Ishmael
Ishmael, a figure in the Tanakh and the Quran, was Abraham's first son according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born to Abraham and Sarah's Egyptian handmaiden Hagar (Hājar) (Genesis 16:3). According to the Genesis account, he died at the age of 137 (Genesis 25:17).
Gen 16:15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
God shall make Ishmael a great nation
Abraham was blessed so that his descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. God would make of Ishmael a great nation because he was of the seed of Abraham. However, God told Hagar that her son would be living in conflict with his relatives. When Ishmael was born, Abraham was 86 years old.
(Gen 17:18) And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
(Gen 17:19) And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
(Gen 17:20) And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
Ishmael gets circumcised
When he was 13 years old, Ishmael was circumcised at the same time as all other males in Abraham's household, becoming a part of the covenant in a mass circumcision. His father Abram, given the new name "Abraham", then 99, was circumcised along with the others (Genesis 17).
(Gen 17:23) And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
(Gen 17:24) And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
(Gen 17:25) And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
(Gen 17:26) In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
(Gen 17:27) And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
Sarai rejects Ishmael
On the day of feasting during which Abraham celebrated the weaning of Isaac, Ishmael was "mocking" or "playing with" Isaac (the Hebrew word מְצַחֵֽק meṣaḥeq is ambiguous)[6] and Sarah asked Abraham to expel Ishmael and his mother, saying: "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."[7][8] Her demand was painful for Abraham, who loved Ishmael. Abraham agreed only after God told him that "in Isaac your seed shall be called", and that God would "make a nation of the son of the bondwoman" Ishmael, since he was a descendant of Abraham (Genesis 21:11–13), God having previously told Abraham "I will establish My covenant with [Isaac]", while also making promises concerning the Ishmaelite nation (Genesis 17:18–21).
Ishmael and his mother are sent away
At the age of 14, Ishmael was freed along with his mother. The Lord's covenant made clear Ishmael was not to inherit Abraham's house and that Isaac would be the seed of the covenant: "Take your son, your only son, whom you love and go to the region of Moriah." (Genesis 22:2–8) Abraham gave Ishmael and his mother a supply of bread and water and sent them away. Hagar entered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba where the two soon ran out of water and Hagar, not wanting to witness the death of her son, set the boy some distance away from herself, and wept. "And God heard the voice of the lad" and sent his angel to tell Hagar, "Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation." And God "opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water", from which she drew to save Ishmael's life and her own. "And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer." (Genesis 21:14–21)
Ishmael settles in Paran
After roaming the wilderness for some time, Ishmael and his mother settled in the Desert of Paran, where he became an expert in archery. Eventually, his mother found him a wife from the land of Egypt.
Twelve Princes
Ishmael had twelve sons who each became tribal chiefs throughout the regions from Havilah to Shur (from Assyria to the border of Egypt).[10] His sons were:
Nebaioth (נבית)
Kedar (קדר), father of the Qedarites, a northern Arab tribe that controlled the area between the Persian Gulf and the Sinai Peninsula. According to tradition, he is the ancestor of the Quraysh tribe, and thus of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.[12]
Adbeel (אדבאל)
Mibsam (מבשם)
Mishma (משמע)
Dumah (דומה)
Massa (משא)
Hadad (חדד)
Tema (תימא)
Jetur (יטור)
Naphish (נפיש)
Kedemah (קדמה)
Generations of Ishmael
(Gen 25:12) Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham:
(Gen 25:13) And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
(Gen 25:14) And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
(Gen 25:15) Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:
(Gen 25:16) These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
Daughters of Ishmael
Ishmael also had one known daughter, Mahalath or Basemath, the third wife of Esau.
Death of Ishmael
Ishmael died at the age of 137.
(Gen 25:17) And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.
(Gen 25:18) And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.