These are their genealogies: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth, and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
Verse 29 opens the list of Ishmael's twelve sons. Chronicles has just named Abraham's two sons in verse 28, and it now follows the wrong one first. Why would a book tracing Israel's royal line spend its space on the family God passed over?
Why the Set-Aside Line Comes First
Chronicles lists the natural branch before the chosen one. The same pattern shapes the list of Noah's sons earlier in the chapter.
H. L. RossierIn God's eyes Shem, chosen by grace, has the first place. But in the natural order what is spiritual does not come first, as we have already pointed out. It is the same with Abraham's offspring: "The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael" (v. 28). Isaac is named first, seen as first in God's thoughts. But Ishmael, the elder, is listed first (v. 29) as the seed according to the flesh.
The same rule is at work when the sons of Keturah follow in verse 32, and again when Esau's descendants come before Jacob's.
H. L. RossierThey follow Ishmael's posterity (vv. 28-31) in our chapter so as to show that they also are part of the lineage according to the flesh. The genealogy of Ishmael himself is given according to Genesis 25:12-15. As for Esau (vv. 35-42), his sons are mentioned in abbreviated form, without the names of their mothers and the numerous details given us in Genesis 26:1-19.
Four Names, One Kept Promise
These are not random names. God told Abraham how many sons Ishmael would have, long before any of them was born. Verses 29-31 list that exact number: twelve.
William KellyMore exactly still, as a fact close at hand and the pledge of all that would follow, God had said in Genesis 17: "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 are listed here in their order. Later, in Genesis 28:9, we read of Ishmael's daughter Mahalath, Nebaioth's sister, whom Esau took as his wife, besides the women of Canaan.
From Names to Nations
Kedar grew into far more than one man. Scripture keeps returning to his tribe long after Chronicles.
Morrish Bible DictionarySon of Ishmael, and founder of an important tribe in the north-west of Arabia. The name is probably also used for Arabs in general. Gen. 25:13; 1 Chr. 1:29. The Psalmist longed for peace, for he had been living in the tents of Kedar, with those who "hated peace." Ps. 120:5-6. The bride in Song of Songs 1:5 was black, or dark, like the black tents of Kedar. The references to lambs, rams, goats, flocks, camels, tents, and tent-curtains show that these were a wandering people. Scripture also mentions their "villages."
God's Rule Beyond His Covenant
God's rule is not limited to the line He chose.
William KellyScripture shows us the government of God in His providence, and outside His covenant, in the same books that reveal the dealings of His electing grace… No sketch was ever more vivid than the one given 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)… No sober Christian imagines a continuing miracle in Ishmael's case. But what God said of that race is as certain as what He said of Israel.
Where the List Is Heading
Two names from this verse appear again in a prophecy of Israel's future glory.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinWe can trace the names we find here in other Scriptures. For instance, Isaiah 60, the great chapter of the millennial kingdom, mentions Nebaioth and Kedar (verse 7). The number twelve, twelve princes, links Ishmael closely with Israel. One day Israel will be blessed and will receive the promised Land as his glorious possession. Then the descendants of Ishmael will not be forgotten.
Summary
- Named — God records the line He passed over as fully as the line He chose.
- Natural first — Ishmael heads the list because Chronicles sets the seed of the flesh before the seed of promise, as it did earlier with Shem.
- Promise kept — the twelve names in verses 29-31 match the number God gave Abraham in Genesis 17. The list is a receipt for a kept word.
- Governed — the wild, wandering life of these tribes matches God's word about them. His rule reaches past His covenant people.
- Gathered — Nebaioth and Kedar reappear in Isaiah 60. When Israel is blessed, this branch is not forgotten.