AVRAHAM’S LAST DAYS

“Then Avraham breathed his last, dying at a ripe old age, an old man full of years; and he was gathered to his people.”
Genesis 25:8

When we hear the account of Avraham we tend mainly to think of the promised child, Yitz’chak. However, the Bible records that Avraham had eight children all together. Jogging our memory we can probably recall Yishma’el, birthed from his days with Hagar. But following the passing of Sarah and the marriage of Yitz’chak and Rivkah, Avraham married once more. Avraham took a wife in his old age named K’turah. Thru his marriage with her came the sons Zimran, Yokshan, Meden, Midyan, Yishbak, and Shuach. These are names we do not hear often. In a quick glance, Zimran is said to have become to patriarch of the Zimri named in Jeremiah 25:25, and Midyan became the father of the Midianites who were later defeated by Adonai’s hand in Gideon’s life.
At Avraham’s passing, the Torah records both Yitz’chak and Yishma’el once again coming together to bury their father. With Avraham passing at the age of 175, this would tend to make Yishma’el the age of 89 and Yitz’chak the age of 75. These men themselves were already advanced in years compared to the average length of life today. But in keeping with their father’s wishes, they buried him alongside Sarah in the cave of Makhpelah. Then, as the Torah states, a new legacy was formed. The baton was passed as we read, “After Avraham died, God blessed Yitz’chak his son…”
Adonai’s promise of making Avraham a father of nations was kept in his eight sons, but the true blessing fell to just one.

Genesis 25:1-11