Genesis 25:12-18

B. What became of Ishmael 25:12-18

"The last four toledot sections of the Book of Genesis follow a definite pattern: the lines in each generation that are not chosen lines are traced before the narrative returns to the chosen line." [Note: Ross, Creation and . . ., p. 429.]

This section records God’s faithfulness to His promises to make Ishmael a great nation and to give him many descendants (Genesis 16:10; Genesis 21:18). This is another of the 10 family histories that Genesis records (see the outline in the introduction to these notes). There is probably an intentional parallel with the 10 nations mentioned in the Table of Nations (ch. 10) suggesting that God would bless all the families of the earth through other special families.

These verses show that God fulfilled His promises regarding Ishmael (Genesis 16:10-12; Genesis 17:20). Ishmael, like Nahor and Jacob, fathered 12 sons. Moses drew his personal history to a conclusion before he moved on to concentrate on his brother Isaac.

"The mention of ’twelve tribal rulers’ . . . recalls the word of the Lord regarding the future of the line of Ishmael from Genesis 17:20, where it was promised that he too would be blessed and that ’twelve rulers’ . . . would be born to him and become a great nation." [Note: Sailhamer, "Genesis," p. 181.]

The Ishmaelites lived in Arabia. Arabia lay to the southeast of Canaan and extended from the Euphrates River to the Red Sea. [Note: Josephus, 1:12:4.] Probably the Ishmaelites were once a confederation of tribes like the Israelites.

"The names of the twelve princes descending from Ishmael are applied not only to tribal divisions but also to geographical localities (cf. Genesis 25:16)." [Note: Davis, p. 231.]

Ishmael died at 137 years, having lived 48 years after Abraham’s death. The writer probably included the fact that Ishmael lived "in defiance of all his relations" (Genesis 25:18) to show the fulfillment of God’s prediction to Hagar (cf. Genesis 16:12). The bedouin-like Ishmaelites later had many conflicts with their more settled Israelite relations.

God is faithful to His promises to bless whom He has promised to bless.