And these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's bondwoman, bore to Abraham.
Genesis 25:12 opens a short record of its own. Eight verses list the sons of Abraham's first son. Then Scripture turns to Isaac. The wording is careful. It calls Ishmael Abraham's son, but it also names his mother as the Egyptian servant. Commentators find the whole point of the passage in that double description.
The verse begins a new section in Genesis. One writer points out a pattern in the order these family lines come in.
What we may call the rejected line is always mentioned first; then the accepted line. Adam before Noah. The sons of Noah before Shem. Ishmael before Isaac. Esau before Jacob. So from the very start we see what the New Testament makes so clear. Hebrews 10:9 states it plainly: "He does away with the first in order to establish the second."
Another writer traces the same order to a rule the apostle states.
In Scripture the Holy Spirit notices family connection by the well known principle the apostle states (1 Cor. 15:46): it is not the spiritual that is first, but the natural. We have already had the family that came from Keturah, and Isaac in his own distinct place. So now we have the sons of Ishmael before the line of promise.
The verse also names the mother and her position. The word it uses of her has a range of meaning.
These words often refer in Scripture to a female slave, as applied to Hagar the Egyptian, Gen. 25:12; but they were also used by women themselves as a term of humility, as when Hannah spoke to Jehovah and to Eli, 1 Sam. 1:11, 16, 18; and by Mary and Elizabeth as handmaids of the Lord. Luke 1:38, 48.
This genealogy became an argument in the New Testament. If physical descent from Abraham were the ground of blessing, this list would prove too much.
The apostle appeals first to the history of Abraham. If the Jew insists on natural descent, he must let the Arabians into blessing too. They also came from Abraham, through Ishmael (Gen. 25:12-18). Natural descent is then shut out. With Isaac we see the blessing secured on the principle of sovereign electing grace. The word is, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." Ishmael was the child of flesh, but Isaac was the child of promise.
The names that follow are not filler. God had already told Abraham what would come of this son.
The flesh gets its privileges quickly. Jehovah's angel had already prepared Hagar to expect this: "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude." God spoke more exactly still in Genesis 17. What He said there was an immediate fact and the pledge of all that would follow: "As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation." So it was now.
That blessing was real, but of one kind only. God answered what Abraham asked for this son on the level of nature, not covenant.
The covenant of promise was to run in the line of Isaac, yet God answered the request about Ishmael and promised to bless him in natural things, making him a great nation under twelve princes. The fulfilment of this is recorded in Genesis 25:12-16.
A list of desert chieftains may look like the least spiritual page in Genesis. One writer says it shows something many readers miss.
Scripture shows us the government of God in providence, outside His covenant. It shows this in the same books that reveal the dealings of His electing grace. Nor are the Jews the only ones prone to overlook it. … No more vivid sketch was ever drawn than the one given of Ishmael's descendants in these words: "Who has let the wild donkey go free? … to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place. He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver" (Job 39:5-8). Such exactly are the Bedouins.
One writer reads Ishmael through the picture drawn in Galatians.
Being the son of a slave woman, Ishmael pictures those under the bondage of law (Gal. 4:22-25), wild and rebellious. Living in the desert, he reminds us that the law is not a fruitful way to live. It is barren and produces no fruit for God. Yet he has many descendants, and this is true spiritually today also. Many prefer the bondage of law to the liberty of the pure grace of God.
- Order. Scripture writes the rejected line first and the chosen line second — Ishmael before Isaac, Esau before Jacob. God removes the first to establish the second.
- Origin. The verse names the mother as the Egyptian servant. Scripture uses that word of a female slave. Birth fixed this son's standing.
- Gift. God promised twelve princes and a great nation. This list is the proof — real blessing, but in natural things, not the covenant.
- Reach. The same books that show electing grace also record how God governs outside the covenant. A desert genealogy is still His word.
- Result. Descent from Abraham secures nothing, or the Arabian tribes would inherit too. Blessing runs through promise. Yet a barren, law-bound line still draws many.
And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their names according to their generations Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
These names are the roll-call of a promise: God had said Ishmael would father twelve princes, and here they stand in order. So why does Scripture pause over this line at all, and what became of Nebaioth, Kedar and the rest?
Ishmael's line comes first, before the line of promise. That order follows a pattern found right through the Bible.
In Scripture the Holy Spirit notes family connection by the well-known principle the apostle states in 1 Corinthians 15:46: not the spiritual first, but the natural. We have already had the children born to Keturah, and Isaac in his own distinct place. Now we have the sons of Ishmael before the line of promise.
Years earlier God had answered Abraham about Ishmael with a number. This list is that answer arriving.
Flesh gets its privileges quickly. Here was the start of what the angel of the Lord prepared Hagar to expect: "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude." … But God spoke more exactly still. In Genesis 17 He said, as an immediate fact and the pledge of all that would follow, "As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation" (v. 20). So it was now. They stand here in their order. Later, in Genesis 28:9, we read of Ishmael's daughter Mahalath, Nebaioth's sister, whom Esau took as a wife, besides his wives from Canaan.
Kedar, the second son, turns up again and again in later Scripture. What we read there shows the life this family led.
Kedar was a son of Ishmael. He founded an important tribe living in the north-west of Arabia, though the name probably also stands for Arabs in general. Genesis 25:13; 1 Chronicles 1:29. The Psalmist longed for peace, for he had been living in the tents of Kedar, among those who "hated peace." Psalm 120:5-6. The bride in Song of Songs 1:5 was dark, like the black tents of Kedar. The references to lambs, rams, goats, flocks, camels, tents and tent-curtains show a wandering people, though Scripture also mentions their "villages."
A genealogy of an excluded line raises the question of why God bothers with it at all. One answer given is that His rule over nations is as real as His electing grace, and just as reliable.
Scripture shows us plainly how God governs the world in providence, outside His covenant. It does so in the same books that reveal the dealings of His electing grace. And it is not only the Jews who tend to overlook it. Unbelief rises up against God in this as in everything else. Yet His Word stays worthy of all trust, whatever it applies to. … No sober Christian supposes a perpetual miracle in Ishmael's case. But what God said of that race is as sure as what He said of Israel — or of Babylon, Medo-Persia, the Greek power, or Rome.
Ishmael's line ends in twelve princes, and Israel has twelve tribes. One writer draws out what that likeness means for Israel's future.
Verses 12-16 give Ishmael's family line. As we saw in verses 1-4, God does not forget the Gentile nations because of His interest in the church (Rebekah). Now Ishmael's line tells us God does not forget Israel either, for Ishmael pictures Israel under law (Galatians 4:22-25). That nation is yet to receive blessing from God in His own time. Verse 16 mentions twelve princes, a reminder of Israel's twelve tribes.
Nebaioth and Kedar, the first two names here, appear again in a prophecy of Israel's coming glory. The list is not only a record of the past.
The names we find here can be traced in other Scriptures. For instance, Isaiah 60 is the great chapter of the millennial kingdom, and it names Nebaioth and Kedar (verse 7). The number twelve, twelve princes, links Ishmael closely with Israel. In the future God will bless Israel and give him the promised land as his glorious possession. Then the descendants of Ishmael will not be forgotten.
- Order — the natural line comes first, then the line of promise. Scripture keeps that order everywhere.
- Promise — God had said twelve princes. Here are twelve sons, counted out by name.
- Reach — Kedar's line became a wandering tribe of north-west Arabia, with tents and flocks. The Psalms, the Song of Songs and Isaiah still name them.
- Government — the same books that show His electing grace also show God ruling nations outside His covenant. His word about Ishmael's race is as sure as His word about Israel or Rome.
- Future — twelve princes echo Israel's twelve tribes. Nebaioth and Kedar appear again in Isaiah 60, so this line is not forgotten in the day of blessing.
and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
Genesis 25:14 sits inside a short family list: the twelve sons of Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar. God had promised these twelve, and here they are, named one by one. Mishma, Dumah and Massa are three names most readers pass over. Yet Scripture keeps them on record, and one of them turns up again centuries later in a prophecy.
God made a specific promise about this son. This list of twelve names is that promise kept.
Ishmael was to be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he would live in the presence of all his brothers (Genesis 16:10-12). Anyone can check this: it has been fulfilled exactly, from the beginning until now. But God had said something still more exact in Genesis 17. It was an immediate fact, and the pledge of all that would follow: "As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation." So it was now.
The number twelve is not a small detail here.
The names we find here may be traced in other Scriptures. For instance in Isaiah 60, the great chapter of the millennial kingdom, we have Nebaioth and Kedar mentioned (verse 7). The number twelve, twelve princes, links Ishmael closely with Israel. In the future God will bless Israel and give him the promised land as his glorious possession. Then the descendants of Ishmael will not be forgotten.
Dumah appears again in Isaiah 21 as the title of a prophecy. This family list is what tells us who he was.
The burden of Dumah is compressed into very few words. He was, as Genesis 25:14 shows, of the stock of Ishmael, and Seir was a dwelling-place of the sons of Esau. These "burdens" on the various peoples were bringing upon them a "night" of divine displeasure. What lay ahead of them? A morning was surely coming, but a night was coming also. The morning will be for those who fear God and are subject to Him: the night for those who are His foes.
Dumah answers the warning with mockery. One writer hears the same voice today.
In Isaiah 21:11-12 we see God's attitude to a people who mocked the message of coming judgment. Ishmael is found to be a mocker in Genesis 21:9. When God's warning came to Dumah, his reply was to pour scorn on it. In mockery he said, "Watchman, what time of the night? Watchman, what time of the night?" It was as much as to say: we have heard about the coming judgment for a long time now, and it still has not come. What have you to say about it now? In the Old Testament, Dumah stood for the people Peter writes about in the New Testament: "scoffers will come in the last days… They will say, 'Where is the promise of His coming?'" For such people the delay hardens their unbelief. Yet the delay is God's mercy, giving them time to repent.
Two ways of living stand side by side here, and only one of them looks impressive.
His twelve sons were princes, and each one headed a leading Arab tribe. They show us what the "religious world" was in those far-off ages. Isaac and the true descendants of Abraham were living in tents, while these grand lords had their towns and castles.
Scripture gives this whole family only eight verses.
Ishmael represents the rejected line. His generations come first, and very briefly, because the generations of Isaac start with verse 19. His years were 137, and his sons became princes of some renown, since some of their names became notable and occur again in Scripture. Yet eight verses are enough for his story. He is a picture of the first man, who must be removed to make room for the Second.
Commentators differ on what Ishmael pictures — one reads him as the religious world, another as the nation of Israel held under law.
Ishmael's genealogy tells us God does not forget Israel either, for Ishmael is a picture of Israel under law (Galatians 4:22-25)… Ishmael both lived and died in the presence of his brothers (v. 18). Such is the legal principle. Legality lives before the eyes of others; faith lives in the presence of God.
- Promise. God promised Ishmael twelve princes before any of them were born. This list counts that promise out, name by name.
- Record. God keeps a record of the line He did not choose. It is short, because the story moves on to Isaac, but it is exact.
- Reach. The twelve echo Israel's twelve tribes. Nebaioth and Kedar turn up again in Isaiah 60, where this family is still in view when Israel is blessed.
- Warning. Dumah, named in this verse, becomes the subject of a prophecy. A night is coming, and a morning too. The door to repentance still stands open.
- Contrast. Ishmael's sons had towns and castles; Isaac lived in tents. Visible greatness is not the promise. Faith lives before God, not before watching eyes.
Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedmah.
God's word to Abraham about Ishmael ended with a number: twelve princes. These last five names complete that count. They also raise a question: why does a list of desert chiefs belong in the book of promise?
The names are not filler. They close a pledge God made when Abraham asked Him to remember Ishmael.
Flesh has its privileges quickly. Already there was the beginning of what the angel of the Lord had prepared Hagar to expect: "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude." … But God had said something still more exact in Genesis 17. It was an immediate fact and a pledge of all that would follow: "As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve chiefs, and I will make him into a great nation" (v. 20). So it was now. They are listed in their order.
(Older translations read "twelve princes" in Genesis 17:20.)
Two family records stand side by side in this chapter. The order, and the space given to each, is deliberate.
In Scripture the Holy Spirit notices family connection by the well-known principle the apostle states in 1 Corinthians 15:46: not first the spiritual, but the natural. We have already had the descendants of Keturah, and Isaac in his own distinct place. So now we have the sons of Ishmael before the line of promise.
The brevity says something too. Ishmael's sons became men of real standing, yet the account is over almost as soon as it starts.
Ishmael represents the rejected line. Scripture tells his generations first, and very briefly, because the generations of Isaac start at verse 19. His years were 137. His sons became princes of some renown, since some of their names became notable and appear again in Scripture. Yet eight verses are enough for his story, because he pictures the first man, who has to be removed so that the Second can be brought in.
These are not forgotten syllables. We can still put Tema and its neighbours on a map.
Some of the other sons of Ishmael may be more or less obscure. Dumah is not, and neither is Tema, written large and deep in the northern part of the Negd — the name the people there give to the interior highlands of Arabia.
Jetur left his name on a whole province, one that shows up again in the New Testament.
A province east of the upper Jordan. Herod Philip was made its ruler (Luke 3:1). No one can define its boundaries well, but it reached toward Damascus and included the southern slopes of Anti-Lebanon. Its name comes from JETUR, son of Ishmael. Genesis 25:15.
These names sit outside the covenant line. Kelly does not read them as outside God's reach.
Scripture shows us the government of God in providence, outside His covenant. It does so in the very books that reveal the dealings of His electing grace… No one ever drew a more vivid sketch than these words give of Ishmael's descendants: "Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place? He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver. He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing" (Job 39:5-8). That is exactly the Bedouin. No sober Christian imagines a perpetual miracle about Ishmael. But what God said of that race is as certain as what He said of Israel.
Two of these names return much later, as enemies of Israel's tribes east of the Jordan.
These two and a half tribes "made war with the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab… for they cried out to God in the battle, and He granted their urgent plea because they trusted in Him" (vv. 19-20)… "They trusted in Him"; the God of grace owed it to His own character to answer them, however guilty they might be about the unity of the people of God. So, in spite of the ruin, grace always answers faith.
The five names close a count of twelve. That total points ahead.
The number twelve, twelve princes, links Ishmael closely with Israel. When Israel is blessed in the future and receives the promised land as a glorious possession, Ishmael's descendants will not be forgotten.
- Kept promise. The twelve names match God's pledge to Abraham: twelve princes and a great nation.
- Kept order. The natural line comes first, in eight verses. Then the line of promise begins.
- Kept on the map. Tema sits in northern Arabia, and Jetur named a province east of the Jordan. The promise landed in real places.
- Kept under God. God governs peoples outside His covenant. What He said of Ishmael's line holds as surely as what He said of Israel.
- Kept for blessing. Twelve princes echo Israel's twelve tribes. Ishmael's line is not forgotten in the blessing still to come.