Sarah had died at age 127 (Genesis 23:1); since Abraham was ten years older than his wife (17:17), he would have been 137 that year. We are told of his grief when Sarah died (23:2), and his negotiations to purchase a burial plot for her (23:3-20).

Abraham subsequently married again, to a woman named Keturah (25:1). We are not given any information regarding where she came from. The text does report to us, though, that over the next few years she bore him six sons: Zimram, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah (25:2).

<A brief note about chronology>

The descendants of the last of these sons, Shuah, would be known as the Shuhites (just as the descendants of Israel would be known as Israelites). That would suggest that Job’s friend Bildad the Shuhite (Job 2:11) is to be understood as descended from this son of Abraham. In the same way Eliphaz the Temanite would be understood as a descendant of Teman grandson of Esau, and thus Abraham’s great-great-grandson (Genesis 36:9-11), and Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite (Job 32:2) would be understood as a descendant of Abraham’s nephew Buz (Genesis 22:20-21).

Not many people in our present culture would know the names of the sons of Abraham and Keturah (actually, not many would be able to identify Keturah). As we read the list of these six sons we might well shrug off these names as unimportant details in the story. Yet the narrator of the book of Job apparently felt confident assuming these relationships would be well enough known that no explanation of “Shuhite” or “Temanite” would be necessary: anyone hearing the story would be able to identify that these friends of Job were related to Abraham, as distant cousins of the children of Israel. It is worth considering whether we would read the Bible differently, if we held that same awareness: that is, if we knew that every character in the story, whether famous or obscure, was some sort of distant cousin, part of our deep extended family.

* * * * *

As you promised, Lord, all the families of the earth are blessed in the fulfillment of the covenant you established with Abraham: we are all cousins, ancient and modern, claimed by your grace, and invited to join in the great celebration at the family reunion.

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