Bible Trivia - 10/28/2008

Question: Name the second wife of Abraham.

Answer: Keturah. (Genesis 25:1-10)

Comments: Abraham married Keturah after the death of his first and more famous wife, Sarah. Keturah bore Abraham six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. (Genesis 25:1-1) Abraham distinguished these children from the child of promise, Isaac. (Genesis 25:6)

Now Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. (Genesis 25:1, NASB)

Keturah's origins are unknown and some Jewish rabbis identify her with the previously exiled Hagar. This interpretation, set forth in the Midrash, is supported by Rashi (1040-1105), Obadiah ben Abraham (d. 1500), Gur Aryeh (1525-1609) and Shlomo Ephraim ben Aaron Luntschitz (1550-1619). Others disputed this correlation claiming that Keturah was a previously unknown character. Supporters of this theory include Rashbam (1085-1158), Abraham ibn Ezra (1092-1167), David Kimhi (1160-1235), and Nahmanides (1194-1270).

Note: Keturah is a marginalized character in Biblical history. Images of her are sparse. This one of her and her six sons is from the Venice Haggadah of 1609.