Ishmael

Ishmael (Hebrew: יִשְׁמָעֵאל, Standard Yišmaʿel Tiberian Yišmāʿêl; Arabic: إسماعيل, Ismā'īl; translates as "God will hear" (Strong's Dictionary)) was Abraham's eldest son, born by his wife's handmaiden Hagar. Though being born of Hagar, according to the Mesopotamian law, he was credited to Sarah (Gn. 16:2)^[1] According to the Genesis account, he died at the age of 137 (Gn. 25:17).

Judaism has generally viewed Ishmael as wicked though repentant.^[1] Islamic tradition, however, has a very positive view of Ishmael, ascribing a larger role to Ishmael in comparison to the Bible and viewing him as a prophet and the son of sacrifice (according to certain early theologians whose ideas prevailed later).^[1][2] The Bahá'í writings consider him a lesser prophet.

Both Jewish and Islamic traditions consider Ishmael as the ancestor of Arab people.^[1]

Etymology and meaning

The word Yishm'e'l existed in various ancient Semitic cultures. It literally meaning "God has hearkened", suggesting that "a child so named was regarded as the fulfillment of a divine promise."^[1]

Ishmael in the Bible

In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), Ishmael's life is described in the Book of Genesis chapters 16 and further. In Genesis 16 Sarah (Abraham's wife) gives Abraham her maid-servant Hagar so that she can have a son of her own by using her maid-servant as a birth mother, since she believed that God had kept her from having children (Gn 16:2).

Hagar became pregnant and despised Sarah, which resulted in harsh treatment by Sarah. Hagar fled from Sarah and ran into the wilderness, where an angel appeared to her.

The angel of the Lord told her to return, adding

• "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."

The angel also said to her:

• You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.
• He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers. (NIV, Genesis 16)

So Hagar returned to Abraham's house, and had a son whom she named Ishmael. Fourteen years after this, Abraham's wife Sarah, herself became pregnant with his son, Isaac.

When Ishmael was about 16 years old, he angered Sarah, and she asked Abraham to expel him and his mother.

• Isaac grew, and on the day he was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that Ishmael was mocking Isaac, and she said to Abraham; "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac." (NIV, Genesis 21:8-10)

While Abraham was very uneasy over the whole thing, he finally gave in to his wife's request when God told him that He would take care of Ishmael, due to the fact that the child is Abraham's descendant.

• The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring [b] will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."

(NIV, Genesis 21:11-13)

Hagar, with her son, wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, and when reduced to great distress, a voice from heaven said "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation." (Genesis 21)

They lived in the wilderness of Paran, where Hagar's son became an expert in archery. His mother married him to an Egyptian woman.

God promised Abraham:

• Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." (Genesis 17)

These twelve rulers, the twelve sons of Ishmael, were named Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah (See Genesis 25)

Each of Ishmael's sons was a tribal chief and settled everywhere from Havilah to Shur, i.e. from the Persian Gulf to the border of Egypt. From the twelve sons of Ishmael are derived the twelve tribes of the Arabians. Jerome says that in his time they called the districts of Arabia by the names of the tribes.

Ishmael also had a daughter named Mahalath or Bashemath (Gen 36:3). Esau married her with a sincere desire to obey and please his parents (Gen 28:9). His father Isaac had specifically forbidden his brother Jacob from marrying Canaanite women.

Ishmael also appears with Isaac at the burial of Abraham at the cave at Machpelah (Genesis 25:9 NRSV).

Ishmael in Jewish tradition

Judaism has generally viewed Ishmael as wicked though repentant. In some Rabbinic traditions, Ishmael is said to had two wives named Aisha and Fatima, the names of Muhammad's wife and daughter.^[1]

Ishmael is also mentioned in the Book of Jasher, which states (chapter 25) that the sons of Ishmael were "twelve princes according to their nations. The families of Ishmael afterward spread forth, and Ishmael took his children and all the property that he had gained, together with the souls of his household and all belonging to him, and they went to dwell where they should find a place. And they went and dwelt near the wilderness of Paran, and their dwelling was from Havilah to Shur. And Ishmael and his sons dwelt in the land, and they had children born to them, and they were fruitful and increased abundantly."^[3]

Ishmael in New Testament

According to the Genesis account, at the instigation of Sarah, Ishmael and his mother were expelled in order to make sure that Isaac would be Abraham's heir. In the book of Galatians, Paul uses the incident "to symbolize the relationship between Judaism, the older but now rejected tradition, and Christianity." (Gal 4:21-31)^[1]

Ishmael in Islam

Main article: Islamic view of Ishmael

In Islam, Ishmael is known as the first-born son of Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) from Hagar, and as an appointed prophet of God.

Although Ishmael's name was not mentioned in the Qur'an as the son who was supposed to be sacrificed, nevertheless the sacrifice tale in the Qur'an ( As-Saffat [37:112])clearly states that God gave Abraham the good news of Isaac whom he will be - a prophet,-and one of the Righteous right after the sacrafice tail has finished which means that Isaac was not yet born at the time of the sacrafice.^[2] In Islamic beliefs, Abraham had prayed to God for a son ('Isma' in Arabic means 'to listen' ie answer prayer, and 'ell' is derived from the Hebrew word 'elle', meaning God). God delivered this child to Abraham, and later tested Abraham's faith by asking him to sacrifice his only son at the time. However, just as Abraham was to kill his only son, God halted him, praised him for his loyalty, and commanded him to sacrifice a ram instead. This leads to the Muslim practice of sacrificing domesticated animals such as sheep, goats or cows, on the celebration to mark this event known as Eid ul-Adha.

According to The Oxford Companion To The Bible, "Because Ishmael was circumcised (Gen. 17:25), so are most Muslims. And, analogous to Paul's reversal of the figures of Isaac and Ishmael (Gal. 4:24-26), Muslim tradition makes Ishmael rather than Isaac the son Abraham was commanded to sacrifice."^[4]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Fredrick E. Greenspahn, Encyclopedia of Religion, Ishmael, p.4551-4552
2. ^ ^{a b} William Montgomery Watt, Encyclopedia of Islam, Ishaq
3. ^ Book of Jasher, Chapter 25
4. ^ Bruce M Metzger & Michael D Coogan (Ed.), Oxford Companion To The Bible, 1993, Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York, pp. 329 (Under 'Ishmael').

The Tribe of G.T.S claims The Tribe of Ishmael their Descendants

See also

• Isaac
• Abraham
• List of names referring to El

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