top of page

What happened to Ishmael?

In Genesis 17, God Makes a promise to Abraham concerning Ishmael:

20 "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation."

God promises to:
Bless Ishmael
Make 12 Rulers out of him
Make a great nation out of him

We should not forget that God also made the following prophecy about Ishmael:

Genesis 16:11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,[a]
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12
He will be a wild donkey of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward[b] all his brothers.”

Ishmael will be a wild man.
Ishmael will be at war with everyone, even his brothers.

We also find more about Ishmael in Genesis 25:

17 "Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. 18 His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward[b] all the tribes related to them."

We find out here that Ishmael's descendents did fight each other.
We also find out that Ishmaelites settled in from Haviland to Shur.

This is Haviland:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijaz_Mountains
(Western Arabia)

This is Shur:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadi_Tumilat
(Eastern Egypt)

We also find out 2 more things about the Ishmaelites in the Bible.

1) They became a great nation called the Amalekites that attacked the Israelites as they left Egypt.
Deuteronomy 25:17 "Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. 18 When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. 19 When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!:

2) They were wiped out by King Saul:
1 Samuel 15:7 "Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword."


 

bottom of page