Person Old Testament
Keturah
Keturah was the concubine Abraham took after the death of Sarah, and she bore him six sons. Mentioned in 4 verses across 2 books, first at Genesis 25:1.
Why it matters. Abraham's concubine after Sarah's death
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Keturah
Keturah is mentioned in Gen.25.1, 4 and 1Ch.1.32, 33 as the concubine Abraham took after the death of Sarah. She is described as Abraham's concubine, which in the context of the ancient Near East, was a secondary wife with legal rights and status.
Keturah bore Abraham six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah (Gen.25.2; 1Ch.1.32). These sons became the ancestors of various tribes and nations, expanding Abraham's descendants beyond the primary line of Isaac and Ishmael.
Abraham gave gifts to the sons of Keturah and sent them away to the east, separating them from his son Isaac to avoid conflict over the inheritance (Gen.25.6). This action ensured that Isaac, the child of promise, would be the primary heir of Abraham's legacy and covenant blessings.
The mention of Keturah and her sons in the genealogies of Abraham demonstrates the fulfillment of God's promise to make Abraham a father of many nations (Gen.17.4-6). It also highlights the complexity of family relationships and the importance of preserving the line of Isaac as the chosen heir of the covenant promises.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Spouse
- Abraham
Appears in Scripture
Named in 4 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.