Ishmael

Ishmael (Hebrew: יִשְׁמָעֵאל, Modern Yishma'el, Tiberian Yišmāʻēl ISO 259-3, Yišmaˁel; Greek: Ἰσμαήλ Ismaēl; Arabic: إسماعيل‎ ʾIsmāʿīl; Latin: Ismael) is a figure in the Tanakh and the Qur'an and was Abraham's first son according to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Ishmael was born to Abraham and Sarah's handmaiden Hagar (Genesis 16:3). According to the Genesis account, he died at the age of 137 (Genesis 25:17).

The Book of Genesis and Islamic traditions consider Ishmael to be the ancestor of the Ishmaelites and patriarch of Qaydār. According to Muslim tradition, Ishmael the Patriarch, and his mother Hagar, are said to be buried next to the Kaaba in Mecca.

Etymology

Cognates of Hebrew Yishma'el existed in various ancient Semitic cultures, including early Babylonian and Minæan. It is a theophoric name translated literally as "God (El) has hearkened", suggesting that "a child so named was regarded as the fulfillment of a divine promise".

Genesis narrative

This is the account of Ishmael from Genesis Chapters 16, 17, 21, 25

Ismail (disambiguation)

Ismail may refer to:

See also

Ismail (mangonel expert)

Ismail (Arabic: إسماعيل‎; Chinese: 亦思馬因; pinyin: Yisimayin; Wade–Giles: I-ssŭ-ma-yin; d. 1330) was a Muslim Iraqi mangonel expert who served in Kublai Khan’s army in the conquest of the Southern Song Dynasty.

In 1271, Kublai Khan dispatched envoys to obtain persons skilled in the management of mangonels from his kinsman Abaqa, the Ilkhan in Persia. The latter sent Al al-Din and Ismail, together with their families, by post route to Hangzhou, where they began by building large mangonels which they erected in front of the city gates. In 1273 he served at the Siege of Xiangyang. He surveyed the approaches, and planted a mangonel at the southeast corner. Its weight was 150 catties (over 200 lbs./440 kg) and when the machinery was discharged, the noise was said to shake heaven and earth. It broke down all before it, and pierced the ground to a depth of seven feet (2 m).

Yisimayin died in 1330 and was succeeded by his son Yakoob 亞古.

References

This article incorporates material from Herbert Giles's A Chinese Biographical Dictionary (London: Arthur Probsthain, 1898), which is now in the public domain.