Bible Dictionaries
Ishmael

Holman Bible Dictionary

(ihssh' may el) Personal name meaning “God hears.” Son of Abraham by the Egyptian concubine Hagar (Genesis 16:11 ). He became the progenitor of the Ishmaelite peoples. The description in Genesis 16:12 points to an unruly and misanthropic disposition. Ishmael and his mother were expelled from the camp of Abraham at the insistence of Sarah following the birth of Sarah's son Isaac. The boy was near death in the wilderness when the angel of God directed Hagar to a well. Genesis 21:20 explains that God was with Ishmael, and that he became an archer. See Abraham; Patriarchs.