CHAPTER 25

25:1-18 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. 6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. 7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. 8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. 9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; 10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi. 12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham: 13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, 14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, 15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations. 17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people. 18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Verse 1) ON POLYGAMY. — And Abraham again took a wife, whose name was Keturah. The question that arises here is whether this would be a sin, thinking especially of the ancients, who were dedicated to the propagation of the offspring. Here you can think of anything but the lack of self-restraint of a man so outstanding as Abraham, taking into account also his advanced age. I said earlier why he had children of Keturah, when Sarah only had them by miracle. Although there are some who think that Abraham’s gift, consisting of a kind of bodily rejuvenation to father children, remained in him for a long time, so that he could become the father of other children. But it is much easier for an elderly man to have children of a young girl than to have a man of advanced age from a woman of similar age, if God had not done in him a miracle, taking into account, above all, not only the age of Sarah, but also her sterility. In fact, a man of an advanced age can even be called an elderly man, and, as the Scripture says, to one full of days. This is what is meant by πρεσβυτην (elder), which is what was said of Abraham when he died.   Every old man is therefore an (elder) πρεσβυτης, but every πρεσβυτης is not an old man: for it is ordinarily referred to as the age next to oldness. Also, in the Latin language, the word old age, senectute, is “senior” which means old age and applies to πρεσβυτης.  In Greek, mainly in the style of writing, it is said by contrast πρεσβυτεροι and νεωτεροι even when we still speak of young men, as we say among us the eldest, and the youngest. However, the fact that Abraham, after Sara’s death, had children by Keturah, should not be taken in the sense that this is due to human custom and desire only to have a larger offspring. Because then men could also interpret what happened with Hagar, if the apostle had not warned us that those things prophetically came to pass (Gal. 4:22-24), so that in the people of those two women and their children the allegorical sense would represent the two Testaments for the revelation of future things. That is why, in this fact of Abraham, we must also look for something similar. Although this sense does not appear easily, I, in the meantime, say what I think: the gifts that the children of the concubines received (Cf. Gen. 25:5-6) seem to me to mean certain gifts of God already in the mysteries, already in certain signs given also to the carnal people of the Jews and the heretics, as children of the concubines, while the gift of the inheritance, which is charity and eternal life, belongs only to Isaac, that is, to the children of the promise. [Question 70]

(Verse 13) WHY ARE THE NAMES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISHMAEL BASED ON THE NAMES OF THEIR GENERATIONS? — What do these words mean: And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, according to the names of their generations? For it is not sufficiently clear why he added, “according to the names of his generations”, since only those he begot are named, and not those begotten by others. Perhaps with these words: According to the names of their generations it is meant to indicate that the nations coming out of them are called by their respective names. But in this way the names of the nations would be in conformity with the names of the children of Ishmael, rather than the names of the latter, in conformity with those of the nations which did not exist until afterwards. We must therefore note this expression, for it is said even farther that they were “twelve rulers according to their nations (Gen. 25:16).” [Question on Genesis, 71]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Verses 1-6) What did Abraham mean by marrying Hettura after Sarah’s death? Far be it from us to suspect him of incontinence, especially when he had reached such an age and such sanctity of faith. Or was he still seeking to beget children, though he held fast, with most approved faith, the promise of God that his children should be multiplied out of Isaac as the stars of heaven and the dust of the earth? And yet, if Hagar and Ishmael, as the apostle teaches us, signified the carnal people of the old covenant, why may not Hettura and her sons also signify the carnal people who think they belong to the new covenant? For both are called both the wives and the concubines of Abraham; but Sarah is never called a concubine (but only a wife). For when Hagar is given to Abraham, it is written. “And Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abraham had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.” (Gen. 16:3) And of Hettura, whom he took after Sarah’s departure, we read, “And Abraham again took a wife, whose name was Hettura.” (Gen. 25:1) Lo! Both are called wives, yet both are found to have been concubines; for the Scripture afterward says, “But Abraham gave all his possessions to Isaac his son. But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away from his son Isaac, while he was yet living to the east into the country of the east.” (Gen. 25:5-6) Therefore the sons of the concubines, that is, the heretics and the carnal Jews, have some gifts, but do not attain the promised kingdom; “For they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed, of whom it was said, In Isaac shall your seed be called.” (Rom. 9:7-8) For I do not see why Hettura, who was married after the wife’s death, should be called a concubine, except on account of this mystery. But if anyone is unwilling to put such meanings on these things, he need not calumniate Abraham. [City of God, 16.34 NFNP S.1 V.2]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 25:13) Haec sunt nomina filiorum Ismaël secundum nomina generationum eorum (Here are the names of Ishmael's children, who also used to designate their families); it's like there was: secundum qua nomina generationes eorum appellatae sunt (their generation is called according to these names). [Locutions]

JEROME OF STRIDON. 25:1-6 AND ABRAHAM AGAIN TOOK A WIFE, AND HER NAME WAS CETURA: AND SHE BORE FOR HIM ZAMRAM AND JECSAN AND MADAN AND MADIAN AND JESBOC AND SUE. AND JECSAN BEGAT SABA AND DADAN. AND THE SONS OF DADAN WERE ASURIM AND LATUSIM AND LAOMIM. AND THE SONS OF MADIAN WERE JEPHAR AND APHER AND ENOCH AND ABIDA AND ALEDEA. ALL THESE WERE THE SONS OF CETURA. AND ABRAHAM GAVE ALL THAT BE BAD TO ISAAC; ALSO TO THE SONS OF THE CONCUBINES WHICH BE BAD BE GAVE GIFTS, AND BE SENT THEM AWAY FROM ISAAC HIS SON TOWARDS THE EASTERN LAND, SINCE HE WAS STILL LIVING IN THE EAST. The Hebrew word Cetura means coupled or joined. Because of that, the Hebrews see it, under a change of name, that same Agar who, after the death of Sara, would become a concubine who became a wife. Old age and decrepitude seem to shelter Abraham from reproach for wanting new bonds for the sake of concupiscence in his old age after the death of his old wife. For us, not stopping at the uncertain, we say that the sons of Abraham and Cetura, according to the Hebrew historians, occupied the country of the Troglodytes and Arabia now called eudaimōn, to the confins of the Red Sea. It is said that a descendant of Abraham, named Apher, led an army against Lybia, where he settled down, having conquered the inhabitants; it is from the name of their ancestor that his descendants gave the country the name of Africa. On this subject we have the testimonies of Alexander nicknamed Polyhistor, and of Cleodemus nicknamed Malchus, who wrote in Greek the history of the barbarous peoples. As for these words: "The sons of Dadan were Asurim, Latusim and Laomim," it is believed that Asurim means merchants; Latusim, who forge metal, brass, and iron; Laomim, philarques, that is to say, princes of many tribes and peoples. Others claim that the descendants of Dadan, called Asurim, are Syrians, and that most of the descendants of Abraham and Cetura inhabited the regions of India.

25:8 ABRAHAM DIED IN A FLOURISHING OLD AGE, BUT STILL WHOLE, AND HE WAS GATHERED FOR HIS PEOPLE. Wrongly, it was added in the Septuagint version: "Abraham died of weakness," it is not fitting for Abraham to be weakened or diminished, where we say, "In old age, old, but whole," the Greek collections say: "whole as to his days," that is to say, full of life. This is the explanation of the meaning: he has gone full of health and strength for the works of life; but the mystical meaning remains entirely, if one says simply whole.

25:13-18 AND THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE SONS OF ISHMAEL ACCORDING TO THEIR NAMES AND THEIR GENERATIONS. THE FIRST-BORN OF ISHMAEL, NEBAJOTH; AND CEDAR, AND THE REST UP TO THAT PLACE WHERE IT SAYS: AND THEY DWELT FROM EVILA AS FAR AS SUR, WHICH IS OPPOSITE THE FRONTIER OF EGYPT FOR THOSE WHO ARE COMING TO THE ASSYRIANS; IN THE SIGHT OF ALL HIS BRETHREN HE FELL. To Ishmael were born twelve sons, and of these the first-born was Nebajoth, from whom the whole area from the Euphrates as far as the Red Sea is named Nabathena, which is part of Arabia, to this very day. For their households, tow-,is, villages, and little forts, and their tribes are widely known by this designation. From one of these sons of Ishmael, the area is called Cedar in the desert; and Duma is another region; and it is called Theman towards the south; and Cedema towards the eastern district. And what we read at the end of this verse in the Septuagint, Over against the face of all his brethren he dwelt, is more correctly what we ourselves have put as In the sight of all his brethren he lay down. That is, he died in the hands of all his sons, with his children surviving him, and none previously snatched away by death. Now Jacob shows to Laban that brothers may be spoken of as sons when he says: What is my sin, that you have pursued me and pried into all my baggage? What have you found, out of all the baggage, that belongs to your house? Let it be set in front of my brothers and your brothers, and let them pass judgement between us. For as Scripture recounts it, we cannot believe that Jacob had with him some of his brothers, unless they were his children. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

25:19-23 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac: 20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. 21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Verse 22) REBEKAH CONSULTS THE LORD. — Regarding what the Scripture says about Rebecca, went to enquire of the Lord when her children moved in her womb. But where did she go? There were no prophets, no priests either for the service of the Tabernacle or the Temple of the Lord. Where did she go, if not at the place where Abraham had established an altar? But the Scripture says absolutely nothing about the way the answers were given there, if by means of a priest, it seems incredible that it had not been mentioned, if there were any, and that no mention be made of it that there were priests there, or perhaps once they had expressed their desires there by prayer, they waited asleep to receive the answer in their dreams? Or was Melchizedek still alive, whose excellency was so great, that some doubted whether he was a man or an angel? Or was there, at that time, men of God like himself, by whom they could be consulted? Whatever may be of these opinions and any others that have escaped my memory, the truth is that Scripture cannot lie when it says that Rebekah went to consult the Lord and that the Lord answered. [Question 72]

 (Verse 23) MYSTICAL SENSE OF THE ANSWER MADE TO REBEKAH. — In the answer that the Lord gives to Rebekah: There are two nations in your womb and two peoples shall be separated from your belly, and one people shall excel the other, and the greater shall serve the lesser. According to the spiritual sense, the carnal men of the people of God are signified by the eldest son, and spiritual men by the younger son, because, as the Apostle says: Yet that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural: afterwards that which is spiritual (1 Cor. 15:46). These words are still understood in the sense that Esau is the eldest people of God, that is, the Israelites according to the flesh, while Jacob signifies his own spiritual descent.  History in turn complements this answer made by God when it relates that the people of Israel, that is to say Jacob, the younger, overcame the Idumeans, that is to say, the nation which came from Esau, and made them inferior in the time of David (Cf. 2 Sam. 8:13-14; 1 Kgs. 11:15). The Idumeans remained long in this state, until King Jehoram, under the reign of which they revolted and issued themselves to the yoke of the Israelites, according to Isaac’s own prophecy, when he blessed the younger instead of the eldest (Cf. Gen 27:26, 39-40). Since all this he told the eldest, when he also blessed him after having blessed his brother. [Question 73]

(Verse 27) ON THESE WORDS: JACOB WAS A SIMPLE MAN. — Jacob was a simple man, living in a house. What the Greek text qualifies as απλαστος, some Latins translated it as simplicem (simple). But απλαστος accurately means “sincere.” For this reason, some Latin translators translated that word “sine dolo” (without deceit), giving the phrase the following meaning: “Jacob was a man without deceit, who lived at home.” Hence arises the great problem of knowing how the blessing received through a deception was considered for a man without deception. The answer is that Scripture anticipated this to mean something great. Therefore, we are totally obliged to understand something spiritual in this passage, because it was a man without deception who acted with deceit. I have sufficiently developed, in a sermon addressed to the people, my feeling on this subject (Cf. Serm. 4.16). [Questions on Genesis, 74]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. There are two nations in thy womb and two peoples… This is understood by our writers, almost without exception, to mean that the elder people, the Jews, shall serve the younger people, the Christians. And truly, although this might seem to be fulfilled in the Idumean nation, which was born of the elder (who had two names, being called both Esau and Edom, whence the name Idumeans), because it was afterwards to be overcome by the people which sprang from the younger, that is, by the Israelites, and was to become subject to them; yet it is more suitable to believe that, when it was said, “The one people shall overcome the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger,” that prophecy meant some greater thing; and what is that except what is evidently fulfilled in the Jews and Christians? [City of God 16.35 NFNP s.1 v.2]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 25:20) Accepit Rebeccam filiam Bathuel Syri de Mesopotamia, sororem Laban Syri, sibi in uxorem (He took for himself unto a wife Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, the Syrian of Mesopotamia and sister of Laban the Syrian). You could simply put uxorem (a wife), or sibi uxorem (for himself as a wife). [Locutions]

JEROME OF STRIDON. 25:21-22 HIS WIFE REBEECA CONCEIVED, AND HER SONS MOVED IN HER WOMB. The Septuagint interpreted this movement by εσκιρτων, that is, played or rebelled; what Aquila renders by "her sons interlocked in her bosom," and Symmachus by διεπλεον, that is to say, "were brought to the surface," in the manner of a ship. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. (Gen. 25:23) the greater shall serve the lesser. With what intent then did God say this? Because He does not wait, as man does, to see from the issue of their acts the good and him who is not so, but even before these He knows which is the wicked and which not such… for this was a sign of foreknowledge, that they were chosen from the very birth. That the election made according to foreknowledge, might be manifestly of God, from the first day He at once saw and proclaimed which was good and which not. Do not then tell me that you have read the Law and the Prophets, and hast been a servant for such a long time. For He that knows how to assay the soul, knows which is worthy of being saved. Yield then to the incomprehensibleness of the election. For it is He alone Who knows how to crown aright. [Hom. 16 on Rom. NFNP s.1 v.11]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. And then, to teach us that Abraham did all this by faith; that orders which appeared to contradict the promise, yet did not disturb his reason, he adds: Thus he recovered him as from the dead. (Gen. 25:19) What does this word mean, and he recovered it as from the dead? it was only after having offered him a sacrifice, after having manifested the perfection of his wisdom, that he received the crown, he returned with the child; the sacrifice was completed in reality by immolating a sheep, and the Creator of all beings showed in all these things the excellence of his goodness. He showed that by this order he had wished not to destroy Isaac, but to test the obedience of the just man. Another story now. We have seen the patriarch shine in all things his virtue, well! Let's expose today the words that relate to Isaac. Let us see how, too, has shown in all things the piety of his soul; it is good to listen to the very words of Scripture. Behold, says the text, who was the seed of Isaac the son of Abraham? Abraham begot Isaac, who was forty years old and married Rebekah, daughter of Bathuel, Syrian of Mesopotamia, and Syrian Syrian Laban. (Gen. 25:20) Consider, I beg you, my beloved, the accuracy of the divine Scripture, which employs no superfluous words. Indeed, why does she show us the age of Isaac? why these words, who, being forty, married Rebekah? It is not without design, it is not at random; but, as she then wants to tell us of Rebekah's infertility, to let us know that she owed her fertility to the prayers of the just, she wishes to teach us the greatness of Isaac's patience, to show us clearly the whole the time he spent without seeing a child. And so that we, on our side, rival this righteous, we are diligent in praying to the Lord, if we have any request to address him. Indeed, if it is true that this righteous, gifted with such great virtue, enjoying so much favor with God, showed so much constancy and zeal, praying to God without ceasing to put an end to sterility from Rebekah, what can we say, we who, burdened with the burden so heavy with so many sins, do not have to show the least of the virtues of this righteous person, after a few moments of zeal and application to prayer, fall back very quickly in our numbness, in our torpor, if we are not immediately granted? therefore, I pray you, educated by what has happened to this righteous man, let us pray without ceasing to forgive our sins; let us show him a zeal that burns us, devours us; do not indignant, do not be discouraged, if we are not immediately granted. For perhaps, yes perhaps, the Lord, in his wisdom, does not force us to show the activity of our zeal; He exercises us, makes us wait, only because he provides us with the wages of our patience, and because he knows the time when it is useful for us to obtain what we wish so ardently. Indeed, we do not know our interests, as well as himself, who knows even the secret thoughts of each one. Therefore, it is advisable not to search with too much curiosity, not to discuss endlessly the things that God operates, but we must show our wisdom and admire the virtues of the righteous. After the divine Scripture told us of Isaac's age, she tells us of Rebekah, his wife, that she was barren. Consider, I beg you, the piety of the just man; when he recognized the infirmity of nature, he took refuge with the Worker who made it, and he hastened to untie with prayer the bonds which held nature chained. Indeed, says the text, Isaac prayed the Lord for his wife Rebekah, because she was barren. (Gen. 25:21) Above all, what deserves to be sought is why, when this woman had an admirable conduct, when her husband resembled her, when they were both so strongly attached to virtue, she was sterile. We can not criticize their lives and say that sterility was here a punishment for sins. And learn something amazing, not only was this patriarch's wife sterile, but the mother of that righteous man, so was Sarah; and not only his mother, but his daughter-in-law, Jacob's wife, I speak of Rachel. What does this company of sterile women mean? All these characters are righteous; all endowed with virtue; all approved of God; for from them he said, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. (Exod. 3:6) And Blessed Paul says: God does not blush to be called their God. (Heb. 11:16) Their praise is often found in the New Testament, often in the Old Testament; they were in every respect famous, illustrious, and all had sterile women, and for a long time they had no children.

So when you see a man, a woman, two beings living in virtue, and to whom children are refused; when you see pious people, attached to religion and having no children, do not believe that this is the effect of sin. There are many reasons in God's government that escape us, and whatever happens, we must bless him. And we must not regard as unhappy those who live in corruption and not those who have no children. Very often God arranges events in our interest; but we do not grasp these hidden causes. This is why we must always admire his wisdom, glorify his ineffable goodness. We send you these words so that you may make your profit, so that you develop wisdom in you, so that you do not go curiously to scrutinize God's purposes. However, we must tell you why these women were sterile. What is the cause? It was necessary that, seeing a virgin give birth to our common Lord, you were not incredulous. Exercise, seems to say the Holy Scripture, the subtlety of your mind, reflect on infertility, so that when you have learned that nature held by bonds, that flanks that were dead, have lent themselves by the grace of God, at the birth of life, edified by countless proofs, you do not wonder that a virgin has given birth. I am mistaken, be surprised: Be amazed, but do not refuse your belief in miracles. So, if a Jew tells you: How was she able to give birth, the one who was a virgin? answer him: How was she able to give birth, the one who was sterile and advanced in age? There were two impediments then, and the age that did not lend themselves to it, and the want of nature. The virgin, on the other hand, shows us nothing but an impediment, namely, that she did not know the work of marriage. So, the barren woman prepares the way for the virgin. And what proves to you that the ancient sterility was intended to assure the faith in virgin birth, listen to the words of Gabriel to the Virgin. Indeed, he introduces himself and says to him: You will conceive in your bosom and will give birth to a son to whom you will give the name of Jesus. (Luke 1:31) She is astonished, she admires, she answers him: How will it be, for I know no man? (Ibid. 34) What does the angel say to him then? The Holy Spirit will come in you, and the virtue of the Most High will overshadow you. (Ibid. 35) Do not worry, he says, of the ordinary rules of nature, since what happens is superior to nature. Do not think of ordinary births, since the birth that is about to be is superior to the generation by marriage. And how shall it be, said she, for I know no man? This will be done precisely because you do not know a man; for if you knew a man, you would not have been deemed worthy to serve in that ministry. This is why the reason that makes you doubt is precisely the reason for believing. It's not that marriage is bad, but it's that virginity is better. Our Lord had to choose, for his advent in the world, an entrance more august than ours; there is a royal entrance. His birth must have resembled ours, and differ from it. our; and this double character met. What do you mean? listen. To leave the maternal flanks, this is how his birth resembles ours; and now, to be born without the birth being an effect of marriage, is what is superior to human birth. Pregnancy is a natural fact; Pregnancy without the work of marriage is what is superior to human nature. And these two circumstances are intended to teach you, and what this birth presents sublime distinction, and what it shows us that resembles our nature. And now, consider all the wisdom that has worked these wonders; nor has excellence prevented resemblance, kinship with us; neither this relationship with us, this resemblance, has in any way thwarted excellence and infinite superiority. The works which have been accomplished have united these two characters: on the one hand, perfect resemblance to ourselves; on the other hand, complete difference. But now, what did I say? If there were sterile women, it was to ensure the faith in virgin birth; it was for the virgin herself to believe the promise. Listen, indeed, what the angel of God says to him: The Holy Spirit will come in you, and the virtue of the Most High will cover you with his shadow. This is how, he says, you can give birth. All will be accomplished by the Holy Spirit. Do not hold your eyes lowered on the earth; it is from heaven that virtue comes into being; it is the grace of the Spirit that produces what happens. Do not worry about ordinary nature; no longer consider the simple laws of marriage. But as these words are beyond his reach, he adds yet another demonstration.

As for you now, my beloved, see how the sterile woman leads, so to speak, as by her hand, the Virgin to faith in her childbirth. As the first demonstration was too strong for the mind of the Virgin, see the angel accomodating her speech within the reach of her intelligence, leading it, as by the hand, with the aid of sensible things. And know, said he, that Elizabeth, your cousin, also conceived, herself, a son in his old age, and that it is now the sixth month, for that which is called barren. (Luke 1:36) Do you see that this is a question of the sterile woman only because of the Virgin? For otherwise, why would he have spoken to him about the birth of his cousin? Why, in the same way, would he have told him these words, who is called sterile? It is obvious that all these words were intended to lead him to believe in the Annunciation. That is why he tells her the time that has already lasted for the pregnancy, why he speaks to her about infertility; why he waited until that moment to announce the design. For he did not reveal it to her immediately, from the beginning; he waited six months, so that the swelling of the belly showed the conception. And, see crowd Gabriel's address. Indeed, he does not remind her of Sara, Rebekah or Rachel. By what reason and in what intention? These women too were sterile even in their old age, and a great miracle was accomplished in them. But all these stories were old stories, and The angel tells him about a recent event, to better assure his faith.

But we must return to the subject of our discourse, and show the righteousness of the righteous man, and teach you how his prayers put an end to Rebekah's sterility, have broken the bonds of nature. Isaac, says the text, prayed to the Lord for his wife Rebekah, because she was barren, and the Lord heard her. Do not believe, because the text immediately puts the effect after the cause, that he immediately got what he wanted, with dry ardor. Twenty years of persevering prayer, twenty years, and it was only then that he got what he asked for. And how do we know it? Who we. will prove it? The care we will take to follow the continuation of the divine Scripture. Indeed, time has not been hidden from us; the Scripture has indicated it to us, at least covered months, but so as to provoke our desire, to push us, to excite us to do this research, as it should be. For, just as she taught us the age of Isaac, when he married Rebekah, so too, she shows us what we want to know. Isaac was forty when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bathuel the Syrian. You know exactly the time. Then the scripture says: Isaac prayed the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And after these words, to let us know the number of years that we seek, she marks us the age of Isaac, when Rebecca gave her sons. In fact, says the text: Isaac was sixty years old, when Rebecca gave birth to him. If, then, he was forty years old, when he married her, and sixty, when she gave him his children, it is manifest that he persevered for twenty years in praying to God, and that he thus made clean. at birth, that which was stricken with sterility. Have you understood the power of prayer well? as she triumphs over nature? Let's imitate him all; and we, too, be diligent in our prayers. Let us be wise, and be humble. Let's listen to the warning of Paul, who says to us: Let's raise hands pure, without anger and without restraint. (I Tim. 2:8) Let us always apply to free ourselves from the passions that trouble us, so that our soul may be quiet, especially during the time of prayer, when we need it so much. goodness of God. For if he sees us pray according to the laws he imposes on us, he will hasten to grant us all the largesse of his gifts. May we obtain them, by the grace and goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belongs, as to the Father, as to the Holy Spirit, glory, honor, empire, now and always; and for ever and ever. Amen.

Rebekah conceived and the two children clashed in her bosom. (Gen 25:21-23) Do you want, even today, my beloved ones, that we serve you the remains of the reading of yesterday; because we could not exhaust our subject. We have shown you the earnest prayers of Isaac, giving Rebecca fruitfulness, repairing, so to speak, the infirmity of nature. Yesterday we insisted enough on the teaching that emerges from the text; we have shown you for how many years this blessed has continued to pray, to beg the Lord. We have digressed about sterile women, and after explaining to you why the wives of these righteous men were sterile, we did not go further. What is needed today is to learn what was Rebekah's piety, so that we do not make our profit only of the virtue of the righteous man, but that Rebekah's story too, we gives the means to provoke a generous zeal in the souls of those who listen to us. Indeed, when the Lord had heard the prayer of the righteous man, and when Rebecca had conceived, the two children, says the text, clashed in her bosom, which caused her great pain. Indeed, according to the text, she said: If this should happen to me, what was it that I needed to conceive? It was not just a child who would be born; she carried two at a time in her bosom, and these children, thus constricted, caused her great pain. But here, consider, I pray you, the piety of this woman, she does not like so many women whose life is lax; she does not seek help from men; it will not question those who make conjectures, reasonings, and who pretend to judge these things by their own lights; it does not expose itself to being the dupe of the charlatans, and of all those who dare to promise what is beyond human nature. But, she went, says the text, consult the Lord. See the wisdom of this woman. As she saw that he who had healed his infertility, which had suddenly made him fruitful, was the Master and Lord of nature; As she saw that the weight which charged her womb contained a great and mysterious promise, she went away, says the text, to consult the Lord. What does it say, She went to consult the Lord? She ran where is true science; she hurried to find the priest, minister of God; she was eager to secretly learn from him the science she needed. And, in telling him all that had happened to her, she knew perfectly well all that she needed to know; the mercy of God, through the mouth of the priest, revealed to him all things, and revived his courage. And so that you would know what the dignity of the priests was, the text says nowhere that the priest answered him; but, after these words: She went to consult the Lord, the Scripture adds: And the Lord said to him (Gen. 25:23), evidently by the mouth of the priest Two nations are in your bowels. You must know that, in another passage, the divine Scripture calls the priest, an angel, showing that the priest says what he is inspired by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

So the Lord said to him through the mouth of the priest, There are two nations in your bowels, and two peoples out of your bosom will be divided against one another; one of these peoples will overcome the other people, and the eldest will be subjugated to the youngest. (Gen. 25:23) See the prophecy, which predicts for him the whole future. In fact, the children who jumped, who agitated in his bosom, of disordered movements, revealed to him, from that moment, everything, in a perfectly clear manner; and from that moment the mother learned not only that she would give birth to two children, but that these children would come out of the peoples, that the youngest would subjugate the elder. And when afterward came the birth, he that went out first, saith the text, was red and hairy as an animal's skin, and was called Esau. And then his brother went out, and he was holding Esau's heel with his hand. [Homilies on Genesis]

25:24-34 And the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered, and she had twins in her womb. 25And the first came out red, hairy all over like a skin; and she called his name Esau. 26And after this came forth his brother, and his hand took hold of the heel of Esau; and she called his name Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when Rebecca bore them. 27And the lads grew, and Esau was a man skilled in hunting, dwelling in the country, and Jacob a simple man, dwelling in a house. 28And Isaac loved Esau, because his venison was his food, but Rebecca loved Jacob. 29And Jacob cooked pottage, and Esau came from the plain, fainting. 30And Esau said to Jacob, Let me taste of that red pottage, because I am fainting; therefore his name was called Edom. 31And Jacob said to Esau, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32And Esau said, Behold, I am going to die, and for what good does this birthright belong to me? 33And Jacob said to him, Swear to me this day; and he swore to him; and Esau sold his birthright to Jacob. 34And Jacob gave bread to Esau, and pottage of lentiles; and he ate and drank, and he arose and departed; so Esau slighted his birthright.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 25:27) ON THESE WORDS: JACOB WAS A SIMPLE MAN. —  Jacob was a simple man, living in a house. What the Greek text qualifies as απλαστος, some Latins translated it as simplicem (simple). But απλαστος accurately means "sincere." For this reason, some Latin translators translated that word “sine dolo” (without deceit), giving the phrase the following meaning: “Jacob was a man without deceit, who lived at home.” Hence arises the great problem of knowing how the blessing received through a deception was considered for a man without deception. The answer is that Scripture anticipated this to mean something great. Therefore, we are totally obliged to understand something spiritual in this passage, because it was a man without deception who acted with deceit. I have sufficiently developed, in a sermon addressed to the people, my feeling on this subject (Cf. Serm. 4.16). [Questions on Geneiss, 74]

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 25:24) Et ei erant gemini in utero ejus (She was carrying two twins in her womb) ; we could dispense with adding ejus (to her).

(Gen. 25:27) Creverunt autem juvenes (the youths grew up). Similar phrases are found even among profane authors, for example in this passage from Virgil: Et scuta latentia condunt (And they conceal the hidden shields), set for: condendo latentia faciunt (by concealing them they make them hidden). Similarly here the phrase creverunt juvenes (the youths grew up), being applied to children; must be understood this way: crescendo facti sunt juvenes (they became youths by growing up).

(Gen. 25:31) Jacob said to Esau: Vende mihi hodie primogenita tua mihi (Sell me today your birthright); so carries the Greek text. [Locutions]

JEROME OF STRIDON. 25:25 THE FIRST CAME OUT ALL RED, LIKE HAIRY SKIN. Our word hairy in the Hebrew it means SEIR. From which we read elsewhere that Esau was nicknamed Seir, that is to say hairy.

25:30 ESAU SAID TO JACOB, LET ME TASTE THIS RED DISH, I FALL INTO WEAKNESS; THAT'S WHY HE WAS CALLED EDOM. Red or fawn responds to the Hebrew word EDOM. It was therefore because he sold his right of birth for a red dish that he received the nickname of fawn or Edom. [Hebrew Questions on Genesis]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. This is why he was named Jacob. (Gen. 25:25) From the beginning God almost makes it clear that the youngest, according to the word, will dominate the eldest. Indeed, the text says that he held Esau's heel by the hand, which was the mark of the promised superiority over the one who seemed the strongest. And consider how divine Scripture hastens to announce the future, as, from the beginning, it shows us the tastes of each of the two brothers: the one given to hunting; the other, cultivating the fields, a simple man, shutting himself up in his house. Also, Rebekah loved Jacob; Isaac, for his part, cherished Esau, because he was eating what Esau was hunting. (Gen. 25:28) See the distinction made between the children: the mother showed more love for Jacob, because she saw it simple, removed at home; the father, on his side, cherished Esau, and because he was the first-born, and because he ate his hunting. Such were the dispositions of the parents, following the impulse of nature. However, the prophecy was gradually fulfilled, the one that said: The eldest will be subjugated to the youngest. See indeed right away. Jacob, said the text, having cooked food, Esau returned from the fields very tired, and he said to Jacob: Give me this red food, because I am tired. It is for this reason that he was later named Edom, that is to say, red. And Jacob said to him, Give me your birthright. (Gen. 25:29-31) And he answered, What will be my birthright for me if I do not eat? But Jacob demanded an oath so that there was no need to go back on the cession. And, says the text, Esau made him the oath. (Gen. 25:33) Here now is the natural order inverted, the dignity of the elder passes to the one who carried it by virtue. And, says the text, Esau sold his birthright, that is to say, for food, he sold the privilege that nature had given him. So the text adds: And Esau was not worried about his birthright. (Gen. 25:34) As if Scripture said: The fool did not deserve the rank he owed to nature. Now all this happened only to show the madness of this elder of the two brothers, and to fulfill the oracle of God. [Homilies on Genesis]