Who are the descendants of Ishmael? | GotQuestions.org
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Discover the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar, born in an attempt to fulfill God's promise. Learn how Ishmael, driven away after Isaac’s birth, still had a grand destiny. Explore Genesis 25:12–18, where Ishmael's twelve sons become great rulers and nations, settling from Havilah to Shur. Uncover how Ishmael’s descendants, known as Arabs or “nomads,” fulfilled God's prophecy of being a “warlike people” (Genesis 16:12). Dive into the theory linking Arabian Muslims to Ishmael, as supported by historical scholars like Kenneth Fleming. Witness God's promise making Ishmael a great nation.
In this video, we answer your question: Who are the descendants of Ishmael?
Source: Who are the descendants of Ishmael?
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- Hi there. Many others like you have asked, who were the descendants of Ishmael? Let's find out, shall we?
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- You can discover this answer and even more at gotquestions .org. Ishmael was a son of Abraham, born of Sarah's maidservant,
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- Hagar, in an attempt to bring into the world the son God had promised to Abraham and Sarah.
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- Later, Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah, so Hagar and Ishmael were driven away because of Ishmael's attitude toward Isaac.
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- But God still had plans for Ishmael. God promised Hagar that Ishmael, as a son of Abraham, would become a great nation, the fulfillment of which is recorded in Genesis 25.
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- Ishmael's Egyptian mother, Hagar, found him an Egyptian wife. Ishmael then settled in the and had twelve sons who became great rulers and eventually a nation of people.
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- Ishmael's descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur.
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- The area of Havilah where Ishmael's descendants lived is in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula.
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- Shur is a wilderness area between Beersheba and the Negev Desert in Egypt. The descendants of Ishmael became known as Arabs, which basically means nomads.
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- From the beginning, the descendants of Ishmael were a warlike people, as they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them.
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- This fulfilled God's earlier word that Ishmael would be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.
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- Later, others settled in the Arabian Peninsula as well, including the descendants of Keturah's sons and some of Esau's descendants, among them the
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- Amalekites. There is a popular theory, common among Muslims and some Christians, that Arabian Muslims are direct descendants of Ishmael.
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- In fact, Muhammad was a major proponent of this idea, claiming to be a descendant of Ishmael, according to the
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- Quran. There is most likely some truth to this theory. According to the missionary and author
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- Kenneth Fleming, what we know for certain seems to support the theory that the Ishmaelites are, at the very least, a major element in the
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- Arab genetic line. Old records clearly link the North Arabians with Ishmael's descendants.
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- But it's unlikely that all of those in Arabia are descendants of Ishmael, as the descendants of Keturah and the children of Esau also lived in the
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- Arabian Peninsula. In conclusion, although some modern Arabians could trace their lineage back to Ishmael, not all
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- Arabians are descendants of Ishmael, as Muslims try to claim. We know from the Bible that God made
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- Ishmael into a great nation. His descendants can share in the blessings of Abraham by putting their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
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- Alright, that answers your question. Who were the descendants of Ishmael? Thank you for watching.