How many sons did Abraham have?

Answer

In total, Abraham had eight sons.

Abraham’s first son was Ishmael through Hagar, his wife’s Egyptian maid (Genesis 16:1-4).

Abraham’s second son was Isaac through Sarah, his wife (Genesis 21:1-3). Isaac was the son God had promised Abraham (Genesis 15:4-5).

After Sarah died, Abraham had six sons through Keturah, another concubine: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah «Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. », (Genesis 25:1,6) «But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. », (Genesis 25:1,6). Keturah’s sons became the fathers of Arabian tribes living east of Israel.

Some people claim that the Bible makes an error regarding the number of Abraham’s sons. In Genesis 22:2, God speaks to Abraham after the birth of Ishmael, referring to Isaac as “your son, your only son, whom you love.” Then Hebrews 11:17 identifies Isaac as Abraham’s “one and only son.” And Galatians 4:22 mentions only Isaac and Ishmael: “It is written that Abraham had two sons.” How could Abraham be said to have an “only son” and “two sons,” when in reality he had eight sons?

There is no true contradiction in the above passages. Isaac was the only son who was promised to Abraham and through whom Abraham would become the father of many nations (Genesis 12:1-3;17:1-8;21:1)2). Also, Isaac was the sole son of Sarah and Abraham—Sarah being specifically mentioned in the prophecies of Genesis 17:16–21 and 18:10. Moreover, Isaac is the exclusive son born in a lawful marriage: Hagar and Keturah were both concubines. While God blessed the concubines’ sons for Abraham’s sake, those sons had no share in the inheritance. Isaac was the singular rightful heir to the promise (Genesis 15:4-5;25:5).

Genesis 22:2 and Hebrews 11:17 both refer to Isaac as Abraham’s “only son” because those passages pertain to God’s promise and covenant. Since Abraham’s other seven sons are not part of the covenant, they are irrelevant to the issue and not mentioned as sons. Abraham had other sons, but only one son of promise.

The primary theme in Galatians is justification by faith, apart from the Law. Galatians 4:22 mentions two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, in an allegory to emphasize the contrast between the old covenant of law and the new covenant of grace. The former leads to bondage while the latter to freedom and life. Paul’s reasoning is as follows: Ishmael was the son of Hagar, a slave, and thus symbolizes bondage and slavery to the Law. Ishmael was the result of a human effort to bring about God’s blessing; Ishmael represents the works of the Law. Isaac was born to the free woman, Sarah, and thus symbolizes freedom and life. Isaac was born in God’s time, according to God’s promise, without the scheming or interference of man; Isaac represents the gift of grace. This passage in Galatians 4 is intended to teach a spiritual lesson (verse 24), not to provide a detailed account of Abraham’s life and how many actual sons he had. Mentioning the other six sons would not have served any meaningful purpose in Paul’s allegory.

Spiritually speaking, Abraham has many, many sons. The Bible highlights the faith of Abraham «And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. », (Genesis 15:6) states that “those who have faith are children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7;cf: verse 9). Those who demonstrate the same faith as Abraham show themselves to be spiritually like him and can rightfully be called his “children.” Everyone who believes in Christ, like Zacchaeus did, becomes genuine sons of Abraham “And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.”, (Luke 19:9). “The promise is received through faith, so that it may be by grace and be guaranteed to all of Abraham’s descendants… to those who share the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all” “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,”, (Romans 4:16).