References (26)
Then the angel of the Lord said to her,
"You are now pregnant
and will soon give birth to a son.
You will name him Ishmael (Hebr. Yishmael) [meaning: "The Lord hears"],
for the Lord (Yahweh) has heard (Hebr. shama) how you have been afflicted (been under the power of others).
Hagar bore a son to Abram, and Abram named his son, whom Hagar had borne, Ishmael.
Abram lived 86 years before Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
And Abraham said to God (Elohim), "May Ishmael live before you!"
As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will have twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
Abraham took his son Ishmael and all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money [318 men, see ], every male person in Abraham's house, and circumcised them on the flesh, on their foreskin, that very day (literally: 'on the bone/power of the day'). [he showed decisiveness, he acted immediately and openly before everyone, see ; ], as God (Elohim) had spoken to him.
His son Ishmael was 13 years old when he was circumcised in the flesh, on his foreskin.
On the same day, Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.
Isaac and
Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave in
Machpela in the field that lies before Mamre, which
(formerly) belonged to Ephron, the son of Zohar, the Hittite,
[Here comes a new "toledot unit" that begins the eighth literary unit of twelve in ; ; ; ; , ; , ; , ; .]
This is the continued story of Ishmael (Hebr. Yishmael) (his genealogy/family tree – ) [in the order in which they were born]. Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham.
And these are the names of Ishmael's [twelve] sons, according to their names, in the order of their birth. Ishmael's firstborn
Nevajot
and Kedar
and Adbeel
and Mivsam
These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names according to their villages and according to their dwellings. Twelve princes [] according to their nations.
These are the years of Ishmael's life, 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. []
so he went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, and the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife, in addition to the wives he already had.
and Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebajoth.
Then they sat down and ate.
[A meal not only satisfies the stomach, it also fulfills an important social function. Here, the hardness of the brothers' hearts becomes apparent. Joseph lacked food and water, and they heard his cries, see . At the same time, they set the table and ate right next to him. Just over 20 years later, however, the situation will be reversed, and Joseph will be the one who feeds his brothers, see , .]
When they lifted up their eyes and looked, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels carrying spices, balm, and myrrh, which they were going to take to Egypt.
Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." His brothers listened to him.
When the Midianite merchants [] passed by, they [the brothers] pulled Joseph out of the well and sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels of silver. [The price for a young male slave was 20 shekels of silver, see . The price is also documented in the laws of Hammurabi, see §116, §214, and §252.] And they took Joseph to Egypt.
[The unusual triple repetition of Joseph's name in this verse "pulled Joseph up ... sold Joseph ... took Joseph" emphasizes and indicates that the event is important for the continuation of the story. The caravan probably consisted of both Ishmaelites and Midianites, see ; , , ; ; . There is also a historical conflict here that goes back several generations. The Ishmaelites were descendants of Ishmael, whom Abraham had with the Egyptian Hagar about 180 years earlier, see . The Midianites were also descendants of Abraham from his marriage to Keturah and their son Midian, see ]
Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar [the name means "belonging to the sun" or "devoted to the sun"], one of Pharaoh's generals, the chief of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him there.
And Gideon said to them, "I have a request to make of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil." For they had earrings of gold, because they were Ishmaelites [a people related to the Midianites, see ].
Abraham's sons were Isaac and Ishmael.
This is their family tree:
Nevajot, Ishmael's firstborn, then Kedar, Adbeel, and Mibsam,
Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael.
Abigail bore Amasa, and Amasa's father was Jether the Ishmaelite.
over the camels, the Ishmaelite Obil,
over the donkeys, the Meronothite Jedeja,
Geval [probably south of the Negev, near Petra]
and Ammon [descendants of Lot, see , east of the Jordan River]
and Amalek [in the Negev, south of Judah, see : the first enemy the Israelites encountered after leaving Egypt, see ],
the Philistines [present-day Gaza, bitter enemies especially during the time of Saul and David]
with the inhabitants of Tyre [Lebanon],
