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Ishmael
– Wikipedia
Ishmael
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ishmael
יִשְׁמָעֵאל
Personal life
Children See
descendants
Parents
Abraham (father)
Hagar (mother)
Known for Being
the forefather of the Ishmaelites
Religious life
Religion Judaism
Christianity
Islam
In the biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael[a] was the first
son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife
Sarah.[1] He died at the age of 137.[2]
Within Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet and the
ancestor of the Ishmaelites (Hagarenes or Adnanites) and patriarch of
Qaydār.
Etymology
The name "Yishma'el" existed in various ancient
Semitic cultures,[3] including early Babylonian and Minćan.[4] In the Amorite
language, it is attested as yaśmaʿ-ʾel.[5] It is a theophoric
name translated literally as "God (El) has hearkened", suggesting
that "a child so named was regarded as the fulfillment of a divine
promise".[3]
Genesis narrative
The Genesis narrative sees the account of Ishmael's life
through Chapters 16, 17, 21, and 25.[6]
Birth
The birth of Ishmael was planned by Abraham's first
wife,[7] who at that time was known as Sarai. She and her husband Abram
(Abraham) sought a way to have children in order to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant
that was established in Genesis 15. Sarai was 75 years old and had yet to bear
a child. She had the idea to offer her Egyptian handmaiden Hagar to her husband
so that they could have a child by her. Abraham slept with Hagar and she became
pregnant.[8] Hagar began to show contempt for Sarai so Sarai blamed Abraham for
it. Abraham told Sarai to handle the matter as she saw fit, after which Sarai
mistreated Hagar.
Hagar fled to the desert, where she met an angel on the
road to Shur. Genesis 16:7–16 describes the naming of Ishmael and God's promise
to Hagar concerning Ishmael and his descendants. This occurred at the well of
Beer-lahai-roi, and the angel of the Lord said to her, "Behold, you are
with child / And shall bear a son; / You shall call him Ishmael, / For the Lord
has paid heed to your suffering."[9] The Angel commanded Hagar,
"Return to your mistress [Sarai] and submit to her."[10] She returned
as directed, and when the baby was born, Abraham gave him the name Ishmael, as
the angel had directed.[11]
Abraham was blessed so that his descendants would be as
numerous as the stars in the sky.[12] God would make of Ishmael a great nation
because he was of the seed of Abraham. However, God told Hagar that her son
would be living in conflict with his relatives. When Ishmael was born, Abraham
was 86 years old.[13]
Inheritance, rights and the first circumcision
When he was 13 years old, Ishmael was circumcised at the
same time as all other males in Abraham's household, becoming a part of the
covenant in a mass circumcision. His father Abram, given the new name
"Abraham", then 99, was circumcised along with the others.[14]
At the time of the covenant, God informed Abraham that his
wife Sarah (Sarai) would give birth to a son, whom he was instructed to name
Isaac. God told Abraham that He would establish his covenant through Isaac, and
when Abraham inquired as to Ishmael's role, God answered that Ishmael has been
blessed and that he "will make him fruitful, and will multiply him
exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget and I will make him a great
nation."[14] God also mentioned that "He will be a wild donkey of a
man, His hand will be over (against) everyone, And everyone's hand will be
against him; And he will live in the presence of his brethren."[7]
A year later, Ishmael's half-brother Isaac was born to
Abraham by his wife Sarah when she was 90 years old,[15] after she had ceased
showing any signs of fertility.[16]
On the day of feasting during which Abraham celebrated the
weaning of Isaac, Ishmael was "mocking" or "playing with"
Isaac,[b][17] and Sarah asked Abraham to expel Ishmael and his mother, saying:
"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."[18][19] Her demand was
painful for Abraham, who loved Ishmael. Abraham agreed only after God told him
that "in Isaac your seed shall be called" and that God would
"make a nation of the son of the bondwoman" Ishmael, since he was a
descendant of Abraham,[20] God having previously told Abraham "I will
establish My covenant with [Isaac]", while also making promises concerning
the Ishmaelite nation.[21]
At the age of 14, Ishmael was freed along with his mother.
The Lord's covenant made clear Ishmael was not to inherit Abraham's house and
that Isaac would be the seed of the covenant: "Take your son, your only
son, whom you love and go to the region of Moriah."[22] Abraham gave
Ishmael and his mother a supply of bread and water and sent them away. Hagar
entered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba where the two soon ran out of water and
Hagar, not wanting to witness the death of her son, set the boy some distance
away from herself, and wept. "And God heard the voice of the lad" and
sent his angel to tell Hagar, "Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in
thine hand; for I will make him a great nation." And God "opened her
eyes, and she saw a well of water", from which she drew to save Ishmael's
life and her own. "And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the
wilderness, and became an archer."[23]
Descendants
Main article: Ishmaelites
After roaming the wilderness for some time, Ishmael and his
mother settled in the Desert of Paran, where he became an expert in archery.
Eventually, his mother found him a wife from the land of Egypt.[24] They had
twelve sons, each of whom became a tribal chief in one of the regions from
Havilah to Shur (from Assyria to the border of Egypt).[25] His sons were:[26]
Nebaioth (נְבָיוֹת
Nəḇāyōṯ)
Kedar (קֵדָר Qēḏār),
father of the Qedarites, a northern Arab tribe that controlled the area between
the Persian Gulf and the Sinai Peninsula. According to tradition, he is the
ancestor of the Quraysh tribe, and thus, ancestor of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad.[27]
Adbeel (אַדְבְּאֵל
ʾAḏbəʾēl)
Mibsam (מִבְשָֽׂם
Mīḇsām)
Mishma (מִשְׁמָע
Mīšmāʿ)
Dumah (דוּמָה Ḏūmā)
Massa (מַשָּֽׂא
Massāʾ)
Hadad (חֲדַד Ḥăḏaḏ)
Tema (תֵימָא Ṯēmāʾ)
Jetur (יְטוּר Yəṭūr)
Naphish (נָפִישׁ
Nāfīš)
Kedemah (קֵדְמָה
Qēḏəmā)
Ishmael also had one known daughter, Mahalath or Basemath,
the third wife of Esau.[28]
Later life
When Abraham died, Ishmael returned to join Isaac for the
burial of their father's body.[29][c] Ishmael died at the age of 137.[31]
Family tree
Family of Ishmael
Noah
Shem
Arpachshad
Salah
Eber
Peleg
Reu
Serug
Nahor
Terah
Sarah Abraham Hagar Nahor II Haran
Milcah Lot Iscah
Ishmael
7 sons Bethuel 1st daughter 2nd
daughter
Isaac Rebecca Laban Moabites Ammonites
Jacob
1. Nebaioth
2. Kedar
3. Adbeel
4. Mibsam
5. Mishma
6. Dumah
7. Massa
8. Hadar
9. Tema
10. Jetur
11. Naphish
12. Kedemah
Esau Adah
Aholibamah
Mahalath/Basemath
Reuel Jeush Jaalam Korah Eliphaz
In various traditions
Historians and academics in the field of source criticism
believe that the stories of Ishmael belong to the three strata of J, or Yahwist
source, the P, or Priestly source, and the E, or Elohist source (See
Documentary hypothesis).[4] For example, the narration in Genesis 16 is of J
type and the narration in Genesis 21:8–21 is of E type.[32] Genesis 25 would
have been added during the Persian Period by the Priestly source, who
attributed the known Ishmaelite (Shumu'ilu) Tribes as the names of the sons of
Ishmael, although the narrative and name of Ishmael himself preceded this.[33]
Jewish and Islamic traditions consider Ishmael to be the
ancestor of Arabs.[34]
Judaism
Further information: Isaac in Jewish traditions
According to the Book of Genesis, in the Hebrew Bible,
Isaac rather than Ishmael was the true heir of the Abrahamic tradition and
covenant, while at the same time being blessed by God with a great nation.[35]
In some traditions Ishmael is said to have had two wives,
one of them named Aisha.[36] This name corresponds to the Muslim tradition for
the name of Muhammad's wife.[3] This is understood as a metaphoric
representation of the Muslim world (first Arabs and then Turks) with
Ishmael.[37][38]
Rabbinical commentators in the Midrash Genesis Rabbah also
say that Ishmael's mother Hagar was the Pharaoh's daughter, making Ishmael the
Pharaoh's grandson. This could be why Genesis 17:20 refers to Ishmael as the
father of 12 mighty princes. According to Genesis 21:21, Hagar married Ishmael
to an Egyptian woman, and if Rabbinical commentators are correct that Hagar was
the Pharaoh's daughter, his marriage to a woman she selected could explain how
and why his sons became princes.
According to other Jewish commentators, Ishmael's mother
Hagar is identified with Keturah, the woman Abraham sought out and married
after Sarah's death. It is suggested that Keturah was Hagar's personal name,
and that "Hagar" was a descriptive label meaning
"stranger".[39][40][41] This interpretation is discussed in the
Midrash[42] and is supported by Rashi, Gur Aryeh, Keli Yakar, and Obadiah of
Bertinoro. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Itzhaki) argues that "Keturah" was a
name given to Hagar because her deeds were as beautiful as incense (Hebrew,
ketoret), and that she remained chaste (literally "tied her opening",
with the verb tied in Aramaic being k-t-r) from the time she was separated from
Abraham.
It is also said that Sarah was motivated by Ishmael's
sexually frivolous ways because of the reference to his "making
merry" (Gen. 21:9), a translation of the Hebrew word
"Mitzachek".[citation needed] This was developed into a reference to
idolatry, sexual immorality or even murder; some rabbinic sources claim that
Sarah worried that Ishmael would negatively influence Isaac, or that he would
demand Isaac's inheritance on the grounds of being the firstborn. Regarding the
word "Mitzachek" (again in Gen. 21:9) The Jewish Study Bible by
Oxford University Press says this word in this particular context is associated
with "Playing is another pun on Isaac's name (cf. 17.17; 18.12; 19.14;
26.8). Ishmael was 'Isaacing', or 'taking Isaac's place'."[43] Others take
a more positive view, emphasizing Hagar's piety, noting that she was "the
one who had sat by the well and besought him who is the life of the worlds,
saying 'look upon my misery'".[44]
In Rabbinic literature, the name of Ishmael is an allusion
to God's promise to hear the complaints
of Israel whenever it suffered at the hands of Ishmael (Gen. R. xlv. 11).
Abraham endeavored to bring up Ishmael in righteousness; to train him in the
laws of hospitality Abraham gave him the calf to prepare (Gen. R. xlviii. 14;
comp. Gen. xviii. 7). But according to divine prediction Ishmael remained a
savage. The ambiguous expression in Gen.
xxi. 9 (see Hagar) is interpreted by some rabbis as meaning that Ishmael had
been idolatrous; by others, that he had turned his bow against Isaac. According
to the interpretation of Simeon b. Yoḥai, Ishmael mocked those who
maintained that Isaac would be Abraham's chief heir, and said that as he
(Ishmael) was the first-born son he would receive two-thirds of the inheritance
(Tosef., Sotah, v. 12, vi. 6; Pirḳe R. El. xxx.; Gen. R. liii. 15). Upon
seeing the danger to Isaac, Sarah, who had till then been attached to Ishmael
(Josephus, "Ant." i. 12, § 3), insisted that Abraham cast out
Ishmael. Abraham was obliged to put him on Hagar's shoulders, because he fell
sick under the spell of the evil eye cast upon him by Sarah (Gen. R. liii. 17).
Ishmael, left under a shrub by his despairing mother,
prayed to God to take his soul and not permit him to suffer the torments of a
slow death (comp. Targ. pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. xxi. 15). God then commanded
the angel to show Hagar the well which was created on Friday in the week of
Creation, in the twilight (comp. Ab. v. 6), and which afterward accompanied the
Israelites in the wilderness (Pirḳe R. El. xxx.). But this was protested
against by the angels, who said: "Why should Ishmael have water, since his
descendants will destroy the Israelites by thirst?" (comp. Yer. Ta'an. iv.
8; Lam. R. ii. 2). God replied: "But now he is innocent, and I judge him
according to what he is now" (Pirḳe R. El. l.c.; Gen. R. l.c.; et
al.). Ishmael married a Moabitess named 'Adishah or 'Aishah (variants
"'Ashiyah" and "'Aifah," Arabic names; Targ.
pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. xxi. 21; Pirḳe R. El. l.c.); or, according to
"Sefer ha-Yashar" (Wayera), an Egyptian named Meribah or Merisah. He
had four sons and one daughter. Ishmael meanwhile grew so skilful in archery
that he became the master of all the bowmen (Targ. pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. xxi.
20; Gen.R. liii. 20). Afterward Abraham went to see Ishmael, and, according to
his promise to Sarah, stopped at his son's tent without alighting from his
camel. Ishmael was not within; his wife refused Abraham food, and beat her
children and cursed her husband within Abraham's hearing. Abraham thereupon
asked her to tell Ishmael when he returned that an old man had asked that he
change the peg of the tent. Ishmael understood that it was his father, took the
hint, and drove away his wife. He then married another woman, named Faṭimah
(Peḳimah; Targ. pseudo-Jonathan l.c.), who, when three years later
Abraham came again to see his son, received him kindly; therefore Abraham asked
her to tell Ishmael that the peg was good.
Ishmael then went to Canaan and settled with his father
(Pirḳe R. El. l.c.; "Sefer ha-Yashar," l.c.). This statement
agrees with that of Baba Batra (16a)—that Ishmael became a penitent during the
lifetime of Abraham. He who sees Ishmael in a dream will have his prayer
answered by God (Ber. 56a).[25]
Samaritanism
In Samaritan Torah version, Ishmael was described in Book
of Genesis 16 as a 'fertile of man' instead of a 'wild ass of a man' as
suggested in Masoretic Pentateuch which commonly used as standard version of
Hebrew Bible in Jewish community.[45]
Christianity
In his Epistle to the Galatians (4:21–31), Paul uses the
incident to symbolize the two covenants (the old but fulfilled and new covenant
which is universal by promise through Jesus Christ).[3] In Galatians
4:28–31,[46] Hagar is associated with the Sinai covenant, while Sarah is
associated with the covenant of grace into which her son Isaac enters.[47]
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Some Pre-Islamic poetry mentions Ishmael, his father
Abraham, and a sacrifice story, such as the pre-Islamic poet Umayya ibn Abi
as-Salt, an elder contemporary of Muhammad, who said in one of his poems: بكره
لم يكن ليصبر عنه
أو يراه في معشر
أقتال ([The sacrifice] of his first-born of whose
separation he [Abraham] could not bear neither could he see him surrounded in
foes).[48][49][50][better source needed]
Also, some of the tribes of Central West Arabia called themselves
the "people of Abraham and the offspring of Ishmael", as evidenced by
a common opening of speeches and harangues of reconciliation between rival
tribes in that area.[51][52][better source needed]
Islam
See also: Ishmael in Islam
Ishmael (Arabic: إسماعيل
Ismāʿīl) is recognized as an important prophet of Islam. Like
Christians and Jews, Muslims believe that Ishmael was the firstborn of Abraham,
born to him from his wife's maidservant Hagar.[53] Ishmael is recognized by
Muslims as the ancestor of several northern prominent Arab tribes and the
forefather of Adnan, the ancestor of Muhammad.[54] Muslims also believe that
Muhammad was the descendant of Ishmael who would establish a great nation.
Lineage of several prophets according to Islamic tradition
In the Quran
Main article: Ishmael in Islam
Part of a series on Islam
Islamic prophets
Prophets in the Quran
Listed by Islamic name and Biblical name.
ʾĀdam (Adam)ʾIdrīs (Enoch)Nūḥ
(Noah)Hūd (Eber)Ṣāliḥ (Selah)ʾIbrāhīm
(Abraham)Lūṭ (Lot)ʾIsmāʿīl (Ishmael)ʾIsḥāq
(Isaac)Yaʿqūb (Jacob)Yūsuf (Joseph)Ayyūb (Job)Shuʿayb
(Jethro)Mūsā (Moses)Hārūn (Aaron)Dhū'l-Kifl
(Ezekiel)Dāwūd (David)Sulaymān (Solomon)Yūnus (Jonah)ʾIlyās
(Elijah)Alyasaʿ (Elisha)Zakariyyā (Zechariah)Yaḥyā
(John)ʿĪsā (Jesus)Muḥammad (Muhammad)
Islam portal
Ishmael is mentioned over ten times in the Quran,[55] often
alongside other prophets of ancient times. He is mentioned together with Elisha
and Dhul-Kifl as one of "the patiently enduring and righteous, whom God
caused to enter into his mercy".[56] It is also said of Lut, Elisha, Jonah
and Ishmael, that God gave each one " favouring each over other people
˹of their time˺".[57] These references to Ishmael are, in each
case, part of a larger context in which other holy prophets are mentioned. In
other chapters of the Quran, however, which date from the Medina period,
Ishmael is mentioned closely with his father Abraham: Ishmael stands alongside
Abraham in their attempt to raise the foundation of the Kaaba in Mecca as a
place of monotheistic pilgrimage[58] and Abraham thanks God for granting him
Ishmael and Isaac in his old age.[59] Ishmael is further mentioned alongside
other prophets who had been given revelations[60] and Jacob's sons promised to
follow the faith of their forefathers, "Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac",
when testifying their faith.[61] In the Quranic narrative of the near-sacrifice
of Abraham's son,[62] the son is not named and, although the general
interpretation is that it was Ishmael, Tabari[63] maintained that it was Isaac,
consistent with the Hebrew scriptures. Most modern commentators, however,
regard the son's identification as least important in a narrative given for its
moral lesson.[64]
Ishmael in Muslim literature
Islamic miniature of Ismail willingly kneeling blind-folded
to be killed by his father, Ibrahim, who is stopped by Jibril delivering a
sheep.
The commentaries on the Quran and the numerous collections
of Stories of the Prophets flesh out the Islamic perspective of Ishmael and
detail what they describe as his integral part in setting up the Kaaba.
According to Muslim tradition, Ishmael was buried at the Hijr near the Kaaba,
inside the Sacred Mosque.[65]
In Islamic belief, Abraham prayed to God for a son and God
heard his prayer. Muslim exegesis states that Sarah asked Abraham to marry her
Egyptian handmaiden Hagar because she herself was barren.[54] Hagar soon bore
Ishmael, who was the first son of Abraham. God then instructed Abraham to take
Hagar and Ishmael to the desert and leave them there. He did so, taking them to
the location of the Kaaba's foundations (which now was in ruins) and as he
turned away from Hagar and started to walk away she called out to him and asked
"Why are you leaving us here?", to which Abraham didn't reply the
first two times she asked. She then changed her question and asked "Did
God command you to do this?" to which Abraham stopped, turned around,
looked back and replied "Yes." She responded, "Then God will
provide for us." Abraham then continued on his journey back to Sarah. In
the desert, the baby Ishmael cried with thirst.[54] His mother placed him in
the shade under a bush and went on a frantic search for water, which resulted
in her running seven times between the Safa and Marwah hills trying to find a
source of water or a passing caravan she could trade with for water. Hagar, not
finding any sources of water and fearing the death of her baby, sat down and
cried asking for God's help. God sent angel Gabriel to her informing her to
lift up her baby and when she did, she noticed that his feet had scratched the
ground allowing a spring of water to bubble up to the surface. Hagar quickly
shifted the ground to form a well around the spring to contain the water,
forming the Zamzam well. Hagar refilled the bottle with water and gave her baby
a drink. This spring became known to caravans that traveled through Arabia and
Hagar negotiated deals with them for supplies in exchange for the water. From
her actions, the city of Mecca (originally Becca or Baca in Hebrew)[citation
needed] grew, and attracted settlers who stayed and provided protection for her
and Ishmael as well as being sources of various goods brought in and exchanged
with visiting caravans. To commemorate the blessing of the Zamzam well God gave
to Hagar and Ishmael, Muslims run between the Safa and Marwah hills retracing
Hagar's steps during the rites of Hajj.[54]
Abraham returned and visited Ishmael at various times
throughout his life.[citation needed] At one time, according to a tradition of
Muhammad, Abraham had arrived when his son was out and Abraham visited with
Ishmael's wife. Abraham decided to leave before seeing his son, but based upon
the complaints Ishmael's wife made in response to his questions, he gave her a
message to give to her husband when he returned home, which was "change
his threshold". When Ishmael arrived that night, he asked if they had had
any visitors, and was informed by his wife of the man who had visited and what
he said. Ishmael understood his father and explained to his wife that the
visitor was his father and he had been instructed to divorce his wife and find
a better one, which Ishmael did. Some time after this, Abraham returned to
visit Ishmael and again Ishmael was out. Abraham talked with Ishmael's new wife
and found her answers indicated faith in God and contentment with her husband.
Abraham again had to leave before he saw his son, but left him the message to
"keep his threshold." When Ishmael returned that night, he again
asked if there had been any visitors and was informed of Abraham's visit.
Ishmael told his wife who it was that had come to visit and that he approved of
her and their marriage.
On one of his visits to Mecca, Abraham is said to have
asked his son to help him raise the foundation of the Kaaba.[66] Islamic
traditions hold that the Kaaba was first built by Adam and that Abraham and
Ishmael rebuilt the Kaaba on the old foundations.[67] As Ishmael grew up in
Arabia, he is said to have become fluent in Arabic. In the genealogical trees
that the early scholars drew,[68] Ishmael was considered the ancestor of the
Northern Arabs and Muhammad was linked to him through the lineage of Adnan.
Bahá'í Faith
The scriptures of the Baháʼí Faith state that it was
Ishmael, and not Isaac, who was the son Abraham almost sacrificed.[69] But they
also state that the name is unimportant as either could be used: the importance
is that both were symbols of sacrifice.[70] According to Shoghi Effendi, there
has also been another Ishmael, a prophet of Israel, commonly known as
Samuel.[71]