Genesis 17:20

17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. ¹  I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. ²  He will become the father of twelve princes; ³  I will make him into a great nation.

Genesis 21:13

21:13 But I will also make the son of the slave wife into a great nation, for he is your descendant too.”

Genesis 21:16

21:16 Then she went and sat down by herself across from him at quite a distance, about a bowshot ⁴  away; for she thought, ⁵  “I refuse to watch the child die.” ⁶  So she sat across from him and wept uncontrollably. ⁷ 

Genesis 25:12-18

The Sons of Ishmael

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ⁸  whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.

25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: ⁹  Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes ¹⁰  according to their clans.

25:17 Ishmael lived a total of ¹¹  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ¹²  25:18 His descendants ¹³  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ¹⁴  to Egypt all the way ¹⁵  to Asshur. ¹⁶  They settled ¹⁷  away from all their relatives. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 83:6-7

83:6 It includes ¹⁹  the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,

Moab and the Hagrites, ²⁰ 

83:7 Gebal, ²¹  Ammon, and Amalek,

Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre. ²² 

[17:20]  ¹ sn The Hebrew verb translated “I have heard you” forms a wordplay with the name Ishmael, which means “God hears.” See the note on the name “Ishmael” in 16:11.

[17:20]  ² tn Heb “And I will multiply him exceedingly, exceedingly.” The repetition is emphatic.

[17:20]  ³ tn For a discussion of the Hebrew word translated “princes,” see E. A. Speiser, “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi’,” CBQ 25 (1963): 111-17.

[21:16]  ⁴ sn A bowshot would be a distance of about a hundred yards (ninety meters).

[21:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[21:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will not look on the death of the child.” The cohortative verbal form (note the negative particle אַל,’al) here expresses her resolve to avoid the stated action.

[21:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “and she lifted up her voice and wept” (that is, she wept uncontrollably). The LXX reads “he” (referring to Ishmael) rather than “she” (referring to Hagar), but this is probably an attempt to harmonize this verse with the following one, which refers to the boy’s cries.

[25:12]  ⁸ sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).

[25:13]  ⁹ tn The meaning of this line is not easily understood. The sons of Ishmael are listed here “by their names” and “according to their descendants.”

[25:16]  ¹⁰ tn Or “tribal chieftains.”

[25:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”

[25:17]  ¹² tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[25:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Ishmael’s descendants) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[25:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “which is by the face of,” or near the border. The territory ran along the border of Egypt.

[25:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “as you go.”

[25:18]  ¹⁶ sn The name Asshur refers here to a tribal area in the Sinai.

[25:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he fell.”

[25:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “upon the face of all his brothers.” This last expression, obviously alluding to the earlier oracle about Ishmael (Gen 16:12), could mean that the descendants of Ishmael lived in hostility to others or that they lived in a territory that was opposite the lands of their relatives. While there is some ambiguity about the meaning, the line probably does give a hint of the Ishmaelite-Israelite conflicts to come.

[83:6]  ¹⁹ tn The words “it includes” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[83:6]  ²⁰ sn The Hagrites are also mentioned in 1 Chr 5:10, 19-20.

[83:7]  ²¹ sn Some identify Gebal with the Phoenician coastal city of Byblos (see Ezek 27:9, where the name is spelled differently), though others locate this site south of the Dead Sea (see BDB 148 s.v. גְּבַל; HALOT 174 s.v. גְּבַל).

[83:7]  ²² map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.