“Genesis 25:12-18”

Saturday, January 11, 2020

“Now these are the records of the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid, bore to Abraham; and these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam and Mishma and Dumah and Massa, Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; twelve princes according to their tribes. These are the years of the life of Ishmael, one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. They settled from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt as one goes toward Assyria; he settled in defiance of all his relatives.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“Now these are the records of the generations of Ishmael…” (verse 12) This is the seventh usage of the Hebrew word “toledot” (“generations”), and introduces the genealogy of Abraham’s first child. “These seven verses are all that are devoted to Ishmael's posterity, the chief focus of the sacred narrator's concern being, not the posterity of Ishmael, but that of Isaac, to which he turned at once. The information here was given to show how God fulfilled His promise to Abraham that Ishmael would be blessed, and even that he would dwell ‘over against,’ that is, adjacent to the Israelites, a phenomenon that has continued to the present day.” (James Burton Coffman)

“These are the names of the sons of Ishmael…” (verse 13) “Whereas the decendants of Keturah include three generations, reflecting a complicated history of tribal relationships, the line of Ishmael comprises only ‘sons,’ which suggests a very powerful primary confederation of tribes. Some of these are also mentioned in extrabiblical Near Eastern sources; others are known only from other biblical texts, while two—Hadad and Kedmah—are not otherwise identifiable.” (Nahum Sarna)

“It is hardly profitable to follow each of these names into the racial history that followed. As a matter of fact, Morris correctly discerned that: ‘Through millennia of migrations and intermarriages, it seems likely that all of these peoples, the descendants of Keturah, together with the descendants of Ishmael, Lot, and Esau, along with earlier descendants of Shem, and, in some cases, Ham, have gradually merged and become the modern day Arabic peoples.’” (James Burton Coffman)

“These are the years of the life of Ishmael, one hundred and thirty-seven years…” (verse 17) Ishmael’s length of days fell short of that of his father Abraham and his brother Isaac, but he was still blessed with a long life, especially for “a wild donkey of a man” who had “everyone’s hand…against him” (Genesis 16:12)! “And he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.” The same statement was made about Abraham (verse 8) with the accompanying implications of life eternal, but I don’t believe the same conclusion can be necessarily drawn about Ishmael. Unless his “wildness” subsided considerably in his later years, and unless more of his righteous father’s goodness was transferred to him than has been revealed, this statement likely means that his friends and family had gathered around him at his death.

“They settled from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt as one goes toward Assyria…” (verse 18) “The territorial boundaries of the Ishmaelite confederation, or the geographic limits of their settlement and migration patterns, are now given. The tradition derives from the period prior to the rise of the Amalekites, for by the days of Saul this people had occupied the identical area, according to 1 Samuel 15:7, and had apparently displaced the Ishmaelites. The location of Havilah is uncertain because there was more than one site of this name… Shur muse certainly be the line of Egyptian fortifications in the eastern Delta discussed in connection with 16:7. Asshur cannot be Assyria but, rather, some place in the northern Sinai desert—if it is not a variant of Shur.” (Nahum Sarna)

“He settled in defiance of all his relatives.” (verse 18) This appears to be stated in reference to the prophecy made to Hagar in Genesis 16:11-12. “The angel of the Lord said to her further, ‘Behold, you are with child, and you will bear a son; and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. He will be a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.”

Please read Genesis 25:19-23 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

- Louie Taylor

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