ISHMAEL was the son of Abraham and his Egyptian con cubine, Hagar. Through the jealousy of Sarah, mother and son were driven from the tribe, and saved from death by thirst through the miraculous discovery of a well (Gen. xxi. 8-2o). Ishmael grows up an archer (Gen. xxi. and a "wild ass of a man" (Gen. xvi. 12), living to the south and east of Palestine. He is the an cestor of twelve tribes of desert rangers (Gen. xxv. 12-18), of whom the most important seem to be Nebaioth (Assyrian Nabaitu and Pliny's Nabataei) and Kedar (Assyrian Kidru and Pliny's Cedrei). A third tribe, Dumah, may be the Domata of Pliny, and Jetur seems to be the eponymous ancestor of the Itureans.
"Ishmael," therefore, is used in a wide sense of the wilder, rov ing peoples encircling Canaan from the north-east to the south, related to but on a lower rank than the "sons" of Isaac. It is
practically identical with the term "Arabia" as used by the Assyr ians. Nothing certain is known of the history of these mixed popu lations. They are represented as warlike nomads and with a cer tain reputation for wisdom (Baruch iii. 23). Not improbably they spoke a dialect (or dialects) akin to Arabic or Aramaic. According to the Mohammedans, Ishmael, who is recognized as their ancestor, lies buried with his mother in the Kaaba in Mecca. See T. NOldeke, Ency. Bib., s.v., and the articles EDOM, MIDIAN.