Genesis 25:7-11

Abraham’s death and Isaac’s blessing 25:7-11

Isaac would have been 75 years old and Jacob 15 when Abraham died (Genesis 25:7; cf. Genesis 21:5; Genesis 25:26). [Note: See the chart "Patriarchal Chronological Data" earlier in these notes.] Abraham lived 100 years in the Promised Land (cf. Genesis 12:4).

"It is one thing to live a long life. It is another thing to live a long life that is also a happy life. This obituary notice about Abraham draws attention to the fact that Abraham died not only at an elderly age but in a frame of mind filled with inner shalom and satisfaction. That is the thrust of the phrase full of days or ’contented.’" [Note: Hamilton, The Book . . . Chapters 18-50, p. 167.]

The phrase "gathered to his people" (Genesis 25:8) implies reunion in Sheol, the place of departed spirits, with ancestors who had died previously. It presupposes continued personal existence after physical death (cf. Genesis 15:15; Hebrews 11:13). Abraham was buried in the Cave of Machpelah near Mamre, the old site that later became a part of Hebron (Genesis 25:9).

God’s dealings now focus on Isaac who then lived near Hagar’s well at Beer-lahai-roi (Genesis 25:11; cf. Genesis 16:14; Genesis 24:62). Archaelolgists have yet to find this site. It was evidently somewhere south of Beersheba in the Negev.

God’s servants should do all in their power to ensure the continuation of God’s program to bless from one generation to the next.