Why is ishmael important

The name of the son who was supposed to be sacrificed is not mentioned in the Qur'an and in early Islam, there was a fierce controversy over the identity of the son. However the belief that it was Ishmael prevailed later.

God delivered this child to Abraham, and later tested Abraham's faith by asking him to sacrifice his only son at the time. However, just as Abraham was to kill his only son, God halted him, praised him for his loyalty, and commanded him to sacrifice a ram instead.

This leads to the Muslim practice of sacrificing domesticated animals such as sheep, goats or cows, on the celebration to mark this event known as Eid ul-Adha. Ishmael is a highly regarded person in the Qur'an.

Abraham assured Sarah that Hagar was free to do anything she wanted. Hagar was out in the wilderness when God, ever trustworthy, saw her. The name God El Roi is derived from this. She gave birth to a son, whom she named Ishmael, as God had commanded. God gave Abraham the sign of circumcision about 13 years after Ishmael was born Genesis God reminded Abraham of His promise, telling him that Sarah would bear a son and that her descendants would be rulers Genesis — Is it possible for Sarah, who is ninety years old, to have a child?

I have heard you about Ishmael, and I have blessed him, and I will make him fertile and multiply him much. I will make him into a powerful nation by having him father twelve princes. God did not ignore Ishmael, even though Isaac was to be the son through whom the Messiah, Jesus, would be descended and through whom God would fulfill His covenant with Abraham.

When Abraham was years-old, Sarah conceived, and Isaac was born Genesis —7. This idea is reinforced by the later narratives regarding surrogate motherhood that began with Sarai.

Rachel, Jacob's barren wife, invited her husband to "go into" her servant Bilhah, so that she, Bilhah, as Rachel says, "can bear upon my knees and that I too may have children through her", Gen. Jacob complies and ends up with two sons by Bilhah - Dan and Naphtali Gen. We might even consider mothers who have become barren in the natural course of things: Jacob's other wife, Leah, having ceased childbearing, celebrates the birth of children Gad and Asher by Jacob to her servant Zilpah Gen.

Note that, inclusive of Ishmael, no issues of adoption or legitimacy are mentioned in any of the narratives just cited; indeed, absent any commentary to the contrary, the many children born to handmaids and servants appear to be happily absorbed into the various family circles. While some jealousy is evident, especially on the part of Rachel Gen.

In fact, it is whom the father is that determines legitimacy and birth rights: Deuteronomy explicitly prohibits the disenfranchising of the first-born son - regardless of the mother's status - and further provides that he shall receive a double portion of his father's inheritance. While Deuteronomy is generally considered a later contribution to the Pentateuch see 5.

Abraham then asks if Ishmael might also be blessed: "O that Ishmael might live in your sight! God replies: "As for Ishmael, I have heard you", and goes on to say that Ishmael shall father twelve nesi'im the word means "elevated ones", or important persons; most translations read "princes" and become a great nation Gen. No reason for Ishmael, as first-born son, being sidelined or usurped is provided at this point.

If he has sinned against God or Abram and is thus worthy of demotion, we are not told. Notice again that God's promise is that Isaac will father kings, and Ishmael, princes, a clear statement of the intended future superiority of Isaac over his brother. Nevertheless, it is fourteen years before God's promise to Abraham is fulfilled.

Fourteen years during which it seemed entirely reasonable that Ishmael, as first-born, would be the heir of Abraham. One can only imagine the bond that would have developed between them. According to Wenham , Abraham had a "strong paternal affection and particularly [a] deep love for Ishmael". But then, as promised, came Isaac. The day Isaac was weaned, Abraham made a great feast, during the course of which Sarah sees Ishmael "laughing" Gen.

She entreats Abraham to "drive them off", 13 something he is not willing to do: "The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son" Gen.

God adds that, although Abraham's inheritance will be through Isaac, Ishmael too will become a great nation Gen. It is evident that, while Ishmael is to be eclipsed by Isaac, he will not be entirely forgotten, becoming as it were the moon to Isaac's sun. But, no reason for demoting Ishmael is provided. Against the desires of his heart, but in light of God's assurances regarding Ishmael, Abraham reluctantly complies. The banishment narrative begins with Abraham preparing the woman and her child for their departure.

He fills a skin with water, provides a package of food, and sends mother and son on their way - a tragic moment for Hagar and Ishmael and, regardless of God's promises, an event that must have been heartbreaking to Abraham Gen.

In Genesis , Hebrew uses the words yeled vv. According to Schreiner , yeled usually means young child, or baby. For an adolescent, the Hebrew is typically na'ar Fuhs According to Fuhs, na'ar is rather fluid in its meaning. He writes: "the ne'arim Ephraim and Manasseh whom Joseph blesses are also small children" Gen. To illustrate these occurrences, verse 14 reads: "He Abraham filled a skin of water and put it on Hagar's shoulder, along with the yeled - baby.

Verse 17 changes the noun: "and God heard the voice of the na'ar - lad"; verse 18, "lift up the lad and hold him fast with your hand"; verse 19, "gave the lad a drink", and verse 20, "God was with the lad. It is assumed to be Ishmael. But remembering that fourteen years elapsed between the birth of Ishmael and the birth of Isaac, and that a further two or more years have passed before Isaac was weaned, Ishmael would now be sixteen or seventeen years old - a man, not a baby.

In other words, the narrator wants us to see the two stories mirroring one another with important differences. The last words about Ishmael occur in Genesis In verse 9, he shows up, with Isaac, and at the exclusion of their half-brothers, to bury their father in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite.

Verses 12 through 18 list Ishmael's twelve sons, "twelve princes according to their tribes", their settlement locations, "from Havilah to Shur, opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria" Gen.

The traditional link between Ishmaelites and the Bedouin Arabs is based on this tribal list Brenneman We turn now to the issue central to this article - the story of the proposed sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis God speaks to Abraham and tells him to take his son, his only son, Isaac, and offer him to God as a burnt offering.

We already know that Isaac is not Abraham's "only" son. Thus, the words further marginalise Ishmael, almost as if he never existed. Yet, according to the biblical text, he did indeed exist, and it was he who for fourteen years was Abraham's only son.

How are these facts to be reconciled? A clue, perhaps, is in the way the command is given: "Take your son, your only son, whom you love" Gen. The command is deliberate and explicit. In the Bible, Isaac appears to be the patriarch of Israel. Islam highlights these inconsistencies in the biblical narratives: Ishmael being disenfranchised from his rightful place in opposition to the cultural norms of the time; Ishmael as opposed to Isaac as heir; the identity of the unnamed child cast out with Hagar into the wilderness, and the identity of the son to be sacrificed to God "your son, your only son".

In Islamic thought and tradition, these inconsistencies collectively suggest that the sacrificial offering in Genesis 22 is more likely to be Ishmael than Isaac. For additional support, Islam calls on its fundamental premise that, while God has revealed God's self on many occasions in the past, the recording of God's revelations became distorted or misrepresented.

Against these inconsistencies is, first, that the structure of the biblical narratives, while never stating the fact explicitly, certainly implies through subsequent events that Abram and Sarai "jumped the gun" of God's promise by having Ishmael, meaning that Isaac was indeed the promised son of the covenant.

Secondly, that Islam has long accepted that the covenant made with Abram was indeed conveyed to Isaac and his descendants. Thirdly, Islam has also long accepted the later Israelites to be, legitimately, People of the Book.

Three other issues must be addressed: the evolution of the biblical narratives under discussion; in light of that discussion, God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17, and the nature of the exposure of early Islam to the Hebrew Old Testament. That the "Books of Moses" Genesis through Deuteronomy essentially achieved their final form canon at an early date is well known.

It was not, however, until the mid th century that scholarship made concerted efforts to establish their age with any degree of certainty, and indeed, to a certain extent, the jury is still out in terms of universal agreement in this regard.

While the broad consensus of agreement with Julius Wellhausen's documentary hypothesis throughout the 20 th century has largely collapsed in recent years Viviano ; Blenkinsopp , enough established data remains to support some of Wellhausen's assertions. These include evidence that, while many "hands" were involved, certain writing characteristics are evident that allow the identification of particular writers being responsible for certain blocks of content.

Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Jack Zavada. Christianity Expert. Jack Zavada is a writer who covers the Bible, theology, and other Christianity topics. Updated October 05, Occupation : Ishmael became a hunter, archer, and warrior. Hometown : Ishmael's hometown was Mamre, near Hebron, in Canaan.

Daughters - Mahalath, Basemath. Cite this Article Format. Zavada, Jack. Meet Ishmael: Abraham's First-born Son. A Profile of Abraham of the Jewish Nation. Heroes of Faith in the Book of Hebrews. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for LearnReligions.