I. Name

Ishmael is the eponym of the Ishmaelite tribes who traced their ancestry back to Abraham/Abram and visited his tomb at Hebron (Machpelah, Gen. 25.9). The name as such is common Semitic and is attested from the earliest times onward (Knauf 1985:38 n.170; Archi 1988:51). His name is explained in Gen. 16.11 (J.) and Gen. 21.17 (E.) as a wish for answer, an explanation which tallies with the traditional understanding of this name (Noth, IPN, 198). The name is not only found in early Mesopotamia (3rd …