Category:Ishmael (subject)
According to Jewish (Christian, and Islamic) traditions, Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar, and the forefather of the Arabs.
< People : Abraham -- Hagar -- Sarah -- Isaac >
Overview
According to tradition, Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar, a maidservant whom Sarah gave to her husband as a sort of surrogate mother since she was barren. As the first son, Ishmael should have been the heir, but his status was challenged when Sarah gave birth to Isaac. God told Abraham that Ishmael will be blessed and will become the father of a great nation, "but my covenant I will establish with Isaac" (Gen 17:21).
At age 13, Ishmael was circumcised with the entire household of Abraham.
After the birth of Isaac, Sarah became jealous and convinced Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away. Hagar and Ishmael were rescued in the desert by an angel who fed them and announced them that Ishmael would become the father of a multitude.
In Genesis 25 it is said that "Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah." This did not change the status of Isaac; as the only son of Abraham's wife Sarah, he was the only one to have the right of inheritance. "5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines (i.e. Hagar and Keturah) Abraham gave gifts, while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country."
As the first born, however, Ishmael maintained a special status. With his half-brother Isaac, he buried Abraham and was given some special blessings by God (Gen 25). Ishmael grew to become a chief and had numerous children.
According the Muslim traditions, Ishmael was one of the Prophets, the forefather of Arab tribes and the ancestor of Muhammad.
Ishmael, in ancient sources
Genesis 16:1 -- The Birth of Ishmael -- 16:1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, 2 and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. 4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Your slave-girl is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Now you have conceived and shall bear a son; you shall call him Ishmael,[a] for the Lord has given heed to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; and he shall live at odds with all his kin.”
13 So she named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are El-roi”;[b] for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?”[c] 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;[d] it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him[e] Ishmael.
Genesis 17 -- Ishmael and Isaac -- 17 Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live in your sight!” 19 God said, “No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac.[e] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; I will bless him and make him fruitful and exceedingly numerous; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.” 22 And when he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
Genesis 17 -- Circumcision of Ishmael -- 23 Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house or bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised; 27 and all the men of his house, slaves born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Genesis 21 -- Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away -- 9 Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” 11 The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. 13 As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.
20 God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Genesis 25 -- The Death of Abraham -- 7 This is the length of Abraham’s life, one hundred seventy-five years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with his wife Sarah. 11 After the death of Abraham God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.
Genesis 25 -- Ishmael’s Descendants -- 12 These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave-girl, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (This is the length of the life of Ishmael, one hundred thirty-seven years; he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria; he settled down[a] alongside of[b] all his people.
Ishmael in Literature & the Arts
- See Ishmael (art) -- Ishmael (cinema)
Ishmael is portrayed in numerous paintings with his mother Hagar. His story is also presented in oratorios, novels, and movies.
Ishmael in Scholarship
Ishmael is a literary character. Scholars have focused on the study of the Ishmael narratives in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Related categories
References
- Ishmael / M. Francis / T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism (2019 Stuckenbruck, Gurtner), dictionary
External links
Pages in category "Ishmael (subject)"
The following 3 pages are in this category, out of 3 total.