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Genesis 16:10-15
And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude…

Genesis 17:20
And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

Genesis 21:13
And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because heis thy seed.

whom Hagar the Egyptian
Hagar's identity as an Egyptian is significant, highlighting the cultural and ethnic diversity within Abraham's household. Her Egyptian background may have influenced Ishmael's upbringing and the eventual cultural identity of his descendants. Hagar's story is one of hardship and divine intervention, as seen inGenesis 16 and 21, where God hears her cries and provides for her and Ishmael in the wilderness.

Sarah’s maidservant
Hagar's role as Sarah's maidservant underscores the social and legal customs of the time, where a maidservant could bear children on behalf of her mistress. This practice reflects the ancient Near Eastern customs regarding inheritance and lineage. The tension between Sarah and Hagar, resulting from this arrangement, is a pivotal moment in the narrative, illustrating themes of faith, promise, and human intervention in divine plans.

bore to Abraham
The phrase emphasizes Abraham's paternity, linking Ishmael directly to the patriarch. This connection is crucial for understanding the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham regarding his descendants. Despite Ishmael not being the child of promise, God still blesses him and makes him a great nation, as seen inGenesis 21:13. This highlights God's faithfulness and the complexity of His plans, which often transcend human understanding and expectations.

• The phrase “This is the account” functions as one of Genesis’ literary signposts, signaling a new section in the historical narrative (see similar markers inGenesis 2:4; 5:1; 10:1).

• God is telling us that the events about to be recorded are factual family history, not myth or fable.

• Each “account” highlights God’s faithfulness to His promises; here, it shows how He kept His word concerning Ishmael (Genesis 16:10–12; 17:20).

• The wording immediately ties Ishmael to Abraham, underscoring that he truly is Abraham’s biological son (Genesis 16:15; 17:23).

• Yet Scripture never lets us forget the distinction between Ishmael and the covenant son, Isaac (Genesis 17:18–21;Galatians 4:22–23).

• God blessed Ishmael with a future nation (Genesis 21:13), demonstrating His mercy even while reserving the covenant line for Isaac.

• Hagar’s national identity matters. Her being Egyptian reminds us of Abram’s earlier detour to Egypt (Genesis 12:10–20), revealing how earlier choices can echo through generations.

• It also foreshadows later Israel–Egypt interactions, hinting at God’s sovereign threading of national histories (Exodus 1:8–14).

• By introducing Hagar as “Sarah’s maidservant” (cf.Genesis 16:1), the text highlights the social dynamics that birthed Ishmael—human impatience with divine timing (Genesis 16:2).

• The servant status emphasizes that Ishmael’s conception came through a human workaround rather than God’s promised plan (Romans 9:7–8).

• Still, the Lord met Hagar in her distress (Genesis 16:7–13), showing His compassion for the marginalized.

• The verb “bore” grounds the statement in real time and space: a literal birth, a literal child, a literal fulfillment of earlier prophecy (Genesis 16:11).

• Although Ishmael is physically Abraham’s offspring, the verse carefully prepares us for the genealogical fork that follows—Isaac’s line will carry the covenant (Genesis 17:19;Hebrews 11:18), while Ishmael’s twelve sons will form a separate, great nation (Genesis 25:13–18).

• This duality showcases God’s balance of justice and grace: He honors His word to Abraham regarding Ishmael’s posterity while preserving the unique redemptive line leading to Christ (Matthew 1:1).

Genesis 25:12 introduces Ishmael’s family record with deliberate, loaded phrases. Each clause affirms God’s historical accuracy, underscores Ishmael’s genuine sonship to Abraham, highlights Hagar’s Egyptian background and servant status, and prepares us for the divergent destinies of Abraham’s sons. The verse invites us to marvel at God’s meticulous faithfulness—keeping every promise, weaving every life event, and guiding history toward His ultimate redemptive purpose.

(12)These are the generations of Ishmael.--Following the usual rule of this book, Ishmael is not dismissed from the Divine presence without a short record of his history, after which he falls into the background, and the historian proceeds with his main subject, which is the preparation for the forming of that race and nation of whom, according to the flesh, Christ came. These brief notices, moreover, of personages not in the direct line of Christ's ancestry have their value in God's great purpose that the Jewish Messiah should be the Redeemer of the Gentiles also (Romans 10:12); and consequently from the first their history was not alien from God's counsels. (Romans 10:13-15) The sons of Ishmael.--Of the Arabian tribes sprung from Ishmael we read of Nebajoth and Kedar inIsaiah 60:7 as pastoral tribes, rich in flocks. Dumah is deemed worthy of a special prophecy (Isaiah 21:11); while the people of Tema are described there inGenesis 25:14 as generous and hospitable, and inJob 6:19 they appear as active traders. (See alsoJeremiah 25:23.) Jetur, Naphish, and other Hagarite tribes, were conquered by Reuben and his allies (1Chronicles 5:19), and Jetur became the Iturea ofLuke 3:1. For the occasional references made to these and other sons of Ishmael in classical writers, the reader may consult Smith'sDictionary of the Bible,or similar works. The abode of the twelve tribes sprung from Ishmael was the northern part of Arabia, whence gradually they extended their influence, and apparently soon absorbed the Joktanites (Genesis 10:26-30), themselves a kindred Semitic race. These genealogies would be inexplicable if we did not remember that successive waves of people occupied these lands, and that while the old names remained, the dominant race was new. So the rapid growth of individuals into tribes (as of Midian,Genesis 25:2) was the result of races of higher civilisation and greater energy subduing feeble and less highly-developed tribes. Hence inGenesis 25:16 the sons of Ishmael are called "princes." We gather from this that Ishmael had gathered round him a body of men of the Semitic race, of whom large numbers were constantly on the move towards Egypt (Genesis 12:15), and by their aid had established his rule in Paran, and handed it on to his sons. . . .