Ish'mael. (whom God hears). The son of Abraham, by Hagar the Egyptian, his
concubine; born when Abraham was fourscore and six years old. Gen_16:15-16. (B.C. 1910). Ishmael was the
first-born of his father. He was born in Abraham's house when he dwelt in the
plain of Mamre; and on the institution of the covenant of circumcision, was
circumcised, he being then thirteen years old Gen_17:26.
With the institution of the covenant, God renewed his promise respecting
Ishmael.
He does not again appear in the narrative until the weaning of Isaac. At
the great feast made in celebration of the weaning, "Sarah saw the son of
Hagar the Egyptian, which she had borne unto Abraham, mocking," and urged
Abraham to cast him and his mother out. Comforted by the renewal of God's
promise to make of Ishmael a great nation, Abraham sent them away, and they
departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. His mother took Ishmael a
wife out of the land of Egypt." Gen_21:9-21
This wife of Ishmael was the mother of the twelve sons and one daughter.
Of the later life of Ishmael we know little. He was present with Isaac
at the burial of Abraham. He died at the age of 137 years. Gen_25:17-18. The sons of Ishmael peopled the
north and west of the Arabian peninsula, and eventually formed the chief
element of the Arab nation, the wandering Bedouin tribes. They are now mostly
Mohammedans who look to him as their spiritual father, as the Jews look to
Abraham. Their language, which is generally acknowledged to have been the
Arabic community so called, has been adopted with insignificant exceptions
throughout Arabia. The term "Ishmaelite" occur on three occasions: Gen_37:25; Gen_37:27-28;
Gen_39:1; Jdg_8:24;
Psa_83:6.
2. One of the sons of Azel, a descendant of Saul through Meribbaal or
Mephibosheth. 1Ch_8:38; 1Ch_9:44.
3. A man of Judah, father of Zebadiah. 2Ch_19:11.
4. Another man of Judah, son of Jehohanan; one of the captains of
hundreds who assisted Jehoiada in restoring Joash to the throne. 2Ch_23:1.
5. A priest of the Bene-Pashur, (that is, sons of Pashur), who was
forced by Ezra to relinquish his foreign wife. Ezr_10:22.
6. The son of Nethaniah; a perfect marvel of craft and villainy, whose
treachery forms one of the chief episodes of the history of the period
immediately succeeding the first fall of Jerusalem. His exploits are related in
Jer_40:7; Jer_41:16
with a short summary. During the siege of the city, he had fled across the
Jordan where he found a refuge at the court of Baalis.
After the departure of the Chaldeans, Ishmael made no secret of his
intention to kill the superintendent left by the king of Babylon and usurp his
position. Of this, Zedaliah was warned in express terms by Johanan and his
companions, but notwithstanding, entertained Ishmael and his followers at a feast,
Jer_41:1, during which Ishmael murdered
Gedaliah and all his attendants. The same night, he killed all Zedaliah's
establishment, including some Chaldean soldiers who were there. For two days,
the massacre remained entirely unknown to the people of the town. On the second
day, eighty devotees were bringing incense and offerings to the ruins of the
Temple. At his invitation, they turned aside to the residence of the
superintendent, and there Ishmael and his band butchered nearly the whole
number: ten only escaped by offering a heavy ransom for their lives.
This done, he descended to the town, surprised and carried off the
daughters of King Zedekiah, who had been sent there by Nebuchadnezzar for
safety, with their eunuchs and their Chaldean guard, Jer_41:10; Jer_41:16,
and all the people of the town, and made off with his prisoners, to the country
of the Ammonites. The news of the massacre had by this time got abroad, and
Ishmael was quickly pursued by Johanan and his companions. He was attacked, two
of his bravos slain, the whole of the prey recovered; and Ishmael himself with
the remaining eight of his people, escaped to the Ammonites.
Source:
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Ishmaelites
ish´mā̇-el-īts (ישׁמעאלים, yishme‛ē'līm):
The supposed descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar, whom Abraham
sent away from him after the birth of Isaac (Gen_21:14-21).
The sons of Ishmael are given in Gen_25:13,
Gen_25:14; they were twelve in number
and gave rise to as many tribes, but the term Ishmaelite has a broader
signification, as appears from Gen_37:28.
36, where it is identified with Midianite. From Gen_16:12
it may be inferred that it was applied to the Bedouin of the desert region east
of the Jordan generally, for the character there assigned to Ishmael, “His hand
shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him,” fits the habits
of Bedouin in all ages. Such was the character of the Midianites as described
in Jdg 7, who are again identified with the Ishmaelites (Jdg_8:24). These references show that the
Ishmaelites were not confined to the descendants of the son of Abraham and
Hagar, but refer to the desert tribes in general, like “the children of the
east” (Jdg_7:12).
Source:
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Ishmael
ish´mā̇-el (ישׁמעאל, yishmā‛ē'l, “God heareth,” or “God
may,” “shall hear”; Ἰσμαήλ,
Ismaḗl):
(1) The son of Abraham by Hagar, the Egyptian slave
of his wife Sarah. The circumstances connected with his birth reveal what seems
to us to be a very strange practice. It was customary among ancient peoples to
correct the natural defect of barrenness by substituting a slave woman. In our
narrative, this is shown to be authorized and brought about by the legitimate
wife with the understanding that the offspring of such a union should be
regarded as her own: “It may be that I shall obtain children by her,”
literally, “that I shall be builded by her” (Gen_16:2).
1. Birth
The hopes of Sarah were realized, for Hagar gave
birth to a son, and yet the outcome was not fully pleasing to Abraham's wife;
there was one serious drawback. As soon as Hagar “saw that she had conceived,”
her behavior toward her mistress underwent a radical change; she was “despised
in her eyes.” But for the intervention of the angel of Yahweh, the boy might
have been born in Egypt. For, being dealt with hardly (or humbled) by Sarah,
the handmaid fled toward that country. On her way she was told by the angel to
return to her mistress and submit herself “under her hands.” She obeyed, and
the child who was to be as “a wild ass among men” was born when his father was
86 years old (Gen_16:7-16).
2. Circumcision
At the age of 13 years the boy was circumcised (Gen_17:25) in accordance with the Divine command
received by Abraham: “Every male among you shall be circumcised” (Gen_17:10). Thus young Ishmael was made a party
to the covenant into which God had entered with the lad's father. The fact that
both Abraham and his son were circumcised the same day (Gen_17:26) undoubtedly adds to the importance of
Ishmael's partaking of the holy rite. He was certainly made to understand how
much his father loved him and how deeply he was concerned about his spiritual
welfare. We may even assume that there was a time when Abraham looked upon
Ishmael as the promised seed. His error was made clear to him when God promised
him the birth of a son by Sarah. At first this seemed to be incredible, Abraham
being 100 years of age and Sarah 90. And yet, how could he disbelieve the word
of God? His cherished, though mistaken, belief about Ishmael, his doubts
regarding the possibility of Sarah's motherhood, and the first faint glimmer of
the real meaning of God's promise, all these thoughts found their expression in
the fervid wish: “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” (Gen_17:18). Gradually the truth dawned upon the
patriarch that God s thoughts are not the thoughts of men, neither their ways
His ways. But we have no reason to believe that this entire changing of the
mental attitude of Abraham toward Ishmael reacted unfavorably on his future
treatment of this son “born of the flesh” (compare Gen_21:11).
If there were troubles in store for the boy likened by the angel of Yahweh to a
wild ass, it was, in the main, the youngster's own fault.
3. Banishment
When Isaac was weaned, Ishmael was about 16 years
of age. The weaning was made an occasion for great celebration. But it seems
the pleasure of the day was marred by the objectionable behavior of Ishmael.
“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian ... mocking” (Gen_21:9). Her jealous motherly love had
quickened her sense of observation and her faculty of reading the character of
children. We do not know exactly what the word used in the Hebrew for “mocking”
really means. The Septuagint and the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible,
390-405 ad) render the passage: “When Sarah saw the son of Hagar ... playing
with Isaac,” and Paul followed a later tradition when he says: “He that was
born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit” (Gal_4:29). Lightfoot (in his notes to the Epistle
to the Galatians) says: “At all events the word seems to mean mocking,
jeering.” At any rate, the fact remains that Sarah objected to the bringing up
of the son of promise together with the “mocker,” and so both mother and son
were banished from the tents of Abraham.
Now there came a most critical time in the life of
young Ishmael. Only some bread and a bottle of water were “put on the shoulder”
of Hagar by Abraham when he expelled her with her son. Aimlessly, as it seems,
the two walked about in the wilderness of Beersheba. The water was soon spent,
and with it went all hope and energy. The boy, being faint with thirst and
tired out by his constant walking in the fierce heat of the sun, seemed to be
dying. So his mother put him rapidly down in the shade of some plant. (We do
not share the opinion of some writers that the narrative of Gen_21:8 represented Ishmael as a little boy
whom his mother had carried about and finally flung in the shade of some shrub.
Even if this passage is taken from a different source, it is certainly not in
conflict with the rest as to the age of Ishmael.) After this last act of
motherly love - what else could she do to help the boy? - she retired to a
place at some distance and resignedly expected the death of her son and perhaps
her own.
For the 2nd time in her life, she had a marvelous
experience. “God heard the voice of the lad” and comforted the unhappy mother
most wonderfully. Through His angel He renewed His former promise regarding her
son, and then He showed her a well of water. The lad's life was saved and,
growing up, he became in time an archer. He lived in the wilderness of Paran
and was married by his mother to an Egyptian wife (Gen_21:21).
4. His Children
When Abraham died, his exiled son returned to
assist his brother to bury their father (Gen_25:9).
In the same chapter we find the names of Ishmael's 12 sons (Gen_25:12) and a brief report of his death at
the age of 137 years (Gen_25:17).
According to Gen_28:9 he also had a
daughter, Mahalath, whom Esau took for his wife; in Gen_36:3
her name is given as Basemath.
5. Descendants
The character of Ishmael and his descendants
(Arabian nomads or Bedouins) is very accurately and vividly depicted by the
angel of Yahweh: “He shall be as a wild ass among men; his hand shall be
against every man, and every man's hand against him” (Gen_16:12). These nomads are, indeed, roaming
the wilds of the desert, jealous of their independence, quarrelsome and
adventurous. We may well think of their progenitor as of a proud, undaunted and
rugged son of the desert, the very counterpart of the poor boy lying half dead
from fatigue and exposure under the shrub in the wilderness of Beersheba.
6. In the New Testament
The person and the history of Ishmael, the son of
Abraham, “born after the flesh,” is of special interest to the student of the
New Testament because Paul uses him, in the Epistle to the Galatians, as a type
of those Jews who cling to the paternal religion in such a manner as to be
unable to discern the transient character of the Old Testament institutions,
and especially those of the Mosaic law. By doing so they could not be made to
see the true meaning of the law, and instead of embracing the grace of God as
the only means of fulfilling the law, they most bitterly fought the central doctrine
of Christianity and even persecuted its advocates. Like Ishmael, they were born
of Hagar, the handmaid or slave woman; like him, they were Abraham's sons only
“after the flesh,” and their ultimate fate is foreshadowed in the casting out
of Hagar and her son. They could not expect to maintain the connection with the
true Israel, and even in case they should acclaim Christ their Messiah they
were not to be the leaders of the church or the expounders of its teachings (Gal_4:21-28).
(2) The son of Nethaniah (Jer 40:8 through 41:18;
compare 2Ki_25:23-25). It is a dreary
story of jealousy and treachery which Jeremiah has recorded in chapters 40, 41
of his book. After the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of the
better class of Jewish citizens, it was necessary to provide for some sort of a
government in the depopulated country. Public order had to be restored and
maintained; the crops of the fields were endangered and had to be taken care
of. It was thus only common political prudence that dictated to the king of
Babylon the setting up of a governor for the remnant of Judah. He chose
Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, for the difficult position. The new officer
selected for his place of residence the city of Mizpah, where he was soon
joined by Jeremiah. All the captains of the Jewish country forces came to
Mizpah with their men and put themselves under Gedaliah's orders (Jer_40:13). Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the
son of Elishama “of the seed royal” (2Ki_25:25)
was among their number - all of which must have been rather gratifying to the
new governor. But he was destined to be cruelly disappointed. A traitor was
among the captains that had gathered around him. Yet the governor might have
prevented his dastardly scheme. Johnnan, the son of Kareah, and other loyal
captains warned him of the treachery of Ishmael, telling him he was induced by
Baalis, the Ammonite king, to assassinate the governor. But the governor's
faith in Ishmael was not to be shaken; he even looked upon Johanan's report as
false and calumnious (Jer_40:16).
About 2 months after the destruction of Jerusalem,
Ishmael was ready to strike the mortal blow. With 10 men he came to Mizpah, and
there, at a banquet given in his honor, he killed Gedaliah and all the Jews and
Chaldeans that were with him. He succeeded in keeping the matter secret, for, 2
days after the horrible deed, he persuaded a party of 80 pious Jews to enter
the city and killed all but 10 of them, throwing their bodies into a pit. These
men were coming from the ruins of the Temple with the offerings which they had
intended to leave at Jerusalem. Now they had found out, to their great
distraction, that the city was laid waste and the Temple destroyed. So they
passed by Mizpah, their beards shaven, their clothes rent, and with cuts about
their persons (Jer_41:5). We may,
indeed, ask indignantly, Why this new atrocity? The answer may be found in the
fact that Ishmael did not kill all of the men. He spared 10 of them because
they promised him some hidden treasures. This shows his motive. He was a
desperate man and just then carrying out a desperate undertaking. He killed
those peaceful citizens because of their money, and money he needed to realize
his plans. They were those of a traitor to his country, inasmuch as he intended
to deport the inhabitants of Mizpah to the land of his high confederate, the
king of the Ammonites. Among the captives were Jeremiah and the daughters of
the Jewish king. But his efforts came to naught. When Johnnan and the other
captains were told of Ishmael's unheard-of actions, they immediately pursued
the desperate adventurer and overtook him by the “great waters that are in
Gibeon.” Unfortunately, they failed to capture Ishmael; for he managed to
escape with eight men to the Ammonites. See, further, GEDALIAH.
(3) A descendant of Benjamin and the son of Azel (1Ch_8:38; compare 1Ch_9:44).
(4) The father of Zebadiah who was “the ruler of
the house of Judah, in all the king's (Jehoshaphat, 2Ch_19:8)
matters” (2Ch_19:11).
(5) The son of Jehohanan, and a “captain of hundreds,”
who lived at the time of Jehoiada and Joash (2Ch_23:1).
(6) One of the sons of Pashhur the priest. He was
one of those men who had married foreign women and were compelled to “put away
their wives” (Ezr_10:22).
Source:
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Ishmael
God hears.
(1.) Abraham's
eldest son, by Hagar the concubine (Gen_16:15;
Gen_17:23). He was born at Mamre, when
Abraham was eighty-six years of age, eleven years after his arrival in Canaan (Gen_16:3; Gen_21:5).
At the age of thirteen he was circumcised (Gen_17:25).
He grew up a true child of the desert, wild and wayward. On the occasion of the
weaning of Isaac his rude and wayward spirit broke out in expressions of insult
and mockery (Gen_21:9, Gen_21:10); and Sarah, discovering this, said to
Abraham, “Expel this slave and her son.” Influenced by a divine admonition,
Abraham dismissed Hagar and her son with no more than a skin of water and some
bread. The narrative describing this act is one of the most beautiful and
touching incidents of patriarchal life (Gen_21:14-16).
(See HAGAR.)
Ishmael settled in the land of Paran, a region lying between Canaan and the
mountains of Sinai; and “God was with him, and he became a great archer” (Gen_21:9-21). He became a great desert chief,
but of his history little is recorded. He was about ninety years of age when
his father Abraham died, in connection with whose burial he once more for a
moment reappears. On this occasion the two brothers met after being long
separated. “Isaac with his hundreds of household slaves, Ishmael with his
troops of wild retainers and half-savage allies, in all the state of a Bedouin
prince, gathered before the cave of Machpelah, in the midst of the men of Heth,
to pay the last duties to the 'father of the faithful,' would make a notable
subject for an artist” (Gen_25:9). Of
the after events of his life but little is known. He died at the age of one
hundred and thirty-seven years, but where and when are unknown (Gen_25:17). He had twelve sons, who became the
founders of so many Arab tribes or colonies, the Ishmaelites, who spread over
the wide desert spaces of Northern Arabia from the Red Sea to the Euphrates (Gen_37:25, Gen_37:27,
Gen_37:28; Gen_39:1),
“their hand against every man, and every man's hand against them.”
(2.) The son of
Nethaniah, “of the seed royal” (Jer_40:8,
Jer_40:15). He plotted against
Gedaliah, and treacherously put him and others to death. He carried off many
captives, “and departed to go over to the Ammonites.”
Source:
Easton’s Bible Dictionary