Who was Ishmael in the Bible?

Ishmael was the firstborn son of Abraham by Hagar who was his wife’s servant.

The Lord God had a promise about the life of Abraham So God calls Abraham and says: Genesis 12:1-3 – “Now the Lord said to Abram, Get thee out of your country, from your kindred and from your father’s house , to the land that I will show you.

And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless you, and I will curse them that curse you; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

 At this point in history, Sarah to Abraham’s wife was barren and ten years later, the couple still had no children. God did not forget the promise that Abraham had made so much that the Lord reaffirmed his promise to Abraham, but the couple tried to help God’s promise come true. 

Sarah then suggests that Abraham build a family through his handmaid, Hagar.

Genesis 16:2 – And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold, the LORD hath kept me from bearing; therefore take my maidservant; perhaps I will have her children. And Abram heard the voice of Sarai.

Abraham agrees with Sarah’s idea, but Hagar, seeing that she was pregnant, began to look down on her mistress.”

Genesis 16:4,5 – And he possessed Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she was her mistress despised in her eyes.

, My grievance be on thee: I have put my handmaid in thy bosom: now that she has conceived, I am despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.

AbramSarah that Hagar was in her power to do as she pleased. So Sarai treated her so badly that, at last, Hagar ran away. 

God saw Hagar in the wilderness. The angel of the Lord makes a promise to her that her descendants would be multiplied,.

Genesis 16:10-12 – And the angel of the LORD said to him, I will greatly multiply your descendants, which will not be numbered, however many they will

bethy seed, which shall not be numbered, however many they shall be

. angel of the Lord: Behold, thou hast conceived, and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord has heard your affliction.

And he will be a fierce man, and his hand will be against all, and the hand of all against him; and he shall dwell before the face of all his brethren.

Ishmael means “God hears”. Hagar called God “You are the God who sees me” and that place was called “Beer-lahai-roi”. Hagar returned to Abraham and Sarah, as God instructed her to do. Then came the time when Hagar gave birth to her son, and he was named Ishmael as God had instructed.

Thirteen years after Ishmael was born, God gave Abraham the sign of circumcision. God reminded Abraham of His promise and told him that Sarah would have a son and that kings would come from her children. 

Genesis 17:15-18 – God said further to Abraham, You shall no longer call your wife Sarai by the name of Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.

For I will bless her, and give thee a son by her; and I will bless her, and she shall be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come out of her.

Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a son be born to a man a hundred years old? And will Sarah give birth to ninety years old?

And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thy face!

God’s promise was a wonderful thing, but Abraham genuinely cared about Ishmael. Then God answered,  Genesis 17:19-21 – 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 with his seed. after him. And as for Ishmael, I have also heard you; behold, I have blessed him, and I will make him fruitful, and I will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will give birth to at this appointed time in the following year.

With all that Isaac was the son through whom the Messiah, Jesus, descended and through whom God would fulfill His covenant with Abraham, God did not forget about Ishmael.

Sarah conceived and Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old (Genesis 21:1–7). 

Genesis 21:1-7 – And the LORD visited Sarah, as he had said; and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. 

And Sarah conceived, and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time, which God had spoken to him.

And Abraham called the name of the son that was born to him, which Sarah had borne him, Isaac.

And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac, when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

And Sarah said: God has made me laugh; everyone who hears it will laugh with me.

He said further: Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.

When Isaac was weaned, probably around the age of three or four, Sarah saw Ishmael, probably around seventeen, mocking him. She told Abraham to cast out Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 21:8–10). 

Genesis 21:8-10 – And the boy grew and was weaned; so Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

And Sarah saw that the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had given to Abraham, was mocking.

And he said to Abraham, Put away this maidservant and her son; for the son of this maidservant shall not inherit with my son Isaac.

Abraham was very unhappy about this, but God told him to do as Sarah had told him (Genesis 21:11-12). 

Genesis 21:11,12 – And this word seemed very evil in the sight of Abraham, because of his son.

But God said to Abraham, Do not be displeased with the lad and with your maidservant; in everything Sarah says to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

Abraham got up early in the morning and prepared groceries and a bowl full of water and put them on Hagar’s shoulders. Mother and son wandered in the wilderness until their water and supplies ran out and they were close to death (Genesis 21:14-16). 

Genesis 21:14-16 – Then Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder; he also gave her the boy and sent her away; and she departed, wandering in the wilderness of Beersheba.

When the water in the skin was consumed, he threw the boy under one of the trees.

And he went and sat down in front of him, retreating within a bowshot; because he said: Let me not see the boy die. And he sat opposite, and lifted up his voice, and wept.

Hagar separated from Ishmael, and went to sit alone, a hundred meters ahead not wanting to see him die, and wept. “And God heard the voice of the child, and the angel of God called Hagar out of heaven” (Genesis 21:17).

Genesis 21:17 – And God heard the voice of the child, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, What have you to do, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the boy’s voice from where he is.

He asked Hagar what was bothering her and told her not to fear, for God had heard the memino’s voice. God tells Hagar that he would make Ishmael a great nation. He also opened her eyes to a well of water. 

Genesis 21:19 – And God opened his eyes, and he saw a well of water; and went and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.

Ishmael and Hagar lived by God’s provision. The Lord God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. Ishmael became an archer and settled in the desert of Paran, and his mother got him an Egyptian wife.