Bible Strands
Genesis 25:8
And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator closes Abraham's life account after stating his total of 175 years (v. 7), just before the burial record (v. 9). No one is speaking; this is a summary verdict on the patriarch's end.
The words — שָׂבֵעַ (sāveʿa', "full, satisfied") goes beyond mere old age to a sense of completeness; יֵאָסֶף (yēʾāsef, "gathered") is the standard euphemism for patriarchal death, implying collection rather than dissolution.
The thread — The promise in Genesis 15:15 ("you will go to your fathers in peace… at a ripe old age") is now fulfilled; the same "gathered to his people" formula appears at Jacob's death (Genesis 49:29–33), and David's obituary in 1 Chronicles 29:28 echoes the "full of years" language.
Why it lands — The verse asks the reader to notice that "satisfied" is a claim about the quality of a life, not just its length, and that "gathered to his people" treats death as a transition into a continuing community rather than an end.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
Cross-references
- Genesis 35:28 And Isaac lived 180 years.
- Genesis 15:15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
- 1 Chronicles 29:28 He died at a ripe old age, full of years, riches, and honor, and his son Solomon reigned in his place.
- Genesis 49:33 When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.
- Job 5:26 You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.
- Genesis 25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. Then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.
- Genesis 47:8 “How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked.
- Judges 8:32 Later, Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
- Job 42:17 And so Job died, old and full of years.
- Proverbs 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength, and gray hair is the splendor of the old.