Kabbalah Library

262) “But to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts.” The gifts are lower degrees of holiness, uncorrected. They are names of types of spirits of impurity. He gave them to them to complete the degrees, so they would purify them and complement the degrees of holiness. And Isaac rose above all of them in the high faith, which is Bina.

263) “The sons of the concubines” are the sons of Keturah. She is called “concubines” since she was a concubine before he sent her away. And she is a concubine now since he took her again.

“And he sent them away from Isaac his son,” so they would not rule over Isaac. “While he was still alive,” while Abraham still lived and existed in the world, so they would not quarrel with him later and so that Isaac would be corrected in the side of the harsh, high judgment, to prevail over all of them. And they all surrendered before him.

“Eastward” means to the land in the east since there are various kinds of witchcraft and impurity there.

264) It is written, “And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east,” meaning all those who were from the sons of Abraham’s concubines. And in those mountains of the east are those who teach wizardry to people. And Laban, Beor, and Balaam, his son, and all the wizards came from that land in the east.