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Genesis 23:1,2
And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old:these were the years of the life of Sarah…

Genesis 28:1
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

1 Chronicles 1:32,33
Now the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bare Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan; Sheba, and Dedan…

named Keturah,
Keturah's name is mentioned here for the first time, and she is identified as Abraham's wife. The name Keturah means "incense" or "fragrance," which may symbolize her role in bringing new life and continuation of Abraham's lineage. Keturah's children with Abraham are listed later in the chapter, and they are significant in the broader narrative of the descendants of Abraham. Her offspring would become tribes that interacted with Israel throughout history. This union further fulfills God's promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, as Keturah's descendants are part of the broader Abrahamic lineage.

• The word signals a transition from the events surrounding Isaac’s marriage (Genesis 24) to a fresh detail about Abraham’s life.

• Scripture often uses “now” to knit together narratives, reminding us that God’s story moves forward with purpose (compareRuth 1:1;Acts 9:1).

• It cues readers that Abraham’s journey did not end with Isaac’s birth; God’s covenant blessings keep unfolding (Genesis 22:17–18).

• The phrase points to a completed action: Abraham, late in life, chose to marry again.

• His initiative highlights ongoing vitality and responsibility even in advanced age, echoing how Caleb remained active at eighty-five (Joshua 14:10–11).

• God’s promises to Abraham encompassed more than Isaac; other offspring would also play roles in shaping nations (Genesis 17:4–6).

• Scripture distinguishes Keturah from Sarah, underscoring that this marriage occurred after Sarah’s death (Genesis 23:2).

• Polygamy appears descriptively in the patriarchal era (Genesis 16:3; 29:30), yet God’s redemptive plan still advances through imperfect human choices.

• The children from this union form tribes in the Arabian region, fulfilling the word, “Many nations will come from you” (Genesis 17:6).

• Naming confirms her historical reality, rooting the narrative in concrete people rather than legend.

• Her sons—Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah (Genesis 25:2)—become ancestors of peoples later interacting with Israel (Exodus 2:15;Judges 6:1).

• Midian’s lineage through Keturah anticipates both opposition (Numbers 31:7) and blessing, as Moses’ wife Zipporah comes from Midian (Exodus 2:21).

Genesis 25:1 shows that after Sarah’s passing, Abraham intentionally entered a new marriage with Keturah. This brief verse reminds us that God’s covenant promises to Abraham extended beyond Isaac, producing additional nations and setting the stage for future interactions with Israel. Even in old age, Abraham’s life remained fruitful, demonstrating the faithfulness of God to fulfill every detail of His word.

ABRAHAM'S MARRIAGE WITH KETURAH.

(1)Then again Abraham took a wife.--This rendering implies that Abraham's marriage with Keturah did not take place until after Sarah's death; but this, though probable, is far from certain, as the Hebrew simply says,And Abraham added and took a wife.This statement is altogether indefinite; but as Abraham was 137 years of age at Sarah's death, and lived to be 175, it is quite possible that, left solitary by Isaac's marriage, he took Keturah to wife, and had by her six sons. The sole objection is his own statement, inGenesis 17:17, that it was a thing beyond nature for a man a hundred years old to have a son; how much more improbable, then, must it have become after forty more years had passed by! The argument on the other side, which would infer that the marriage took place in Sarah's lifetime, from the fact that the birth of grandchildren is mentioned inGenesis 25:3-4, has little weight, as their names might have been subsequently added to bring down the genealogy to a later date.

Jewish commentators cut the knot by identifying Keturah with Hagar, who in the meanwhile had, as they say, set an example of matronly virtue in the manner in which she had devoted herself to the bringing up of Ishmael. But inGenesis 25:6 there is an evident allusion to both Hagar and Keturah in the mention of Abraham's "concubines" in the plural; and in1Chronicles 1:32 the children of Keturah are distinguished from Hagar's one son, Ishmael. To this we must add that as Ishmael was fourteen years old when Isaac was born, he would be now about fifty-four years of age, and his mother have passed the period of life when she could bear six sons. . . .