KETURAH, THE THIRD WIFE OF ABRAHAM

            Much has been made about young women marrying old men for their money, fame, and fortune.  Abraham had all these when he remarried after the death of his wife Sarah.  “And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.” (Gen. 24:1)  The widower Abraham was over 137 years old when he married a very young woman of child-bearing age named Keturah.

“Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.  And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan.  And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummin.  And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.” (Gen. 25:4-5)

Keturah bore Abraham six sons and took care of him until he died at the ripe old age of 175. (Gen. 25:7-8)  It’s interesting that many Bible scholars overlook the fact that Shem, Noah’s youngest son on the Ark was the founder of Abraham’s Shemitic heritage, and he was still alive at the time of Abraham’s death.   Father Shem outlived “father Abraham” by 35 years, according to Genesis 11:10-26, and he died at the ripe old age of 600 years.

            The origin of Abraham’s third wife, Keturah, is not disclosed in the biblical record although many other sources allege she was a Canaanite.  However, much evidence in Scripture leads us to believe Keturah was indeed a descendent of Ham through one of his sons other than Canaan.  For it is highly unlikely that Abraham would himself marry a Canaanite, because in choosing a wife for his favorite son Isaac, he gave  strict instructions that his son was not to wed any of the “daughters of the Canaanites.” (Gen. 24:3)  Abraham instilled this in Isaac, and when Isaac and his wife Rebecca were considering bridal prospects for their twins, they agreed that “the daughters of Heth,” Canaanite women, were not to be considered. (Gen. 27:46)  Jacob honored his parents’ wishes to marry within his Shemitic lineage, but did not promote these marital values to his twelve sons.  However, his twin brother, Esau, married Canaanite women to spite his parents, Isaac and Rebecca. (Gen. 26:34, 34:1-9)  Nevertheless, one must remember that Abraham did not mind mixing his seed with a descendent of Ham’s race named “Hagar the Egyptian,” from the land of Ham. (Gen. 21:9, 16:1)

KETURAH’S LINEAGE ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE

            In order to deduce Keturah’s lineage, we must recall that Abraham mixed his Shemitic blood with Hagar’s Hamitic blood to produce Ishmael,  the first Arabian.  After Abraham married Keturah, he then fathered six Arabian sons by her. (Gen. 25:1-3)   Through logical deduction, we can see the recipe to produce the first Arabian: Abraham mingling his Shemitic seed with a Hamitic woman, Hagar.  It follows that since all of Keturah’s children by Abraham were also Arabs, then she, like Hagar had to be a descendant of Ham’s bloodline and thus of Negroid descent.   Although both women were descendants of Ham, neither Keturah nor Hagar were Canaanites.  Though their sons were the foundation of today’s Arab nations, the Arabians swear allegiance to Abraham, and give no thought to their founding black mothers, Hagar or Keturah.  In modern slang the Shemitic lineage is all about, “Who’s ya daddy?”  This is tremendously good information but nothing in comparison to the whole story that can be yours.  Order Blacks in the Bible today with the $10.00 off coupon at WWW.BLACKSINTHEBIBLE.NET