spelt Madan was the third son of Abraham, the Patriarch of the Israelites, and Ishbak (Hebrew ish'băk "he will leave leaving" also spelt Jisbak and Josabak. Shuah ( Hebrew: "ditch swimming humiliation" also known as Sous, was the sixth son of Abraham, the Patriarch of the Israelites (Genesis 25:1-6)
Abraham married her probably after Sarah's death (Gen 23:1). If that is correct, Abraham would have been at least 137 years of age at the time of Sarah's death[1], and was in bad health (Gen 24:1).
Keturah is styled "Abraham's concubine" in 1Chronicles 1:32. Concubinage is the state of a woman or youth in an ongoing quasi-matrimonial relationship with a man of higher social status She is described as his concubine to indicate that she was not considered to be of the same dignity as Sarah, the mother of the chosen son, Isaac. According to the Hebrew Bible, Isaac ( Hebrew: Yitzchak יִצְחָק, Standard Yiẓḥaq It is probably also for this reason that the sons of Abraham's concubines were separated from Isaac. There is no indication when that happened, other than during his lifetime. He died at the age of 175. [2]. Keturah was the mother of 6 sons representing Arab tribes South and East of Palestine, so that through the offspring of Keturah Abraham became "the father of many nations", foretold in Genesis 17:4.
Midrashic legends identify Keturah with Hagar, stating that Abraham sought her out after Sarah's death. Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic Hagar (הָגָר "Stranger" Standard Hebrew Hagar, Tiberian Hebrew Hāḡār; هاجر Hajar) according to the
Keturah is also the namesake of the kibbutz Ketura.
References
External links
- Easton's Bible Dictionary: Keturah
- I.S.B.E.
See also
| Sons of Abraham by wife in order of birth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hagar | Ishmael (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sarah | Isaac (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Keturah | Zimran | Jokshan | Medan | Midian | Ishbak | Shuah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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