(א) וַיֹּ֧סֶף אַבְרָהָ֛ם וַיִּקַּ֥ח אִשָּׁ֖ה וּשְׁמָ֥הּ קְטוּרָֽה׃ (ב) וַתֵּ֣לֶד ל֗וֹ אֶת־זִמְרָן֙ וְאֶת־יָקְשָׁ֔ן וְאֶת־מְדָ֖ן וְאֶת־מִדְיָ֑ן וְאֶת־יִשְׁבָּ֖ק וְאֶת־שֽׁוּחַ׃ (ג) וְיָקְשָׁ֣ן יָלַ֔ד אֶת־שְׁבָ֖א וְאֶת־דְּדָ֑ן וּבְנֵ֣י דְדָ֔ן הָי֛וּ אַשּׁוּרִ֥ם וּלְטוּשִׁ֖ים וּלְאֻמִּֽים׃ (ד) וּבְנֵ֣י מִדְיָ֗ן עֵיפָ֤ה וָעֵ֙פֶר֙ וַחֲנֹ֔ךְ וַאֲבִידָ֖ע וְאֶלְדָּעָ֑ה כָּל־אֵ֖לֶּה בְּנֵ֥י קְטוּרָֽה׃ (ה) וַיִּתֵּ֧ן אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֖וֹ לְיִצְחָֽק׃ (ו) וְלִבְנֵ֤י הַפִּֽילַגְשִׁים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לְאַבְרָהָ֔ם נָתַ֥ן אַבְרָהָ֖ם מַתָּנֹ֑ת וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵ֞ם מֵעַ֨ל יִצְחָ֤ק בְּנוֹ֙ בְּעוֹדֶ֣נּוּ חַ֔י קֵ֖דְמָה אֶל־אֶ֥רֶץ קֶֽדֶם׃
(1) Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. (2) She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. (3) Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim. (4) The descendants of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Enoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. (5) Abraham willed all that he owned to Isaac; (6) but to Abraham’s sons by concubines Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the East.
(א) וְאוֹסִיף אַבְרָהָם וּנְסַב אִיתָא וּשְׁמָהּ קְטוּרָה הִיא הָגָר דִקְטִירָא לֵיהּ מִן שֵׁרוּיָא (ב) וִילֵידַת לֵיהּ יַת זִמְרָן וְיַת יָקְשָׁן וְיַת מְדָן וְיַת מִדְיָן וְיַת יִשְׁבָּק וְיַת שׁוּחַ (ג) וְיָקְשָׁן אוֹלִיד יַת שְׁבָא וְיַת דְדָן וּבְנֵי דְדָן הֲווֹן תַּגָרִין וְאִמְפּוּרִין וְרֵישֵׁי אוּמִין (ד) וּבְנוֹי דְמִדְיָן עֵיפָא וְעֵפֶר וַחֲנוֹךְ וַאֲבִידָע וְאֶלְדְעָה כָּל אִלֵין בְּנָהָא דִקְטוּרָה (ה) וִיהַב אַבְרָהָם בְּמַתָּנָא יַת כָּל דִילֵיהּ לְיִצְחָק (ו) וְלִבְנֵיהוֹם דִפְלַקְתּוּן דִלְאַבְרָהָם יְהַב אַבְרָהָם נִכְסִין וּמְטַלְטְלִין לְמַתְּנָן וְתַרְכִינוּן מֵעִילוֹי יִצְחָק בְּרֵיהּ עַד דְהוּא בְּחַיֵי וְאָזְלַן לְמֵיתַב קִידוּמָא לְאַרַע מַדִינְחָא
(1) And Abraham added and took a wife, and her name was Keturah; she is Hagar, who had been bound to him from the beginning.
(2) And she bare to him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midyan, and Yishbak, and Shovack.
(3) And Jokshan begat Sheva and Dedan; and the sons of Dedan were merchants, and negotiators, and chiefs of peoples.
(4) And the sons of Midyan, Eipher, and Ephher, and Honok, and Abida, and Aldaah, all these were the sons of Keturah.
(5) And Abraham gave the gift of all he had to Izhak.
(6) And to the sons of the concubines of Abraham gave Abraham riches and moveable property as gifts, and sent them away from Izhak his son while he (yet) lived; and they went and dwelt eastward in the land of the orient.
(א) וְאוֹסֵיף אַבְרָהָם וּנְסֵיב אִתְּתָא וּשְׁמַהּ קְטוּרָה: (ב) וִילֵידַת לֵיהּ יָת זִמְרָן וְיָת יָקְשָׁן וְיָת מְדָן וְיָת מִדְיָן וְיָת יִשְׁבָּק וְיָת שׁוּחַ: (ג) וְיָקְשָׁן אוֹלִיד יָת שְׁבָא וְיָת דְּדָן וּבְנֵי דְדָן הֲווֹ לְמַשִּׁירְיָן וְלִשְׁכוּנִין וּלְנַגְוָן: (ד) וּבְנֵי מִדְיָן עֵיפָה וָעֵפֶר וַחֲנוֹךְ וַאֲבִידָע וְאֶלְדָּעָה כָּל אִלֵּין בְּנֵי קְטוּרָה: (ה) וִיהַב אַבְרָהָם יָת כָּל דִּילֵיהּ לְיִצְחָק: (ו) וְלִבְנֵי לְחֵינָתָא דִּי לְאַבְרָהָם יְהַב אַבְרָהָם מַתְּנָן וְשַׁלְּחִנּוּן מֵעַל יִצְחָק בְּרֵיהּ בְּעוֹד דְּהוּא קַיָּם קִידוּמָא לְאַרַע מָדִינְחָא:
(ד) וּשְׁמָהּ קְטוּרָה (בראשית כה, א), רַב אָמַר זוֹ הָגָר, אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה וְהָכְתִיב (בראשית כה, א): וַיֹּסֶף, אֲמַר לֵיהּ עַל פִּי הַדִּבּוּר נְשָׂאָהּ, הֵיךְ מָה דְאַתְּ אָמַר (ישעיה ח, ה): וַיֹּסֶף ה' דַּבֵּר אֵלַי עוֹד. אֲמַר לֵיהּ וְהָכְתִיב: וּשְׁמָהּ קְטוּרָה. אֲמַר לֵיהּ שֶׁמְקֻטֶּרֶת מִצְווֹת וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים. אֲמַר לֵיהּ וְהָכְתִיב (בראשית כה, ו): וְלִבְנֵי הַפִּילַגְשִׁים אֲשֶׁר לְאַבְרָהָם, אֲמַר לֵיהּ פִּלַגְשָׁם כְּתִיב. (בראשית כה, ו): בְּעוֹדֶנּוּ חַי, אוֹתָהּ שֶׁיָּשְׁבָה עַל הַבְּאֵר וְאָמְרָה לְחַי הָעוֹלָמִים רְאֵה בְּעֶלְבּוֹנִי. אָמַר רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה אַף עַל גַּב דְּאַתְּ אָמַר (בראשית כא, יד): וַתֵּלֶךְ וַתֵּתַע בְּמִדְבַּר וגו', תֹּאמַר שֶׁנֶּחְשַׁד עָלֶיהָ בִּרְיָה, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר (בראשית כה, א): וּשְׁמָהּ קְטוּרָה, מִן קְטַר, כָּזֶה שֶׁהוּא חוֹתֵם גַּנְזַכָּה וּמוֹצִיאָהּ בְּחוֹתֶמֶת קְשׁוּרָה וַחֲתוּמָה. בַּר קַפָּרָא אָמַר תּוֹסַפְתּוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְרֻבָּה עַל הָעִקָּר, קַיִן עִקָּר וְהֶבֶל עַל יְדֵי שֶׁהוּא תּוֹסֶפֶת, דִּכְתִיב (בראשית ד, ב): וַתֹּסֶף לָלֶדֶת, נוֹלַד הוּא וּשְׁתֵּי תְּאוֹמוֹתָיו. יוֹסֵף עִקָּר, וּבִנְיָמִין עַל יְדֵי שֶׁכָּתוּב בּוֹ תּוֹסֶפֶת הוּא מַעֲמִיד עֲשָׂרָה, דִּכְתִיב (בראשית מו, כא): וּבְנֵי בִנְיָמִין בֶּלַע וָבֶכֶר וגו'. עֵר עִקָּר, וְשֵׁלָה עַל יְדֵי שֶׁהוּא לְשׁוֹן תּוֹסֶפֶת הוּא מַעֲמִיד עֲשָׂרָה בָּתֵּי דִּינִים, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב בְּדִבְרֵי הַיָּמִים (דברי הימים א ד, כא כג): בְּנֵי שֵׁלָּה בֶן יְהוּדָה עֵר אֲבִי לֵכָה וְלַעְדָּה אֲבִי מָרֵשָׁה וּמִשְׁפְּחוֹת בֵּית עֲבֹדַת הַבֻּץ לְבֵית אַשְׁבֵּעַ וגו'. עִקַּר שָׁנָיו שֶׁל אִיּוֹב לֹא הָיוּ אֶלָּא שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה, נִתּוֹסַף לוֹ מֵאָה וְאַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה, דִּכְתִיב (איוב מב, טז): וַיְחִי אִיּוֹב אַחֲרֵי זֹאת מֵאָה וְאַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה. עִקַּר מַלְכוּתוֹ שֶׁל יְחִזְקִיָּהוּ לֹא הָיוּ אֶלָּא אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה, וְנִתּוֹסַף לוֹ חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה לח, ה): הִנְנִי יוֹסִף עַל יָמֶיךָ חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה. יִשְׁמָעֵאל עִקָּר וּבְנֵי קְטוּרָה עַל יְדֵי שֶׁהֵן לְשׁוֹן תּוֹסֶפֶת (בראשית כה, ב): וַתֵּלֶד לוֹ אֶת זִמְרָן וגו'.
(4) And her name was Keturah: Rav said, "She is Hagar." Rabbi Nechemiah said to him, "And is it not written, 'he added.'" He said to him, "[That signifies that] he [now] married her according to the [Divine] word; like that which you say (Isaiah 8), 'And the Lord added to speak to me more.'" He said to him, "And is it not written, 'And her name was Keturah?'" He said to him, "[It is] since she was fragrant (mekuteret) with commandments and good deeds." He said to him, "And is it not written, 'And to the sons of the concubines that Avraham had?'" He said, "It is [actually] written, 'concubine' (in the singular, such that there only be one concubine - Hagar)." "While he was still alive (chai)" - [this is a reference to] the one that sat by the well and said to the Life (chai) of the worlds, "Look at my embarrassment!" Rabbi Berakhia said, "Even though you say (Genesis 21:14), 'and she went and strayed in the wilderness, etc., [such that] you would say that she was suspected with any [other man]; hence we learn to say, 'And her name was Keturah' - like a type of knot (ketur) like this, [with which] he seals a storehouse and opens it with a seal, [that is] tied and sealed." Bar Kapra said, "The addition of the Holy One, blessed be He, is greater than the main part: Kayin was was the main part and as a result of Hevel being the addition - as it is is written (Genesis 4:2), 'And she added to give birth' - he and his two twins were born; Yosef was the main part, and as a result of it being written, addition, with Binyamin, he established ten [children], as it is written (Genesis 46:21), ' And the children of Binyamin were Bela and Becher, etc.'; Er was the main part, and as a result of Shelah being [born] with the language of addition, he established ten [courts], behold, it is written in I Chronicles 4:21, 'And the sons of Shelah the son of Yehudah were Er, the father (a term that is also used for the head of a court) of Lecha, and Ladah, the father of Maresha, and the families of the house Avodat HaButs of the house of Ashbea'; the main part of the years of Iyov were only seventy years, [and] one hundred and forty years were added to him, as it is written (Job 42:16), 'And Iyov lived after this one hundred and forty years'; the main part of the reign of Chizkiyahu was only fourteen years, and fifteen years were added to him, as it states (Isaiah 38:), 'behold, I will add fifteen years to your days; Yishmael is the main part, and as a result of the children of Keturah being [born] with the language of addition, 'And she gave birth for him to Zimran, etc.'"
(א) קטורה. זוֹ הָגָר, וְנִקְרֵאת קְטוּרָה עַל שֶׁנָּאִים מַעֲשֶׁיהָ כִּקְטֹרֶת (בראשית רבה), וְשֶׁקָּשְׁרָה פִּתְחָהּ, שֶֶׁלֹא נִזְדַּוְּגָה לְאָדָם מִיּוֹם שֶׁפֵּרְשָׁה מֵאַבְרָהָם: (א) אשורים ולטושים. שֵׁם רָאשֵׁי אֻמּוֹת (בראשית רבה), וְתַרְגּוּם שֶׁל אֻנְקְלוֹס אֵין לִי לְיַשְּׁבוֹ עַל לְשׁוֹן הַמִּקְרָא שֶׁפֵּרֵשׁ לְמַשִּׁירְיָן, לְשׁוֹן מַחֲנֶה, וְאִם תֹּאמַר שֶׁאֵינוֹ כֵן מִפְּנֵי הָאָלֶ"ף שֶׁאֵינָהּ יְסוֹדִית, הֲרֵי לָנוּ תֵּבוֹת שֶׁאֵין בְּרֹאשָׁם אָלֶ"ף וְנִתּוֹסְפָה אָלֶ"ף בְּרֹאשָׁם, כְּמוֹ חוֹמַת אֲנָךְ (עמוס ז) שֶׁהוּא מִן נְכֵה רַגְלַיִם, וּכְמוֹ אָסוּךְ שָׁמֶן (מ"ב ד), שֶׁהוּא מִן וְרָחַצְתְּ וָסַכְתְּ: (ב) ולטושם. הֵם בַּעֲלֵי אֹהָלִים הַמִּתְפַּזְרִים אָנֶה וָאָנָה וְנוֹסְעִים אִיש בְּאָהֳלֵי אַפַּדְנוֹ, וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר וְהִנָּם נְטֻשִׁים עַל פְּנֵי כָל הָאָרֶץ (שמואל א ל') שֶׁכֵּן לָמֶ"ד וְנוּ"ן מִתְחַלְּפוֹת זוֹ בְּזוֹ): (א) ויתן אברהם וגו'. אָמַר רַ' נְחֶמְיָה בְּרָכָה דִּיאַתִּיקֵי, שֶׁאָמַר לוֹ הַקָּבָּ"ה לְאַבְרָהָם וֶהְיֵה בְּרָכָה, הַבְּרָכוֹת מְסוּרוֹת בְּיָדְךָ לְבָרֵךְ אֶת מִי שֶׁתִּרְצֶה, וְאַבְרָהָם מְסָרָן לְיִצְחָק (בראשית רבה): (א) הפילגשים. חָסֵר כְּתִיב, שֶׁלֹּא הָיְתָה אֶלָּא פִּלֶגֶשׁ אַחַת, הִיא הָגָר, הִיא קְטוּרָה (בראשית רבה). נָשִׁים בִּכְתֻבָּה, פִּילַגְשִׁים בְּלֹא כְּתֻבָּה, כִּדְאָמְרִינַן בְּסַנְהֶדְרִין, בְּנָשִׁים וּפִילַגְשִׁים דְּדָוִד: (ב) נתן אברהם מתנות. פֵּרְשׁוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ שֵׁם טֻמְאָה מָסַר לָהֶם (סנהדרין צ"א). דָּ"אַ מַה שֶּׁנִּתַּן לוֹ עַל אוֹדוֹת שָׂרָה וּשְׁאָר מַתָּנוֹת שֶׁנִתְּנוּ לוֹ, הַכֹּל נָתַן לָהֶם, שֶׁלֹּא רָצָה לֵהָנוֹת מֵהֶם:
(1) קטורה KETURAH — This is Hagar. She was named Keturah because her deeds were as beautiful (sweet) as incense (Ketoreth) (Genesis Rabbah 61). And since she closed her 'opening,' as she did not mate with anyone from the time she separated from Avraham (Genesis Rabbah 61:4). (1) אשורם ולטושם The names of chieftains of clans (Genesis Rabbah 61:5). As regards the translation of Onkelos I cannot make it fit in exactly with the words of the text. He explains אשורם by למשירין which means “camps” (cf. שיירא a caravan). If you say that this cannot be correct on account of the א in אשורם which is not a root letter in the word from which משירין is derived (whilst in אשורם we have an א) then I would reply that we find some words which should have no א at the beginning, but still א is placed before them. Such are אנך in (Amos 7:7) “a wall made by a plumbline (אנך)”, where the word is of the same root as נכה in (2 Samuel 4:4) “stricken (נכה) in his feet”, and אסוך, a cruse containing anointing oil, in (2 Kings 4:2) “a pot (אסוך) of oil” which is of the same root as וסכת in (Ruth 3:3) “wash thyself and (וסכת) annoint thyself”. (2) The לטושים (according to Onkelos) are owners of tents who spread about in all directions and travel about each in the “tents of his palace” (Rashi uses a Biblical phrase (Daniel 11:45), but he means nothing more than “each in his own tent”). Indeed Scripture says (1 Samuel 30:16) “Behold they were spread (נטושים) over all the ground”, for ל and נ may interchange (so that לטושים is equivalent to נטושים). (1) AND ויתן אברהם וגו AND ABRAHAM GAVE etc. — R. Nehemiah said, he gave him the blessing as a legacy (literally, will, testament). The Holy One, blessed be He, had said to Abraham (12:2) “Be thou a blessing” which means “the blessing are entrusted to you that you may bless whomsoever you please”, and Abraham transferred them to Isaac (cf. Genesis Rabbah 61:6). (1) הפילגשים THE CONCUBINES — The word is written deficient, (without י, but our texts have a י in both places) because he had only one concubine, Hagar, who is identical with Keturah. Wives are those whom a man marries with a marriage-contract (Ketubah): concubines have no marriage contract, as we explain in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 21a) in reference to David’s wives and concubines. (2) נתן אברהם מתנות ABRAHAM GAVE GIFTS — Our Rabbis explained (Sanhedrin 91a) that he transmitted to them the names of impure things. Another explanation is: all that he had received as gifts because of Sarah — and other gifts that people had given him — all these he gave to them because he did not wish to derive any benefit from these.
(א) קטורה - לפי הפשט אין זו הגר. (א) הפילגשים - הגר וקטורה. (ב) מתנות - ממון הרבה. (ג) קדמה אל ארץ קדם - שירשו בניו נחלותיו שיש לו שם.
(1) קטורה, according to the plain meaning of the text this woman was not identical with Hagar. (1) הפילגשים, Hagar and Keturah. (2) מתנות, gifts of large amounts of money. (3) קדמה אל ארץ קדם, in order that his sons could take possession of the properties he owned there.
(א) ויסף אברהם, הוסיף לקחת עוד אשה כי כבר היו לו שתים ועוד הוסיף ולקח השלישי' כדי לשמשו לעת זקנותו, ולהוליד ג"כ להרבות זרעו בעולם, ולא הקפיד בזו מאיזה עם ומאיזה משפחה תהיה כיון שזרעו המיוחד שהוא יצחק היה מאשה שהיתה ממש ממשפחתו, והשיא ליצחק גם כן אשה ממשפחתו ולא חשש על שאר הבנים מאיזה עם יהי' אבל ודאי אשה כשרה בקש לו שלא תהיה מרת רוח בזקנותו ושמר גם כן שלא תהיה מבנוח כנען, כי הגר מצרית היתה ולא כנענית, והגר היתה אשה לאברהם כמו שאמר לו לאשה, וקטורה גם כן היתה לו לאשה כמו שאמר ויקח אשה ומלבד אלו היו לו מהם בנים ולא זכר אלא בני הנשים, והנשים היו בנשואין בחופה ובמשתה והפילגשים ביחוד לבד שהיו מיוחדת לו למשכבו. וארז"ל אשה בכתובה ובקדושין, פלגש בלא כתובה ובלא קידושין, והם אמרו (ב"ר ס"א) קטורה זו הגר ואמרו כי לא היתה לאברהם אלא פלגש אחת והיא הגר, ודרשו זה בעבור שמצאו הפילגשם חסר יו"ד ואנחנו מצאנוהו מלא ביו"ד בכל הספרים המדוייקים: (א) ויקשן, במקצתם זכר לבנים בנים, ועוד לדדן שהיה בן הבן זכר בניו, ולמקצתם לא זכר בנים כלל, אפשר שלא היו להם או היו להם ומתו. ואמר כל אלה בני קטורה, בנים ובני בנים שזכר, כל אלה אמר אותם לפי שהיו רבים כי שש עשרה היו בין בנים ובני בנים, ואם כן למה לא זכר כל הנולדים מבני הבנים ואין לדבר סוף, אלא מן הדומה כי זכר בני קטורה שהיו ששה וזכר מבני בניה כל אשר היו בחייה וכן יכול שהיו בימי אברהם, כי משנשא יצחק אשה אם מיד לקח אברהם אשה נותרו משנותיו שלשים וחמש שנה והיה יכול לראות מקטורה בנים ובני בנים. (ב) אשורים לטושים ולאמים, אלה שלשה בנים היו לו, ולא ידענו למה קרא שמם ביו"ד מ"ם הרבוי, אולי היה זה לענין ידוע אצלם, וכן מצרים קרא לבניו ביו"ד מ"ם הרבוי, ולדעת אונקלס לא היו אלה שמותם שתרגם למשריין ולשכונין ולנגוון. (א) ויתן, חלק נכסיו בחייו כדי שלא יבאו לידי מחלוקת בירושה אחר מותו, ונתן כל אשר לו ליצחק, ועשה אותו יורש כמו שאמר לו האל "כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע": (א) ולבני הפילגשים, לא היו פלגשיו שהיו לו בנים מהם אלא פלגשי ביתו היו מעבדיו בני ביתו, ואותם הבנים היו ילידי ביתו ונמלו עמו ואוחזים דרכו ונתן להם מתנות מכסף וזהב ומקנה כפי מה שראוי, וכל שכן שנתן לישמעאל ולבני קטורה אע"פ שלא זכר אותם, כי אחר שלילידי ביתו נתן כ"ש לבניו. (ב) מעל יצחק בנו, כדי שלא יהיו עליו לטורח ולא יריבו עמו על דבר הירושה. (ג) קדמה, אל ארץ קדם, אומר שלחם כלפי מזרח, ופירש אחר כן לאיזה ארץ מארצות המזרח שלחם, ואמר אל ארץ קדם והיא חרן ואור כשדים, ואותן גלילות שנקראות בסתם ארץ קדם וארץ בני קדם, ואותה הארץ היתה למשפחת אברהם לפיכך שלחם לשכון שם כי לאהבתו יקרבום אנשי משפחתו:
(1) ויסף אברהם, he took another wife although he already had had two wives. He meant to continue siring children in his old age in order to comply with the blessing/command to increase the world’s population. Seeing that the continuity of his own seed [the Jewish people having originated in seed from both a Jewish father and a Jewish other, Ed.] had been assured, he was not concerned with the antecedents of Keturah. We can be certain, however, that he selected a woman who personally possessed all the good qualities he would have desired also for a wife for his son. The only thing he did not insist on was such a woman’s national background. He was certainly not looking for experiencing disappointments with any children from Keturah, having experienced enough disappointment with Ishmael. We may safely assume that Keturah was not of Canaanitic descent, seeing that even Hagar the Egyptian had not been of such descent. (compare 17,3) Keturah was not a concubine, This is why the Torah writes ויקח אשה, as apposed to the mention of פלגשים, concubines, (verse 5). The sons of the concubines are not mentioned by name whereas the sons of Keturah are all mentioned by their names. This fact alone clearly shows that their status was superior to the sons of Avraham’s concubines. The essential difference between a wife and a concubine is that though both are exclusive partners of the men with whom they live, the former, when becoming wives, underwent the ceremony known as chuppah, and the union was celebrated with a wedding party, whereas a concubine was not accorded all this pomp and ceremony. [after the Torah was given, the essential; difference in status was that no financial settlement, ketuvah, was made when a concubine was taken by a man as his companion.
(1) ויקשן, The Torah mentions only some of the children of Keturah’s sons. In the case of Yokshon even a grandson of Keturah is mentioned. Altogether the Torah mentions by name 16 such sons and grandsons. We are hard-pressed to know the reason for the Torah’s selectivity in mentioning only part of the many grandsons, etc. Perhaps those whom Avraham or at least Keturah still knew before they died, are mentioned by name, whereas those who were born by his/her sons after he had died were not mentioned. Considering that Avraham had married Keturah when he was 140 years old or older, he lived for only another 35 years, it would have been unlikely that he saw grandchildren from Keturah, considering that we have no record of anyone marrying below the age of 29 in those days. (2) אשורים ולטושים ולאמים, we do not know why the names of these three sons appear with the plural ending ים at the end. Possibly, these sons knew why they had been named thus. It is interesting that מצרים, a son of Cham, also gave his sons names ending with the ים plural ending. According to Onkelos, the names mentioned here were not their real names, as he translates their names as למשריין, ולשכונין, ולנגון.
(1) ויתן, he distributed his wealth during his lifetime in order to forestall quarrels about his inheritance after his death. כל אשר לו ליצחק, he had appointed Yitzchok as his heir as he had been commanded to do by G’d when Ishmael had been expelled. (21,12) Anything the other sons received was in the nature of “gifts,” not “inheritance.” (1) ולבני הפילגשים he had no concubines from whom he had fathered children, but the concubines in his household were concubines of male servants in his household. Their children were, of course, members of Avraham’s household who had been of service to Avraham and who had adopted his lifestyle. He gave them gifts consisting of silver and gold and livestock according to his own evaluation of who deserved how much. He most certainly gave even more valuable gifts to Ishmael and to the sons of Keturah even though the Torah does not specifically mentions this. If he gave gifts to people towards whom he had no legal obligation at all, it is obvious that people towards whom he did have such an obligation would receive their due. (2) מעל יצחק בנו, in order that they should not interfere with him after his death and could not quarrel with him about the inheritance. (3) קדמה אל ארץ קדם, he sent them off in an easterly direction. According to another interpretation, the words refer to a specific country among the countries of the East. It could well refer to Charan or Ur Casdim or both, regions which were generally loosely known as ארץ קדם, [just as we speak about the regions of the Middle East, or the Far East in our time. Ed.]
(א) ולבני הפילגשים אשר לאברהם על דרך הפשט בעבור שנאמר לו (לעיל כא יב) כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע לא בזרע אחר היו כל נשיו אצלו פילגשים לא היו נחשבות לנשים שאין זרען ביורשיו כי הגר שפחת שרה פילגשו היתה אבל קטורה לאשה לקח לו ואם היתה שפחה בביתו ולקחה לפילגש לא היה אומר "ויקח אשה ושמה קטורה" רק תקרא פילגש בכתוב מפני הטעם שפירשתי ובדברי הימים (א א לב) כתוב ובני קטורה פילגש אברהם והנה אברהם לקח לו אשה מבנות כנען ואם תאמר שהיתה מצרית או מארץ פלשתים הנה לא שלח אל ארצו ואל מולדתו כאשר עשה בבנו כי איננו שומר רק זרע יצחק כי עליו נכרת הברית ועוד שלא אמר הכתוב "ויקח אשה קטורה בת פלוני החוי או הפלשתי והמצרי מארץ פלונית" כאשר אמר בנשי עשו (להלן כו לד) וזולתן אבל הזכיר שמה בלבד כי היא כנענית וקצר ביחוסה וכן יעשה במקומות רבים כשלא יקפיד בייחוס שלהן ואולי תקרא פילגש בעבור היותה שפחה ממשפחת העבדים ואם היתה שפחה בביתו ובא אליה לא יזכיר ייחוסה כי אין דרך הכתוב להזכיר באמהות רק שמן כענין בזלפה ובלהה ורש"י כתב נשים בכתובה פילגשים שלא בכתובה כדאמר בנשים ופילגשים דדוד בסנהדרין (כא) ואין הדבר כן כי לא תקרא פילגש אלא כשהיא בלא קדושין כי הכתובה מדברי סופרים והגירסא בסנהדרין פילגש בלא כתובה וקדושין אבל אפשר שגם בני נח כאשר ישאו להם נשים כמשפטן בבעילה היו נוהגים לכתוב להן מהר ומתן ואשר רצונה שתהיה להם פילגש וישלח אותה כאשר ירצה ולא יהיו בניה בנוחלים את שלו לא היה כותב לה כלום ועל דעת רבותינו (ב"ר סא ד) שהיא הגר הנה היא פילגש ודאי:
(1) BUT TO AVRAM'S KIDS FROM THE CONCUBINES. In the plain explanation : because its said to Avram "since thru. Isaac offspring's will be considered yours" and not of any other offspring, he considered all his other wives concubines. They weren't considered his wives for their offspring would not be among his heirs. For Hagar Sarah's maid servant, was his concubine; Keturah however he took as [a full fledged] wife. for if she would have been a maid in his house and he then took her as a concubine the Torah wouldn't have said "And he took a 'wife' whose name was Keturah" nonetheless she's called a concubine" by the Torah for the reason I said. And in Chronicles its written "And the sons of Keturah the 'concubine' of Avram" Accordingly Avram took a wife from the daughters of Canaan! And if you should argue she was Egyptian or from philistine [and not Canaanite] we see that he didnt bother to send an emissary to his land and birthplace as he did with his son. This is because he wanted to protect only Isaac's offspring for it was with that that G-d's covenant has been forged. Also, the Torah didnt say, "And he took a wife Keturah daughter of so-and-so the Chivi" or "Philistine" or "Egyptian" or "from the land of such-and-such" as it said by the wives of Eisav and others. Rather it only said her name, for she was a Canaanite, and it was brief regarding her lineage. And this is what the Torah does in many places when its not particular about peoples lineage. Maybe she's called "concubine" because she was a maidservant from a family of slaves. So that if she 'was' a maidservant in his house and he had relations with her the Torah wouldn't mention her lineage, for its not the manner f the Torah to mention anything about maidservants other than their name as we see by Bilhah and Zilpah. Rashi writes: wives have ketubah but not concubines like the Talmud says about the wives and concubines of David in Sanhedrin. But the matter isn't so. for a lady isn't called "concubine" unless she lives with man without 'kiddushin' for Ketubah is only rabbinical. The correct reading of Sanhedrin is: "a concubine is without ketubah and betrothal" However its possible that Noahites as well when they married in accordance with the rule that applies to them- thru. marital relations - had the custom to write [documents attesting to] marriage endowments and gifts. But if they wanted a concubine with the understanding that he could send her away whenever he desires and that her sons would not be heirs he wouldn't write and document for her.in the rabbis opinion that Keturah was Hagar then she was for sure a concubine.
(א) ושמה קטורה. פירש"י זו הגר ונקראת קטורה שמעשיה נאים כקטורת. ומה שפי' לעיל ותלך ותתע שהלכה וחזרה לגילולי בית אביה צריך לומר שחזרה בתשובה. ואע"ג דמצרית היתה בשלמא תחלה נשאה ע"פ הדבור אבל עכשיו איך נשאה וצ"ל כיון שנשאה בהיתר הותרה לו גם עתה. וראיתי בב"ר שגם עתה נשאה ע"פ הדבור והכי איתא התם רבא אמר זו הגר א"ל ר' נחמיה והכתיב ויוסף אברהם ויקח אשה א"ל ע"פ הדבור כמ"ד ויוסף אלי דבר עוד:
(א) ותלד לו את זמרן. והא דאמר אשר פדה את אברהם שפדאו מצער גדול בנים וחזינא הכא שהוליד בנים הרבה על בני קטורה ועוד שמחה לאיש הרבות בנים וי"ל שפדאו מצער של יוסף ודינה ובני יעקב:
(א) אשורים ולטושים ולאומים. פרש"י שם אומות. ותרגום אונקלוס למשריין ולשכונין ולנגוון אין לי ליישבו עם לשון המקרא. וכתב הרמב"ן ולי נראה שסובר אונקלוס באשורים שהם מחנות ושיירות הולכי דרך מעיר לעיר כמו שאומר ארחת ישמעאלי' מלשון באשורו אחזה רגלי לא תמעד אשוריו וסבר בלטושים שוכני אוהלים הנטושים על פני השדה והלמ"ד והנו"ן מתחלפים כמו נשכה לשכה ותרגום ולאומים ולנגוון בלשון איים ומלת היו עוררה אותו שהיה ראוי שיאמר כמו ומצרים ילד את לודים ואת ענמים:
(א) ויתן אברהם את כל אשר לו ליצחק. יש מקשים מהא דאמרינן לא תיהוי בעבורי אחסנתא אפי' מברא בישא לברא טבא ומתרצי' דגר את הגר אינו יורש לא מדברי תורה ולא מדברי סופרים ומיהו תינח ישמעאל אבל מבני קטורה אכתי קשה ונראה לי שאינו קשה כלל משום שנאמר כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע לא היה חושב האחרים כזרע אף לענין הירושה. במדרש יש שם טומאה מסר להם פי' לפי שהיו קוראים לעצביהם בשם הגדול לכך למדם לקרות לע"ז שלהם. א"נ הכי פירושו משר להם השם שאפילו בטומאתם יתעסקו בו ומה שלמדם השם והיה יודע שישתמשו בו מפני שראה אותם עוסקים בתרפים ומשתחוי' להם כדי שיגידו להם העתידות אמר להם הניחו אלו מלעובדם ואני אמסור לכם שם שאפילו בטומאה תוכלו להזכירו ותדעו בו העתידות:
(א) ולבני הפילגשים. ודאי הגר פלגש היתה אבל קטורה אשתו גמורה היתה שאלו היתה שפחתו בביתו ולקחה לו לפלגש לא היה אומר ויקח אשה ומה שקורא אותה פלגש לפי שנאמר לו כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע ולא בזרע אחר לפיכך היו כל נשיו נחשבות אצלו כפילגשים שאין זרעם יורשים. והנה אברהם לקח לו מבנות כנען ואם תאמר שהיתה מצרית או מבנות פלשתים הנה לא שלח אל ארצו ואל מולדתו כאשר עשה בבנו כי איננו שומר רק זרע יצחק כי עליו נכרת הברית:
(1) ושמה קטורה, “whose name was Keturah.” Rashi claims that Keturah was identical with Hagar, who appears in a new guise. Her new name reflected her new and improved attitudes, comparable to the incense offered on the altar, the most beloved of Israel’s sacrificial offerings. In order to reconcile this comment with what Rashi had written on Genesis 21,14 where Hagar is described as ותלך ותתע, as returning to the idolatrous practices she had absorbed in her home as a child, we would have to postulate that in the interval she had become a penitent. Although she was of Egyptian origin [and therefore no better than a Canaanite from the point of view of Avraham’s criteria for intermarriage Ed.] she was not only of perfectly good character, but seeing that the first time Avraham had married he had done so with Divine approval, she was now also permissible to him as a wife.
I have seen a comment in Bereshit Rabbah 61,4 that even at this stage Avraham married her at G’d’s instructions This is why the Torah wrote ויוסף אברהם ויקח, “he again married, etc.” The word ויוסף is to tell us that just as it had been with G’d’s approval that he had married Hagar the first time, he still enjoyed G’d’s approval when he took her back. The Midrash describes an argument between two scholars of the Talmud who debated this subject.
(1) ותלד לו את זמרן,”she bore Zimron for him.” Concerning Isaiah 29,22 אשר פדה אברהם, “who redeemed Avraham,” which according to our sages means that Avraham was freed from the burden of raising children, and which seems incompatible with the fact that he had to raise 6 children by Keturah, apart from the fact that most fathers enjoy having many children to raise, we must assume that what the author of that comment had in mind was that Avraham dd not have to experience the problems his grandson Yaakov faced when his son Joseph went missing, when his daughter Dinah was raped, and when various of his sons at different times behaved in a manner unacceptable to him.
(1) אשורים ולטושים ולאומים. According to Rashi these are all names of the eventual nations they developed into. Personally, I fail to reconcile what Onkelos says on these name with the wording of the text.
Nachmanides writes that he understands Onkelos as saying that אשורים are camps and caravans which move from city to city, similar tote caravans of Ishmaelite traders described in the story of the sale of Joseph. The word is related to Job 23,11 באשורו אחזה רגלי, “I have followed in his tracks.” The word לטושים he understands as referring to Bedouins, dwellers in tents, instead of people housed in permanent structures. These are apt to be abandoned in time of need. The letter ל and נ are often used interchangeably as in נשכה instead of לשכה.”office.” (Nechemyah 13,7) Onkelos translates לאומים as נגון, i.e. a word meaning “islands.” (island dwellers) Probably Onkelos was alerted to the change in the text from יקשן ילד, “Yakshon sired,” to בני דן היו instead of בני דן ילדו, to see in the three wordsאשורים, ולטושים, and ולאומים something other than additional offspring. We would have expected a formulation parallel to Genesis 10,13 ומצרים ילד.
(1) ויתן אברהם את כל אשר לו ליצחק, “Avraham deeded all that was his to Yitzchok. Some people question this procedure, basing themselves on Ketuvot 53 where the Talmud rules that a father must not re-allocate part of his estate from a son who is morally unfit to one who has developed morally and ethically to his liking, seeing he does not know how the grandson from either son will turn out. It is stated there that a convert the son of Hagar, i.e. a slave woman, cannot inherit at any rate, as whatever is his belongs to his master. Whereas this is a good answer concerning the status of Yishmael, it leaves unanswered the question how Avraham could disinherit the sons of Keturah. I believe that there is no difficulty at all, seeing the Torah had told Avraham specifically that his seed will only be known through Yitzchok, i.e. that Yitzchok will be his only heir. It does not mean that the other sons were intrinsically unfit because of their character or some other impediment,
According to Rashi, quoting Sanhedrin 91, Avraham handed to these sons שם טומאה, i.e. seeing they referred to their idols by the sacred name of the Creator, he taught them to refer to these idols by some other name.
It is also possible that the meaning of this strange sounding comment by the Talmud is that he informed them of a name for G’d which it is permissible to use even in their state of ritual impurity. All this, because he observed that these sons of Keturah were practicing different forms of idolatry and worshipping those idols. The reason that these sons of Avraham also practiced this form of idolatry was their being so anxious to obtain information about their impending fate, something which the religion of their time promised to have for those who practiced their cults. By informing them of this name for the true G’d, he told them that by invoking it they would become privy to knowledge of the future. [According to the Maharal from Prague the reason Avraham taught his sons the “names” of these idolatries, i.e. the essence of their teachings, was to enable them to counter the damaging influence the power of these demons exercised upon them. According to the author of the כתב והקבלה, Rabbi Mecklenburg, the מתנות, “gifts” Avraham gave to his sons was the know how to protect themselves against the insidious influence of the various religious cults prevalent in their neighborhood.. Ed.]
(1) ולבני הפילגשים, “and to the sons of the concubines, etc” No doubt Hagar’s status in the household of Avraham had been that of a concubine, whereas Keturah was his wife in the full sense of that term. If she had been a servant maid in his household and he had raised her to the status of concubine the Torah would not have described this as ויקח אשה ושמה קטורה, “He married a woman named Keturah.” If the Torah here describes Keturah as a concubine, this was only since G’d had decreed that Yitzchok would be Avraham’s sole heir, so that sons from any other woman would have to content themselves with gifts handed to them during their father’s lifetime. Avraham had taken these women from the Caaanite women, for if Keturah had been an Egyptian or Philistine by birth the Torah could not have said that Avraham dispatched these sons somewhere to the Far East, but he would have sent them back to Egypt or the land of the Philistines when their mother had come. The prohibition of marrying Canaanite women applied only to Avraham’s heirs, not to children who would not inherit his estate, and thus represent his outlook on life.
(א) ולבני הפילגשים אשר לאברהם. דרשו רז"ל פלגשם כתיב והיא קטורה שהזכיר למעלה. ונקראת פילגש לפי שהיא ממשפחת עבדים ונקראת אשה לפי שכתב לה כתובה. וכן ארז"ל נשים בכתובה פלגשים בלא כתובה, וכן כתוב בדברי הימים ובני קטורה פילגש אברהם. ומה שלא פירש הכתוב בת מי היא, יש שפירש לפי שהיתה כנענית וע"כ קצר ביחוסה כי אילו היתה פלשתית או מצרית או מאומה אחרת היה מפרש הכתוב יחוסה כמו שמצינו בעשו (בראשית כ״ח:ט׳) ויקח את מחלת בת ישמעאל בן אברהם. ומפני שהיתה מן הזרע המקולל ע"כ קצר הכתוב וסתם ולא פירש.
(ב) ואל יקשה בעיניך לאמר איך היה לוקח לעצמו אשה כנענית והוא המזהיר והמשביע את עבדו שלא יקח אשה לבנו מבנות כנען, והטעם כי אין ההקפדה רק על יצחק שהיה עקר הזרע וכענין שכתוב (בראשית כ״א:י״ב) כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע. וכיון שנשלמה הכונה ביצחק אין להקפיד באברהם אם ישא כנענית.
(ג) ובמדרש קטורה זו הגר ולמה נקראת שמה קטורה לפי שהיו מעשיה נאים כקטורת. ולפי המדרש הזה יבא על נכון ויוסף אברהם לפי שהיתה שפחתו כבר בחיי שרה והוליד ממנה ישמעאל ועתה כשהחזירה אמר בה ויוסף כלשון ויוסף לדעתה.
(1) . ולבני הפילגשים אשר לאברהם, “and to the sons of the concubines who were Abraham’s, etc.” According to Bereshit Rabbah 61,4, the word פלגשם is spelled without the letter י which indicates a plural ending, suggesting that Avraham had only one concubine ever, Hagar, and that he had remarried her after Yitzchak was married. Keturah was none other than Hagar whom we know from both Lech Lecha and Vayera. The reason she is here called פלגש, “concubine,” is only because she was descended from slaves. In 16,3 she was called אשה, “wife,” because Avraham had given her a כתובה, a financial settlement, something not given to concubines. Sanhedrin 21 explains the verse in a similar fashion. [Our versions of the Torah have פילגשים with an extra letter י, not without any letter י. Ed.]
The reason why the Torah did not tell us whose daughter Keturah was may have been that she was a Canaanite and therefore the Torah did not want to bother with her genealogy, (Nachmanides). Had she been Egyptian, or from any nation other than the Canaanites, the Torah would have given us more details about her background. We have proof of this when the Torah detailed the genealogy of the women whom Esau and Ishmael married (compare 28,9). Seeing that Keturah was a member of an accursed nation, the Torah preferred not to go into details (for the sake of Avraham?) (2) Do not question me how it was possible for Avraham to marry a local Canaanite woman after he had made such a point of making even his trusted servant Eliezer swear that he would not take a woman of Canaanite descent for his son Yitzchak. The prohibition never applied to anyone with the exception of Yitzchak who was predestined to carry on the line of Avraham and to be a further link in the formation of the Jewish people. Only concerning Yitzchak had G’d said: “for through Yitzchak your seed shall be known” (Genesis 21,12). Once Yitzchak was married and the stage had been set for fulfilment of the prophecy that Yitzchak would become the founding father of the Jewish people, Avraham had no reason not to marry any woman who was qualfied as suitable for him on the strength of her personal virtues. (3) Bereshit Rabbah 61,4 which held that Keturah was none other than Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, Avraham’s other son, claims that the name Keturah reflects the concept of קטורת, incense, because her personal deeds were as pleasing to G’d as incense is to Him as a sacrificial offering. The approach reflected by this Midrash would account for the fact that this paragraph has been introduced with the words ויסף אברהם ויקח, “Avraham continued and married (remarried), etc.” After all, she had already been his servant before he had expelled her at the command of G’d and Sarah. The expression ויוסף has been used also in that sense in Genesis 35,26 when the Torah reports that Yehudah did not again sleep with Tamar after he had become aware of her true identity.
The reason why the Torah did not tell us whose daughter Keturah was may have been that she was a Canaanite and therefore the Torah did not want to bother with her genealogy, (Nachmanides). Had she been Egyptian, or from any nation other than the Canaanites, the Torah would have given us more details about her background. We have proof of this when the Torah detailed the genealogy of the women whom Esau and Ishmael married (compare 28,9). Seeing that Keturah was a member of an accursed nation, the Torah preferred not to go into details (for the sake of Avraham?) (2) Do not question me how it was possible for Avraham to marry a local Canaanite woman after he had made such a point of making even his trusted servant Eliezer swear that he would not take a woman of Canaanite descent for his son Yitzchak. The prohibition never applied to anyone with the exception of Yitzchak who was predestined to carry on the line of Avraham and to be a further link in the formation of the Jewish people. Only concerning Yitzchak had G’d said: “for through Yitzchak your seed shall be known” (Genesis 21,12). Once Yitzchak was married and the stage had been set for fulfilment of the prophecy that Yitzchak would become the founding father of the Jewish people, Avraham had no reason not to marry any woman who was qualfied as suitable for him on the strength of her personal virtues. (3) Bereshit Rabbah 61,4 which held that Keturah was none other than Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, Avraham’s other son, claims that the name Keturah reflects the concept of קטורת, incense, because her personal deeds were as pleasing to G’d as incense is to Him as a sacrificial offering. The approach reflected by this Midrash would account for the fact that this paragraph has been introduced with the words ויסף אברהם ויקח, “Avraham continued and married (remarried), etc.” After all, she had already been his servant before he had expelled her at the command of G’d and Sarah. The expression ויוסף has been used also in that sense in Genesis 35,26 when the Torah reports that Yehudah did not again sleep with Tamar after he had become aware of her true identity.
(א) ותלד לו את זמרן גדלה אותם בביתו. על דרך חמשת בני מיכל אשר ילדה לעדריאל שגדלה אותם שלא היו בניה כלל כי אמנם אברהם לא הוליד כי אם יצחק וישמעאל כמבואר בדברי הימים:
(א) נתן אברהם מתנות לא בלשון ירושה כלל כדי שיהיו דבריו קיימים: (ב) בעודנו חי ולא רצה לסמוך על דייתיקי ומיני הצואות:
(1) .ותלד לו את זמרן, she raised them in his house, similar to the “five sons of Michal” who raised the children of her sister Merav who had died at an early age, and had born those to Adriel (compare Samuel II 21,8) Michal had no children of her own at all. Although Avraham had personally only sired Ishmael and Yitzchok, he had adopted these children as seems clear from Chronicles I 28, and 32.
(1) Avraham gave gifts. He did not wish to rely on a will, so he distributed his property while he was alive. (2) בעודנו חי, while he had still been alive, as he did not want to rely on written instructions to be carried out after his death.
(11) The rabbis’ reading of the text further supports this contention, suggesting that Ketura – whom Avraham married after the death of Sarah – was a new name for Hagar (Bereshit Rabba 61:5). Moreover, the rabbis suggest that this new name is meant to allude to her elevated behavior.2The name Ketura is understood to be a derivative of the Hebrew word ketoret, sweet-smelling incense. Granted, our sages also suggest that she strayed and worshiped idols once she left Avraham’s house (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 30). Nonetheless, in the cultural context of the times, this should not come as a surprise. (It has been suggested that the same fate met the “converts” of Avraham and Sarah once they left the couple’s inspiring presence.) Consequently, whether or not we accept that Ketura was Hagar according to the simple reading of the text,3Rashi accepts this to be the simple meaning of Bereshit 25:1, while Rashbam and Ibn Ezra do not. it is clear that Hagar is far from being a Biblical villainess.