Hebrew word · H6989

קְטוּרָה

keturah

Keturah

A personal name. It is most often derived from the root q-ṭ-r, "to make (sacrificial or fragrant) smoke", which gives qeṭōret, "incense, sweet smoke". It would then mean something like "perfumed one" or "incense". As with most ancient names, the etymology is likely but not certain.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A woman living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.25.1; married to Abraham (H0085);

mother of: Zimran (H2175), Jokshan (H3370), Medan (H4091), Midian (H4080), Ishbak (H3435) and Shuah (H7744)

§ Keturah = "incense"

wife of Abraham after Sarah's death

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Genesis 25:1

Range of meaning

A personal name. It is most often derived from the root q-ṭ-r, "to make (sacrificial or fragrant) smoke", which gives qeṭōret, "incense, sweet smoke". It would then mean something like "perfumed one" or "incense". As with most ancient names, the etymology is likely but not certain.

Against the English

English transliterates it as "Keturah", so the possible meaning disappears.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint Chettoura; Vulgate Cetura. Rabbinic tradition (Genesis Rabbah 61:4, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Rashi) identified Keturah with Hagar. It explained the name as "her deeds were fragrant like incense", or from an Aramaic root meaning "tied, bound". Ibn Ezra and others rejected the identification. Jubilees 19:11 makes her a different woman from the household servants and says Hagar had already died.

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 25:1 קְטוּרָֽה׃ [was] Keturah

    Now Abraham had taken another wife, named Keturah,

    Here: Her personal name. It is usually linked to the root q-ṭ-r, "to send up fragrant smoke", the same root as qeṭōret, "incense". So it may mean something like "fragrant one" or "incense". That fits, because her descendants include Arabian peoples tied to the incense and spice caravan trade.

  2. Genesis 25:4 קְטוּרָֽה׃ Keturah

    The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 1:32 קְטוּרָ֜ה Keturah

    The sons born to Keturah, Abraham’s concubine: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.

  2. 1 Chronicles 1:33 קְטוּרָֽה׃ ס Keturah

    The sons of Midian: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were Keturah’s sons.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.