Difference between revisions of "Ishmael"

<p> 1. <span> [[Genesis]] 16:1-16 </span> <span> 21:1-34 </span> , son of [[Abraham]] and Hagar, B. C. 1910. [[He]] was at first regarded as "the son of the promise;" but after the birth and weaning of [[Isaac]] he was driven from his father's house, at the age of about seventeen, and took with his mother the way to [[Egypt]] her native land. [[Overcome]] with heat and thirst, and then miraculously relieved, he remained in the wilderness of Paran, took a wife from Egypt, and was the father of twelve sons, heads of [[Arab]] tribes. He seems to have become on friendly terms with Isaac, and to have attended at the bedside of their dying father. At his own death, he was one hundred and thirty-seven years old, <span> Genesis 25:9,17 </span> . </p> <p> The Ishmaelites, his posterity, were said, in the days of Moses, to dwell "from [[Havilah]] unto [[Shur]] that is before Egypt," that is, in the northwestern part of Arabia. [[See]] HAVILAH 2. [[Subsequently]] they, with the descendants of Joktan, the fourth from Shem, <span> Genesis 10:26-29 </span> , and Jokshan, the son of Abraham by Keturah, <span> Genesis 25:3 </span> , and perhaps also of some of the brethren of [[Joktan]] and Jokshan, occupied the whole peninsula of Arabia. See <span> Genesis 17:16 </span> . The prediction also in <span> Genesis 16:12 </span> , has been fully verified in their history. [[Located]] near their "brethren" the Jews, they have always led a roving, wild, and predatory life. To a great degree unchanged, they are to this day the untamed though tributary masters of the desert. See [[Midianites]] . </p> <p> 2. A prince of Judah, who fled to the [[Ammonites]] when [[Jerusalem]] was destroyed by the Chaldeans. [[Soon]] after, he returned and assassinated [[Gedaliah]] the governor and many others; but was obliged to flee for his life, <span> [[Jeremiah]] 40:1-41:18 </span> . </p>

<p> [[Of]] several men named [[Ishmael]] in the Bible, the best known is the son born to [[Abraham]] through his [[Egyptian]] slave-girl, Hagar. [[He]] was born as a result of Abraham and Sarah’s failure of faith, when, feeling that [[Sarah]] could not produce the son [[God]] had promised them, they arranged for Abraham to produce the son through [[Hagar]] ( <span> [[Genesis]] 16:1-3 </span> ). </p> <p> [[In]] New [[Testament]] times, [[Paul]] saw this as a picture of those who try to achieve salvation through law-keeping instead of through faith in [[Jesus]] Christ. [[As]] Ishmael was the child of a slave-girl, so they are the children of slavery. They are in bondage to the law instead of being free people in [[Christ]] ( <span> [[Galatians]] 4:21-26 </span> ). </p> <p> [[Concerning]] Ishmael, God promised that he would grow into a fiery independent desert-dweller, and would produce a notable line of descendants ( <span> Genesis 16:11-12 </span> ; <span> Genesis 17:20 </span> ). But he was not the son that God had promised to Abraham as the one through whom he would build his covenant people. God’s promises would be fulfilled through Isaac, the son who was later born to Abraham and Sarah ( <span> Genesis 17:15-19 </span> ). </p> <p> When conflict arose between Sarah and Hagar, Hagar and Ishmael were forced to leave Abraham’s household and establish their own independent existence ( <span> Genesis 21:8-21 </span> ). In New Testament times, Paul saw the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael as an illustration that slaves of the law have no place in a family (the church) where people have the freedom of sons and through faith inherit God’s promises ( <span> Galatians 4:28-31 </span> ). </p> <p> Ishmael grew up to be a tough desert-dweller, as God had foretold ( <span> Genesis 21:20 </span> ; cf. <span> Genesis 16:12 </span> ). He married an Egyptian ( <span> Genesis 21:21 </span> ), and one of his daughters married Isaac’s son, [[Esau]] ( <span> Genesis 28:9 </span> ). There was a temporary reunion between [[Isaac]] and Ishmael at the funeral of their father ( <span> Genesis 25:7-10 </span> ). </p> <p> [[Many]] of the tribal peoples who grew up in the region around [[Canaan]] were descended from Ishmael ( <span> Genesis 25:12-18 </span> ). Even today many of the [[Arab]] peoples claim descent from him. </p>

<li> The son of Nethaniah, "of the seed royal" ( <span> [[Jeremiah]] 40:8,15 </span> ). [[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." <div> <p> <span> [[Copyright]] [[Statement]] </span> These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., [[Illustrated]] [[Bible]] Dictionary, [[Third]] Edition, published by [[Thomas]] Nelson, 1897. [[Public]] Domain. </p> <p> <span> Bibliography [[Information]] </span> Easton, [[Matthew]] George. [[Entry]] for 'Ishmael'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ebd/i/ishmael.html. 1897. </p> </div> </li>

<p> (See <span> HAGAR </span> ; ISAAC; ABRAHAM) ("God hears"); the name of [[God]] is <span> Εl </span> , "the God of might", in relation to the world at large; not <span> [[Jehovah]] </span> , [[His]] name in relation to His covenant people. </p> <p> <span> 1. </span> [[Born]] of [[Hagar]] when [[Abraham]] was 86 ( <span> [[Genesis]] 16:15-16 </span> ), dwelling at Mature. "Jehovah," in covenant with Abraham her husband, "heard her affliction" in the wilderness whither she had fled from Sarah. The angel of Jehovah described [[Ishmael]] in a prophecy which history is continually verifying, "he will be a wild man," [[Hebrew]] a wild donkey man, i.e. fierce and wild as the donkey of the desert, the type of restless unbridled lawlessness. <span> [[Job]] 11:12 </span> ; <span> Job 24:5 </span> ; "behold, as wild donkeys in the desert, go they forth to their work, rising betimes for a prey (for traveling in the [[East]] is at an early hour, to be before the heat): the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children"; i.e., these [[Bedouin]] robbers, with the unbridled wildness of the donkey of the desert, go thither. [[Robbery]] is "their work"; the wilderness which yields no food to other men "yieldeth food for them" by the plunder of caravans. </p> <p> "His hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him"; an exact picture of Bedouin life." [[Many]] conquerors have marched into the [[Arabian]] wilderness, but they have never been able to catch this wild donkey and to tame him" (Baumgarten). "And he shall dwell in the presence of (in front of) his brethren," in close proximity to their kindred races, hovering round, but never mingling with them, never disappearing by withdrawal to some remote region, but remaining in that high table land S.E. of [[Judaea]] to which [[Judea]] may be said to look. [[Or]] else "to the E. (for as the orientals faced toward the E. in taking the points of the compass, the front meant the E.) of his brethren." [[In]] <span> Job 1:3 </span> the Arabs are called "the sons of the East." Ishmael was circumcised at 13 ( <span> Genesis 17:25 </span> ), at which age Arabs and Muslims therefore still circumcise. </p> <p> Abraham's love for him appears in his exclaiming, upon God's giving the promise of seed by Sarah, then 90, Abraham himself being 100, "Oh that Ishamel might live before Thee!" whether the words mean that he desires that Ishmael (instead of the seed promised to Sarah) might be heir of the promises, or, as is more consonant with Abraham's faith, that Ishmael might be accepted before God so as to share in blessings. Then God promised: "I have blessed him, ... twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation" (compare <span> Genesis 25:12-17 </span> ). [[See]] <span> ISAAC </span> on Ishmael's expulsion for "mocking," and (See <span> HAGAR </span> on Ishmael being called a "child," or "lad" ( <span> Genesis 25:14-15 </span> ; <span> Genesis 25:17 </span> ), being at the time 15 or 16; the bread and bottle, but not the child, were "put on her shoulder.") </p> <p> After God's saving them they "dwelt in the wilderness of Paran," the [[El]] Tih, the desert of Israel's wanderings; stretching from the wady [[Arabah]] on the E. to the gulf of [[Suez]] on the W., and from [[Sinai]] on the S. to [[Palestine]] on the N. According to eastern usage she, as a parent, chose a wife for her son, an Egyptian, possibly the mother of his 12 sons; rabbinical and [[Arab]] tradition give him a second wife; the daughter being termed "sister of Nebaioth" implies probably that the other brothers had a different mother. [[Esau]] married his daughter [[Mahalath]] before Ishmael's death, for it is written "Esau went unto Ishmael" ( <span> Genesis 28:9 </span> ). At 137 Ishmael "died in the presence of all his brethren" ( <span> Genesis 25:17-18 </span> ); i.e., fulfilling the prediction of the angel of Jehovah to Hagar (see above), Ishmael died, his nomad descendants stretching from [[Havilah]] S.E. and [[Shur]] S.W. toward the N.E., i.e. Assyria, in fact traversing the whole Arabian desert from the [[Euphrates]] to the [[Red]] Sea. </p> <p> Ishmael himself cannot have settled far from Abraham's neighbourhood, for he joined with [[Isaac]] in the burial of his father ( <span> Genesis 25:9 </span> ), and burial in the East follows a few hours after death. Ishmael first went into the wilderness of Beersheba, then into that of Paran. "The East country" unto which Abraham sent away his sons by concubines, not to be in the way of Isaac, must therefore have been in those regions ( <span> Genesis 25:6 </span> ; <span> Genesis 25:18 </span> ). The people of [[Arabia]] are called "children of the East," [[Bene]] Kedem ( <span> [[Judges]] 6:3 </span> ; <span> Job 1:3 </span> ), in modern times Saracens, i.e. "Easterns" (See <span> EAST </span> .) Ishmael's 12 sons enumerated <span> Genesis 25:13-15 </span> were fathers of tribes, as "their towns and their castles," or rather "hamlets," called after them, imply ( <span> [[Numbers]] 31:10 </span> ). These "hamlets" were collections of rude dwellings of stones piled on one another and covered with tent cloths, often ranged in a circle. (See <span> HAZEROTH </span> .) </p> <p> The [[Bible]] does not, as scepticism asserts, state that all the Arabs sprang from Ishmael. Nay, Joktanites and even Cushites in the S. and S.E. form a large element in Arab blood. In all the northern tribes which are of [[Ishmaelite]] descent, the characteristics foretold appear, they are "wild ... their hand against every man, and every man's hand against them"; but in S. Arabia, where Joktanite and other blood exists, these characteristics are less seen. The Ishmaelite element is the chief one of the Arab nation, as the native traditions before Muhammed and the language concur with the Bible in proving. The pagan law of blood revenge necessitates every Arab's knowing the names of his ancestors for four generations, so that the race is well defined. </p> <p> The term" Ishmaelites" was applied in course of time to the Midianites, sprung from Abraham and Keturah, and not from Ishmael, because the [[Ishmaelites]] being the more powerful tribe gave their name as a general one to neighbouring associated tribes ( <span> Genesis 37:25 </span> ; <span> Genesis 37:28 </span> ; <span> Genesis 37:36 </span> ; <span> Psalms 83:6 </span> ), the nomad tribes of Arabia ( <span> Judges 8:24 </span> ). [[Before]] Muhammed, religion in the middle and S. of Arabia was fetish and cosmic worship, but in the N. relics of the primitive faith of Ishmael survived, and numbers became [[Karaite]] [[Jews]] or held the corrupt form of [[Christianity]] which was all they knew of it. The dissatisfaction felt with both of these creeds pioneered the way for Muhammed's success. The Arab conquerors have won a hundred thrones and established their Mohamedanism from the [[Senegal]] to the Indus, from the Euphrates to the [[Indian]] Ocean. </p> <p> <span> 2. </span> <span> 1 [[Chronicles]] 8:38 </span> ; <span> 1 Chronicles 9:44 </span> . </p> <p> <span> 3. </span> <span> 2 Chronicles 19:11 </span> . </p> <p> <span> 4. </span> <span> 2 Chronicles 23:1 </span> . </p> <p> <span> 5. </span> <span> 2 Chronicles 10:22 </span> . </p> <p> <span> 6. </span> [[Son]] of Nethaniah, son of [[Elishama]] of the seed royal of [[Judah]] ( <span> [[Jeremiah]] 40:7-41 </span> ; <span> Jeremiah 40:15 </span> ; <span> 2 Kings 25:23-25 </span> ). [[Possibly]] descended from Elishama, David's son ( <span> 2 [[Samuel]] 5:16 </span> ). During the siege of [[Jerusalem]] Ishmael had fled to Baalis, king of Ammon, E. of Jordan. [[Probably]] Ishmael was of [[Ammonite]] blood on the mother's side, as some [[Jewish]] kings had Ammonite women in their harem ( <span> 1 Kings 11:1 </span> ). [[Baalis]] (called from the idol Baal) his host, urged him to slay [[Gedaliah]] who under the [[Babylonian]] king governed Judaea and the population which had not been carried away. Ishmael's royal descent fired his envy and ambition; hence, he lent a ready ear to the plot proposed by the ancient foe of Judah. Ishmael as well as the brothers [[Johanan]] and Jonathan, sons of Kareah, had commanded separate bands which watched the issue of the siege from the S.E. side of Jordan; "the forces in the fields," i.e. the pasture grounds of [[Moab]] ( <span> Jeremiah 40:7 </span> ; <span> Jeremiah 40:13 </span> ), the modern Belka. </p> <p> These captains crossed the [[Jordan]] to pay their respects to Gedaliah at Mizpah, N. of Jerusalem, upon his appointment. In spite of Johanan's open warning of Ishmael's intention, and even private offer to slay Ishmael in order to avert the death of Gedaliah and its evil consequences to the Jewish remnant, the latter in generous unsuspiciousness refused to believe the statement. [[Thirty]] days after, in the seventh month Ishmael and "ten men, princes of the king," at an hospitable entertainment given them by Gedaliah slew him with such secrecy that no alarm was given (compare <span> Psalms 41:9 </span> ), and then slew the Jews and Chaldeans, the men of war immediately about his person (not the rest, <span> Jeremiah 40:16 </span> ), with him. Jeremiah, who usually was residing there, was providentially elsewhere. [[No]] man knew it outside [[Mizpah]] for a time. </p> <p> [[So]] on the second day fourscore devotees with shaven beards, rent clothes, having cut themselves with pagan mutilations (see <span> [[Leviticus]] 19:27-28 </span> ; <span> [[Deuteronomy]] 14:1 </span> ), were seen by Ishmael from the higher ground on which he was, advancing from the N. with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to "the house of the Lord," i.e. to the place where the temple had stood, and which was still sacred. They came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, where such pagan usages prevailed, expressive of sorrow; they hereby indicated their grief at the destruction of the temple and city. Ishmael met them, pretending to weep like themselves, and said, "Come to Gedaliah," as if he were one of his retinue. When they came into the midst of the city, or of the courtyard (Josephus), he closed the entrances and butchered all, except ten who promised, if spared, to show him treasures of wheat, barley, oil, and honey. </p> <p> His greediness and needs overcame his cruelty, or he would not have spared even the ten. The 70 corpses he threw into the pit or cistern made by [[Asa]] to have a water supply when [[Baasha]] was about to besiege the city ( <span> 1 Kings 15:22 </span> ); as [[Jehu]] did to Ahaziah's 42 relatives, and as Nana [[Sahib]] did in our own times at Cawnpore. [[Next]] he carried off king Zedekiah's daughters, with their eunuchs and Chaldaean guard; and, doubtless being largely reinforced, carried away all the remaining people at Mizpah by way of [[Gibeon]] on the N. (Josephus says by [[Hebron]] round the S. end of the [[Dead]] Sea) toward Ammon, where probably he meant to sell them as slaves ( <span> Jeremiah 41:10 </span> ; <span> Jeremiah 41:16 </span> ). Johnnan pursued and overtook him at the great waters in Gibeon ( <span> 2 Samuel 2:13 </span> ). His captives gladly "cast about," i.e. came round and joined Johanan, who slew two of the ten princes ( <span> Jeremiah 41:1-2 </span> ; <span> Jeremiah 41:15 </span> ), leaving Ishmael with but eight to escape to Ammon. </p> <p> The result was a panic among the Jewish remnant in Judaea, as Johanan had foreseen when he warned Gedaliah. But now, in spite of Jeremiah's remonstrance from the Lord, he, instead of checking, promoted the panic, and led all the recovered captives, Jeremiah included, into [[Egypt]] ( <span> Jeremiah 41:16-17 </span> ; <span> Jeremiah 41:42 </span> ; <span> Jeremiah 43:5-7 </span> ). The calamity, Gedaliah's murder and the consequent dispersion of the Jews, was and is commemorated by the fast of the seventh month ( <span> [[Zechariah]] 7:5 </span> ; <span> Zechariah 8:19 </span> ), the third of Tisri. Ammon's share in this tragedy was avenged in accordance with the Lord's word ( <span> Jeremiah 49:1-6 </span> ; <span> [[Ezekiel]] 25:1-7 </span> ). The lessons from the history are, so long as pride, ambition, and revenge are harboured, men will ever scheme afresh to their own hurt. </p> <p> [[Scarcely]] had Jerusalem paid the awful penalty of her sin than her princes began new plots of violence and bloodshed. Zedekiah's perfidious rebellion had hardly been crushed when Ishmael devised a fresh conspiracy. [[Nothing]] short of God's grace can correct the desperate depravity of man. The mystery that men of guileless simplicity fall victims to murderous treachery is one of many proofs that there is an enemy disordering the present world course. [[Faith]] looks above the cloud, and sees God ordering all things for the good of His people and for the punishment of the transgressors at the last. </p> <p> The coming judgment will vindicate God's ways, glorify the saints with [[Christ]] their King, deliver the earth from the ungodly and [[Satan]] their prince, who shall be cast out for ever. Even now one bad man is made the scourge of another. The nemesis of crime is sure to overtake the guilty at last. [[However]] cunningly and laboriously he weaves iniquity, the web which was on the point of success is in a moment scattered to the winds by the breath of God, and the victims escape. The only fruit Ishmael derived from his crimes was being forced to flee as an outlaw, bearing about, [[Cain]] like, the murderer's brand, and a self torturing conscience, the earnest of the worm that never dieth. </p>

<span> [[Genesis]] 16:11 </span> <span> Genesis 16:12 </span> <span> Genesis 21:20 </span> [[Abraham]]

<p> The son of [[Abraham]] and Hagar. [[His]] name is derived from Shamah, to bear; and El, God. ( <span> <span> [[Genesis]] 16:1 </span> </span> ) </p>

<p> <strong> ISHMAEL. 1. </strong> The son of [[Abraham]] by Hagar. [[His]] name, which means ‘May [[God]] hear,’ was decided upon before his birth ( <span> [[Genesis]] 16:11 </span> ). [[As]] in the case of the history of his mother, three documentary sources are used by the narrator. [[J]] [Note: Jahwist.] supplied <span> Genesis 16:4-14 </span> , [[E]] [Note: Elohist.] <span> Genesis 21:8-21 </span> , whilst Padds such links as <span> Genesis 16:15 </span> f., <span> Genesis 17:18-27 </span> , <span> Genesis 25:7-10 </span> ; <span> Genesis 25:12-17 </span> . [[For]] the story of his life up to his settlement in the wilderness of Paran, the northern part of the [[Sinaitic]] peninsula, see Hagar. At the age of thirteen he was circumcised on the same day as his father ( <span> Genesis 17:25 </span> f.). [[In]] [[Paran]] he married an [[Egyptian]] wife, and became famous as an archer ( <span> Genesis 21:20 </span> f.). [[No]] other incident is recorded, except that he was associated with his step-brother in the burial of their father ( <span> Genesis 25:9 </span> ), and himself died at the age of 137 ( <span> Genesis 25:17 </span> ). </p> <p> [[Ishmael]] had been resolved into a conjectural personification of the founder of a group of tribes; but the narrative is too vivid in its portrayal of incident and character, and too true in its psychological treatment, to support that view. That there is some idealization in the particulars is possible. [[Tribal]] rivalry may have undesignedly coloured the presentment of Sarah’s jealousy. The little discrepancies between the documents point to a variety of human standpoints, and are as explicable upon the implication of historicity as upon the theory of personification. The note of all the recorded passions and promptings is naturalness; and the obvious intention of the narrative, with the impression produced upon an uncommitted reader, is that of an attempt at actual biography rather than at the construction of an artificial explanation of certain relationships of race. </p> <p> In regard to the so-called <strong> [[Ishmaelites]] </strong> , the case is not so clear. Ishmael is represented as the father of twelve sons ( <span> Genesis 25:12-16 </span> , <span> 1 [[Chronicles]] 1:29-31 </span> ), and the phrase ‘twelve princes according to their nations’ (cf. <span> Genesis 17:20 </span> ) almost suggests an attempt on the part of the writer at an exhibition of his view of racial origins. A further complication arises from the confusion of Ishmaelites and <strong> [[Midianites]] </strong> ( <span> Genesis 37:28 </span> ff., <span> [[Judges]] 8:24 </span> ; <span> Judges 8:26 </span> ), though the two are distinguished in the genealogies of <span> Genesis 25:1 </span> ; <span> Genesis 25:4 </span> ; <span> Genesis 25:13 </span> . [[Branches]] of the descendants of the two step-brothers may have combined through similarity of habit and location, and been known sometimes by the one name, and sometimes by the other; but there was clearly no permanent fusion of the two families. Nor is it possible to say whether at any time a religious confederation of twelve tribes was formed under the name of Ishmael, or if the name was adopted, because of its prominence, for the protection of some weaker tribes. The scheme may have even less basis in history, and be but part of an ethnic theory by which the [[Hebrew]] genealogists sought to explain the relationships of their neighbours to one another, and to the Hebrews themselves. A dozen tribes, scattered over the Sinaitic peninsula and the districts east of the Jordan, because of some similarity in civilization or language, or in some cases possibly under the influence of correct tradition, are grouped as kinsmen, being sons of Abraham, but of inferior status, as being descended from the son of a handmaid. That the differences from the pure Hebrew were thought to be strongly Egyptian in their character or source, is indicated by the statement that Ishmael’s mother and his wife were both Egyptians. The Ishmaelites soon disappear from Scripture. There are a few individuals described as of that nationality ( <span> 1 Chronicles 2:17 </span> ; <span> 1 Chronicles 27:30 </span> ); but in later times the word could be used metaphorically of any hostile people ( <span> Psalms 83:6 </span> ). </p> <p> <strong> 2. </strong> A son of Azel, a descendant of [[Saul]] through [[Jonathan]] ( <span> 1 Chronicles 8:38 </span> ; <span> 1 Chronicles 9:44 </span> ). <strong> 3. </strong> [[Ancestor]] of the [[Zebadiah]] who was one of Jehoshaphat’s judicial officers ( <span> 2 Chronicles 19:11 </span> ). <strong> 4. </strong> A military officer associated with [[Jehoiada]] in the revolution in favour of [[Joash]] ( <span> 2 Chronicles 23:1 </span> ). <strong> 5. </strong> A member of the royal house of [[David]] who took the principal part in the murder of [[Gedaliah]] ( <span> [[Jeremiah]] 41:1-2 </span> ). The story is told in <span> Jeremiah 40:7 </span> to <span> Jeremiah 41:15 </span> , with a summary in <span> 2 Kings 25:23-26 </span> . It is probable that Ishmael resented Nebuchadnezzar’s appointment of Gedaliah as governor of Judæa ( <span> Jeremiah 40:5 </span> ) instead of some member of the ruling family, and considered him as unpatriotic in consenting to represent an alien power. Further instigation was supplied by Baalis, king of [[Ammon]] ( <span> Jeremiah 40:14 </span> ), who was seeking either revenge or an opportunity to extend his dominions. Gedaliah and his retinue were killed after an entertainment given to Ishmael, who gained possession of Mizpah, the seat of government. [[Shortly]] afterwards he set out with his captives to join Baalis, but was overtaken by a body of Gedaliah’s soldiers at the pool of [[Gibeon]] ( <span> Jeremiah 41:12 </span> ), and defeated. [[He]] made good his escape ( <span> Jeremiah 41:15 </span> ) with the majority of his associates; but of his subsequent life nothing is known. The conspiracy may have been prompted by motives that were in part well considered, if on the whole mistaken; but it is significant that Jeremiah supported Gedaliah ( <span> Jeremiah 40:6 </span> ), in memory of whose murder an annual fast was observed for some years in the month [[Tishri]] ( <span> [[Zechariah]] 7:5 </span> ; <span> Zechariah 8:19 </span> ). <strong> 6. </strong> [[One]] of the priests persuaded by [[Ezra]] to put away their foreign wives ( <span> Ezra 10:22 </span> ; cf. <strong> [[Ismael]] </strong> , 1E <span> [[Esther]] 9:22 </span> ). </p> <p> R. W. Moss. </p>

<p> 1. [[Son]] of [[Abraham]] and [[Hagar]] the bondmaid of Sarah. [[Before]] he was born, when Hagar ran away because of the severity of her mistress, the angel of the [[Lord]] appeared to her, and told her to return to her mistress: her seed should be numberless, and she was to call her son's name Ishmael, which signifies 'El shall hear.' [[He]] would be a wild man, his hand would be against every man, and every man's hand against him. Abraham prayed that [[Ishmael]] might live before God, but typically he represents the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, hence though [[God]] answered that He would bless Ishmael, and multiply him exceedingly, he should also beget twelve princes, and God would make him a great nation; yet the <i> covenant </i> should be established with Isaac. When Ishmael was thirteen years old Abraham circumcised him, and all the men of his house. [[In]] this act Abraham acknowledged in faith that the blessing asked for his natural seed could not be had through the strength of the flesh: all the mercies of God are secured in resurrection. </p> <p> At the 'great feast' when Isaac, the child born after the Spirit, was weaned, Ishmael mocked, and [[Sarah]] besought Abraham to cast out both mother and son. This was grievous to Abraham, but God, having approved the suggestion, he rose early in the morning, and providing them with some bread and a bottle of water he sent them away. The water was soon consumed, and Hagar in despair placed Ishmael under a shrub, and departed so as not to see him die. The angel of God called to her, showed her a well, and the child was saved. God was with the lad, for he was the seed of Abraham; he dwelt in the wilderness and became an archer. At first he was located in the wilderness of Beer-sheba and afterwards at Paran, a region between [[Canaan]] and mount Sinai. [[His]] mother chose a woman of [[Egypt]] for his wife. His twelve sons are recorded, and their 'towns ' and 'castles,' or encampments, according to their nations, are spoken of. Ishmael was present at the burial of his father and lived 137 years. <span> [[Genesis]] 16:11-16 </span> ; <span> Genesis 17:18-26 </span> ; <span> Genesis 25:9-17 </span> ; <span> Genesis 28:9 </span> ; <span> Genesis 36:3 </span> ; <span> 1 [[Chronicles]] 1:28-31 </span> . </p> <p> The [[Bedouin]] Arabs are doubtless the descendants of Ishmael. They are wild men in the sense of their love of freedom, dwelling in tents, and riding over the desert, spear in hand. They truly are 'against every man,' robbing every one when they can do so with safety to themselves. The [[Bedouins]] will not admit their descent from Ishmael; they refer <i> his </i> descendants to the Most (or mixed) Arabians, because Ishmael's mother was an Egyptian. The Bedouins claim to have descended from Joktan, son of Eber. <span> Genesis 10:25 </span> . </p> <p> 2. Son of Azel, a descendant of Saul. <span> 1 Chronicles 8:38 </span> ; <span> 1 Chronicles 9:44 </span> . </p> <p> 3. [[Father]] of [[Zebadiah]] a ruler under Jehoshaphat. <span> 2 Chronicles 19:11 </span> . </p> <p> 4. Son of Jehohanan, and one of the 'captains of hundreds' who assisted in setting [[Joash]] on the throne. <span> 2 Chronicles 23:1 </span> . </p> <p> 5. [[Priest]] who had married a strange wife. <span> [[Ezra]] 10:22 </span> . </p> <p> 6. Son of Nethaniah, of the 'seed royal,' but of what family is not known. His craft and ferocity show that he was unworthy of a throne. He treacherously slew Gedaliah, whom the king of [[Babylon]] had made governor over the cities of Judah, and all the [[Jews]] that were with him in Mizpah. He followed up this crime by the cruel and treacherous murder of eighty men from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, who were bringing gifts to the temple, only ten being spared. He then carried away captive all that were left in Mizpah, and departed to go over to the Ammonites; but [[Johanan]] the son of Kareah, and those with him, rescued the captives. Ishmael escaped and is heard of no more. <span> 2 Kings 25:23-25 </span> ; <span> [[Jeremiah]] 40:8-16 </span> ; <span> Jeremiah 41:1-18 </span> . </p>

<p> <span> [[Ishmael]] </span> ( <span> ísh'ma-el </span> ), whom <span> [[God]] heareth. </span> 1. The son of [[Abraham]] by Hagar, and the ancestor of [[Arabian]] tribes, generally called "Ishmaelites." <span> [[Genesis]] 25:12-18 </span> ; <span> 1 [[Chronicles]] 2:17 </span> ; <span> 1 Chronicles 18:3 </span> . [[Previous]] to his birth [[Hagar]] was informed by an angel what would be the character of her son, and that his posterity would be innumerable. <span> Genesis 16:11 </span> . When Hagar was banished to the wilderness, God directed her to a fountain, and renewed his promise to make him a great nation. Ishmael married an [[Egyptian]] woman, and dwelt in the wilderness, <span> Genesis 16:12 </span> ; he was distinguished for lawless predatory habits, as his descendants have always been. <span> Genesis 21:20-21 </span> . [[So]] rapidly did Ishmael's family multiply, that in a few years afterwards they are spoken of as a trading nation. <span> Genesis 37:25 </span> ; <span> Genesis 39:1 </span> . [[Isaac]] and Ishmael amicably met at the burial of their father. <span> Genesis 25:9 </span> . Ishmael died, perhaps in battle, at the age of 137 years. [[He]] was the father of twelve sons, who gave their names to as many tribes, who dwelt in the wilderness, from [[Havilah]] unto Shur. <span> Genesis 17:20 </span> . The prophecies concerning him, <span> Genesis 16:12 </span> ; <span> Genesis 17:20 </span> ; <span> Genesis 21:13 </span> ; <span> Genesis 21:18 </span> , confirm the Bible; being literally carried out for nearly 4000 years to the present day. Ishmael no doubt became a wild man of the desert, the progenitor of the roaming [[Bedouin]] tribes of the East, so well known as robbers to this day that travellers through their territory must be well armed and hire a band of robbers to protect them against their fellow-robbers. Ishmael is also the spiritual father of the Mohammedans, who are nothing but bastard Jews. They apply to themselves the promise of a large posterity given to Ishmael. <span> Genesis 21:13 </span> ; <span> Genesis 18:2 </span> . A prince of the royal family of Judah, who murdered the governor Gedaliah, with several of the Hebrews and [[Chaldeans]] who were attached to him. He fled to the Ammonites. <span> [[Jeremiah]] 40:7-16 </span> ; <span> Jeremiah 41:1-18 </span> . There are six persons of this name mentioned in the Scriptures. </p>

<p> <span> Ish'mael. </span> <span> (whom [[God]] hears). </span> The son of Abraham, by [[Hagar]] the Egyptian, his concubine; born when [[Abraham]] was fourscore and six years old. <span> [[Genesis]] 16:15-16 </span> . (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 <span> Genesis 17:26 </span> . [[With]] the institution of the covenant, God renewed his promise respecting Ishmael. </p> <p> 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." <span> Genesis 21:9-21 </span> This wife of Ishmael was the mother of the twelve sons and one daughter. </p> <p> [[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. <span> Genesis 25:17-18 </span> . 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: <span> Genesis 37:25 </span> ; <span> Genesis 37:27-28 </span> ; <span> Genesis 39:1 </span> ; <span> [[Judges]] 8:24 </span> ; <span> Psalms 83:6 </span> . </p> <p> 2. [[One]] of the sons of Azel, a descendant of [[Saul]] through [[Meribbaal]] or Mephibosheth. <span> 1 [[Chronicles]] 8:38 </span> ; <span> 1 Chronicles 9:44 </span> . </p> <p> 3. A man of Judah, father of Zebadiah. <span> 2 Chronicles 19:11 </span> . </p> <p> 4. [[Another]] man of Judah, son of Jehohanan; one of the captains of hundreds who assisted [[Jehoiada]] in restoring [[Joash]] to the throne. <span> 2 Chronicles 23:1 </span> . </p> <p> 5. A priest of the Bene-Pashur, (that is, sons of Pashur), who was forced by [[Ezra]] to relinquish his foreign wife. <span> Ezra 10:22 </span> . </p> <p> 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 <span> [[Jeremiah]] 40:7 </span> ; <span> Jeremiah 41:16 </span> 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. </p> <p> 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, <span> Jeremiah 41:1 </span> , 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. </p> <p> 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, <span> Jeremiah 41:10 </span> ; <span> Jeremiah 41:16 </span> , 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. </p>

<p> Sarai, Abram's wife, was barren ( <span> [[Genesis]] 11:30 </span> ). [[Impatient]] at the long delay of the promise, [[Sarah]] agreed for [[Abram]] to cohabit with her maid Hagar, and as a result [[Ishmael]] was born eleven years after Abram and Sarah entered [[Canaan]] ( <span> Genesis 16:1-16 </span> ). [[He]] was finally cast out of Abram's house at Sarah's request and the Lord's approval, for Abram's Descendants were to be counted from [[Isaac]] ( <span> Genesis 21:1-21 </span> ). </p>