What Does Genesis 25:4 Mean in the King James?
And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
A line becomes visible through its distinct names: shared origin does not make its branches interchangeable.
THE MEANING
The verse names five descendants of Midian and gathers them under Keturah. Your life, too, belongs to lines of inheritance and continuation: a shared source can give rise to distinct paths and names.
THE ROOT
בְּנֵי
bənê
GROWS FROM
בנה
Build, establish; the Hebrew word for son is traditionally associated with building or continuing a household.
The verse repeats בְּנֵי for both “sons of Midian” and “children of Keturah.” Read alongside בנה, “build,” the list suggests a line taking shape through named descendants, not just an anonymous count.
ALSO GROWS
ben: Son
בֵּן
The singular form makes the family relationship explicit within the line.
boneh: Builder
בּוֹנֶה
It carries the root’s sense of building into an image of continuity taking shape.
binyan: Building, structure
בִּנְיָן
It evokes the family line as a structure formed across generations.
קְטוּרָה
qətūrāh
GROWS FROM
קטר
Burn incense; produce smoke or aromatic vapor.
Keturah’s name is commonly connected with incense. The verse places five distinct names under hers, letting her name carry an image of something that rises and spreads from one source.
ALSO GROWS
qetoret: Incense
קְטֹרֶת
It shares the root behind Keturah’s name and makes that name’s aromatic sense visible.
qatar: Burn incense, produce smoke
קָטַר
It is the verbal root from which the incense imagery grows.
THE PATTERN
A shared source unfolds into named descendants, making continuity visible across generations.
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.THE THREAD
And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Beth-lehem:Ruth makes the family image explicit: Rachel and Leah “build the house of Israel.” Genesis gives that building as distinct names in a line, showing how a household takes shape across generations.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us