The sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine: Just as verses 29-31 listed Abraham’s descendants through Hagar, verses 32-33 list Abraham’s descendants through his concubine Keturah (compare Gen 25.1-4). This is why Good News Translation starts a new paragraph here. A concubine was a legitimate wife of lower status. Concubines included slaves and women captured during wars. Their standing was therefore less than that of the principal wives, but they should not be thought of as prostitutes or mere slave women, and their status was not temporary. The term concubine is also found in Gen 22.24 and frequently in the books of Judges and 2 Samuel. Some languages translate this term as “spouse of a second rank” (Bible en français courant) or “second-level wife.” New Century Version says “slave woman,” which we do not recommend since this rendering places too much emphasis on a single element in the system practiced by the Israelites.
She bore Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah: The Hebrew simply lists the sons of Abraham and Keturah without stating their number. Good News Translation, however, adds the number “six” to the text for the sake of clarity. Of these six sons, only the descendants of Jokshan and Midian are listed. The descendants of Keturah lived in the remote desert area east and south of Israel. Gen 25.5-6 says that Abraham gave all that he owned to Isaac but gave gifts to the sons of Keturah and sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the East.
The descendants of Zimran probably lived west of Mecca along the east shore of the Red Sea.
Midian was the ancestor of the Midianites, who lived on both sides of the Gulf of Aqaba. The Midianites have usually been considered to be a nomadic population, but more recent archaeological studies suggest that they may have also developed rather sophisticated urban cultures.
The descendants of Shuah probably lived in the Upper Euphrates region.
The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan: Jokshan is listed as the father of Sheba and Dedan, although in verse 9 Raamah is said to be their father.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .