Study Interruption: Pure Descendants of Ishmael and Esau

As we were studying these portions of scripture, someone requested a study on the “pure descendants of Ishmael (not those mixed with Isaac's progeny) and the descendants of Esau as they exist in the Middle East today). I was happy to oblige to the best of my ability.

1. Ishmael was born to Abraham and Hagar (Genesis 16:15).
2. Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarai (Genesis 21:3).
3. Esau was born to Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 25:25).
4. Ishmael then was Esau’s half-uncle as he was his father’s half-brother.

5. Ishmael gets married but we are not given his wife’s name (Genesis 21:21). We do know she, like his mother, was from Egypt.
6. Ishmael has twelve sons (Genesis 25:13-15).
7. Ishmael has at least one daughter whom he gives to Esau in marriage (Genesis 28:9).

That much we know from the Bible. But from there things start to get complex. Let’s start with what we know about Ishmael’s genealogy. Most Jewish and Islamic traditions hold that Ishmael was an ancestor of the Northern Arab people. Another designation to this group for the sake of emphasis and distinction is “Arabized-Arabs”. They are different or separate from the group of Arabs who were descendents of Ya’rub. Think of Northern and Southern Arabs as occupying the whole of Arabia (as the land came to be known around the first centrury B.C.). The Northern “Arabized-Arabs” lived in the northern, central and western parts of Arabia. This group is also know as Adnan, Ma’add, or Nizar, after some key ancestors.

The Qahtani Arabs lived in the south and southeastern part of Arabia. They are the Kahtan or Semitic peoples who originated from or claimed genealogical descent from Yemen and the surrounding southern extent of Arabia. According to Islamic tradition the Islamic prophet Muhammad descended from Qahtan, the ancestor of this southern group of Qahtani Arabs. Having said that, some believe that some modern Arabs see their ancestry as being of Isaac’s bloodline.

Here’s where we are: the Qur’an contains no genealogies. And neither does the Holy Bible tell us anything more about this Ishmael, Abraham’s son.

Into the story comes a place or site known as Kaaba. According to Wikipedia, the Kaaba is a cube--shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The building predates Islam, and, according to Islamic tradition, Abraham built the first building at the site. The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. Qur’an 2:127 tells us that Abraham and Ishmael “raised the foundations” of this site. It is not clear whether that means ‘built’ or ‘rebuilt’ as some Islamic traditions claim Adam was the original builder. Do you see the emerging weaknesses in all these various claims?

Returning to Ishmael, you remember that he was about to die of thirst when an angel showed his mother a well and told her again that he would become a great nation (Genesis 21:18). According to Genesis 25:9-18, Ishmael’s twelve sons had ancestors of twelve tribes that dwelt from Havilah to Shur, land that was crossed, on route to Egypt, on route to Assyria.

There is no undeniable evidence to be found which can correctly and with total certainty identify Havilah with a modern-day location. The same is true for the place called Shur. Thus it becomes difficult to pinpoint who Ishmael’s exact descendants are today.

In Rabbinical literature, we read that the angels protested to God on the issue of Ishmael being given water when he was dying of thirst because they believed his descendants would destroy the Israelites by thirst. The literature goes on to say that God replied that at that point in time, Ishmael was innocent and that He judged him according to what he was at that time. (Which by the way, is an interesting take on God’s view of both the time we operate in and how he deals with us during various stages of our lives.) Rabbinical literature goes on to claim that Ishmael returned to his father Abraham in his later life and did in fact repent of his evil ways.

Switching to Esau’s genealogy, we find this in the Jewish Virtual Library: “Traditional enemies of the Israelites, the Edomites were the descendants of Esau who often battled the Jewish nation. Edom was in southeast Palestine, stretched from the Red Sea at Elath to the Dead Sea, and encompassed some of Israel's most fertile land. The Edomites attacked Israel under Saul’s rulership. King David would later defeat the rogue nation, annexing their land. At the fall of the First Temple, the Edomites attacked Judah and looted the Temple, accelerating its destruction. The Edomites were later forcibly converted into Judaism by John Hyrcanus, and then became an active part of the Jewish people. Famous Edomites include Herod, who built the Second Temple.” I’ll let our readers study that on their own for more details and in order to arrive at their conclusion.

The majority of the material that I was able to peruse came to the conclusion that either Edomites no long exist today, or we really do not know who they are. One possibility is that indeed if we consider Esau’s blessings, we would have to admit that his descendants would also multiply and scatter throughout the world. It is possible they have done just that and integrated many other diverse societies and culture. They are still around, but not as Edomites. If we accept that possibility, then who we think they may be today depends greatly on our worldview. Some may believe the descendants of Esau have given up their hatred of the Judaic people. Others may think they have gravitated towards those cultures and peoples whose very singular goal in life is to obliterate Israel. Perhaps one day, and maybe soon, we will know. In the meantime, I will leave the guesswork to you.

In summary, the bottom line is still this. Ishmael did come from Abraham’s line. Esau did come from Isaac’s line, which in turn came from Abraham. Jesus came from Jacob’s line, which in turn came from Abraham. Today we have Jews and Arabs. The great majority of original Jews (those not converted to Judaism) come from Jacob’s line. It is possible that some descendants of both Ishmael and Esau may have at one time or another converted to Judaism, but for the most part the rest existed as Arabs and either integrated into more vibrant Arab cultures or died off. As a result, we must contend ourselves with the realization that what matters today, from this perspective of this discussion, and with respect to the end times is this – there are Arabs and there are Jews. And of course, there is God.

Join others following Ken on Twitter
Check-out AccordConsulting, SCA International, and Human Resources for the Church.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.