The Book of Genesis provides the origin of several powerful nations that existed during the time of Israel. For instance, Lot’s daughters gave birth to the nations of Moab and Ammon. But perhaps one of the most powerful nations—one that still exists today, although under a different name—comes from a man by the name of Ishmael, the founder of the Ishmaelites.
Ishmael had humble origins. The patriarch of Israel, Abraham, got impatient, waiting on God to give him an heir through his older wife, Sarah. So he sleeps with her handmaiden Hagar (probably not through her consent). Hagar gives birth to Ishmael.
And God promises Ishmael that he will also have a great nation under him. Today, we’ll learn about the Ishmaelites, their origin, and what we can learn through them.
What Does the Bible Say about the Ishmaelites?
Before discussing the Ishmaelites’ origins, we must uncover what Scripture says about them.
First, when God promises that Ishmael will have a great nation under him, this gets divided into 12 princes (Genesis 17). In the same way that Israel had twelve tribes, the Ishmaelites appear to operate under a similar model. According to Islamic tradition, from which the Ishmaelites come, the children of Ishmael divided into 12 groups.
Although a certain number of men by the name of Ishmael show up later in Scripture, we will focus on what the text tells us about the Ishmaelite nation and their forefather.
We know from Judges 8 that Ishmaelites often wore gold jewelry, especially earrings.
We also know that the Ishmaelites sometimes went by the name Midianites, although not every Midianite was an Ishmaelite. They were sometimes called the Amalekites, but not every Amalekite was an Ishmaelite.
For the most part, we know that they were peaceful with the Israelites in the Old Testament. However, like the other surrounding nations, occasionally, they went to war. They appeared to do so during David’s time.
Apart from this, Scripture doesn’t have much to say about the Ishmaelites.
They likely were nomadic—traveling from one territory to another as their herds required fresh fields. The same applied to most Canaanite nations, which means they sometimes competed for land. According to the Midrash, there were periods when the Ishmaelites conquered a great deal of land.
The Apocrypha also mentions the Ishmaelites, reporting they intermingled with the people of Keturah.
What Happened to Ishmael in the Bible?
Because the Bible doesn’t say much about the Ishmaelites, we can’t derive many conclusions from a lack of textual evidence.
However, it never hurts to look at the founder of the group of people.
As mentioned before, Hagar, Sarah’s slave, had given birth to Ishmael. Although Abraham loved Ishmael, years later he had a miracle child, Isaac, with Sarah. The two sons by two different mothers soon created problems in the family.
Sarah had Isaac when Ishmael had reached his teens—considered adulthood in patriarchal and later Israelite circles.
A few years later, Ishmael makes fun of Isaac. Sarah takes this to heart and tells Abraham he must drive away Ishmael and Hagar.
They flee into the desert, and Hagar prepares for the two of them to die of heat exhaustion and starvation.
A chapter before this, when Hagar was still pregnant, she had an encounter with God. He tells her that he sees her. Sees her suffering.
And he promises that she will have a son, the father of a great nation. He also mentions that the Ishmaelites would be a arring people with many enemies.
Circling back to when Hagar and Ishmael were both in the desert, God promised once again that he would make a great nation of Ishmael. Ishmael excels at archery, and Hagar finds him a wife in Egypt (Genesis 21). Hagar came from Egypt, so it makes sense for her to try to find him a spouse from the land where she hailed.
We don’t hear much from Ishmael after Genesis 21. We do know from Genesis 25 that when Abraham dies, Ishmael meets with Isaac to bury their father. We also know that Ishmael lived long after his 100th birthday and had many sons. As promised, his nation became great.
Ishmael’s name means “God will hear.” Even if Ishmael’s people felt ambivalent about the Israelites and sometimes turned against them, I think it’s important to make a distinction here. God, by no means, approved the union between Hagar and Abraham.
Hagar had no say in the union. As an enslaved woman in Abraham’s household, she could not turn this down. Furthermore, God likely did not approve of the cruel treatment Sarah harbored against Hagar—most likely spurred on by jealousy.
In a messy situation, God still promised to protect Ishmael. Scripture says that God was with Ishmael as he grew up. Although Ishmael had not been part of God’s original plan for Abraham and the nation of Israel, he still took care of him. And ensure the longevity of his family line.
What Can We Learn from the Ishmaelites?
It’s wild to think about how Genesis often shows us the origin stories of every nation in the world. Every nation stemmed from a patriarch of some sort. And the Ishmaelites are no exception to this.
We can glean a great deal from its founder and the later nation that sprung out of Abraham’s union with Hagar.
First, most nations in the Old Testament have humble origin stories.
Many nations tend to spring up out of disturbing unions. For instance, Moab and the Ammonites came from an incest between daughters and their father. The Edomites hailed from the rejected son, Esau.
And the Ishmaelites came from a slave woman who could not refuse to sleep with an indifferent man.
When we look at history in this context, we can understand some of the animosity that the Israelites have experienced at the hands of these other nations. Many of these nations didn’t have a permanent home and fought fiercely for territory.
God still found people in every nation to be with. And his heart was to graft them all into his family eventually.
Second, God works in the midst of sin.
God’s original plan for Sarah and Abraham did not include Ishmael. However, Sarah and Abraham lacked patience and tried to move ahead of God’s plan.
Nevertheless, God saw Hagar. He saw Ishmael. And he chose to love them and care for them.
In the same way, we cannot confound God. No matter how far we stray from him, he will find a way to redeem our mistakes and our sinful nature.
Finally, God sees us.
In Ishmael’s story, we get a beautiful name for God. El Roi. It means “The God who sees me.”
And we don’t mean “see” in just a physical sense. In a way, it could mean “The God who understands me.”
God truly understands. He stepped into humanity and lived the experiences we lived.
It doesn’t matter if we feel alone or abandoned. God sees. He understands.
He will not leave you starving and parched in the desert. Instead, he will take you by the hand and be with you until the end of your days. And if you have a relationship with him, into eternity in heaven.
Further Reading:
What Was God's Promise to Abraham?
Who Were Abraham's Sons? Ishmael and Isaac in the Bible
Photo Credit: Public domain photo via Wikimedia Commons
Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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