Genesis 25:13

And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

25:11-18 Ishmael had twelve sons, whose families became distinct tribes. They peopled a very large country that lay between Egypt and Assyria, called Arabia. The number and strength of this family were the fruit of the promise, made to Hagar and to Abraham, concerning Ishmael.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Nebaioth - Isaiah 60:7 is preserved in the Nabataei inhabiting Arabia Petraea, and extending far toward the East. "Kedar" Isaiah 21:17 appears in the Cedrei of Pliny (H. N. 5, 12) who dwell east of Petraea. "Adbeel Mibsam," and "Mishma are otherwise unknown. The last is connected with the Μαισαιμενεῖς Maisaimeneis of Ptol. (v. 7, 21). "Dumah" Isaiah 21:11 is probably Δούμεθα Doumetha (Ptol. vi. 19, 7) and Domata (Plin. H. N. 6, 32) and Dumat el-Jendel in Nejd and the Syrian desert. "Massa" may be preserved in the Μασανοὶ Masanoi of Ptolemy (v. 19, 2), northeast of Duma. "Hadar" is Hadad in 1 Chronicles 1:30, the Samaritan Pentateuch, Onkelos, perhaps the Septuagint, and many codices. It is supposed to be Χαττηνία Chatteenia (Polyb.), Attene, and to lie between Oman and Bahrein. "Tema" Job 6:19; Isaiah 21:14; Jeremiah 25:23 lay on the borders of Nejd and the Syrian desert. "Jetur" remains in Ituraea, Jedur, northeast of the sea of Galilee. Some suppose the Druses descended from him. "Naphish" 1 Chronicles 6:19, 1 Chronicles 6:22 lay in the same quarter. "Kedemah" is otherwise unknown. "In their towns and in their castles." The former are unwalled collections of houses or perhaps tents; the latter, fortified keeps or encampments. "Twelve princes," one for each tribe, descended from his twelve sons.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Ge 25:12-18. Descendants of Ishmael. Before passing to the line of the promised seed, the historian gives a brief notice of Ishmael, to show that the promises respecting that son of Abraham were fulfilled—first, in the greatness of his posterity (compare Ge 17:20); and, secondly, in their independence.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Nebajoth; of whom see Isaiah 60:7. From whom part of Arabia was called Nabathaea.

Of

Kedar, see Psalm 120:5 Isaiah 21:16 Jeremiah 49:28; the father of those called Cedraei, or Cedareni, in Arabia.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael,.... After mentioned: by their names, according to their generations; which were imposed upon them at their birth, and are recited according to the order in which they were born, as follows:

the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth: mentioned in Isaiah 60:7; and from whence a people of the Arabs are called Nabathaeans, and their country Nabathaea. Josephus (i) says, that all the country from Euphrates to the Red sea is called the Nabatene country. The posterity of this man inhabited part of Arabia Deserta and of Arabia Petraea, even to the entrance of Arabia Felix. Strabo (k) reckons the Nabataeans among the Arabians, and calls Petra the metropolis of Arabia Petraea, Petra Nabataea, and Petra of the Arabian Nabataeans, who he says dwelt about Syria, and often made excursions into it; and observes, that their country is populous and abounds with pastures; hence the rams of Nebaioth, mentioned in Isaiah 60:7; Pliny also (l) places them in Arabia, and says they inhabit the town called Petra, and that they border upon Syria.

And Kedar is the second son of Ishmael; and the posterity of this man and their country are reckoned in Arabia by Isaiah, Isaiah 21:13; and they are so well known to be Arabians, that the Arabic language is most frequently, in Jewish writings, called the language of Kedar. These are the people whom Pliny (m) names Cedrei, and mentions them along with the Nabathaeans, as near unto them, and indeed they dwelt in the same country, Arabia Petraea, and in tents, living by pasturage, hence they are sometimes called Scenites; and mention is made of the tents of Kedar in Sol 1:5; these are the Scenite Arabs, called Saracens by Ammianus Marcellinus (n). Two other sons of Ishmael follow:

and Adbeel and Mibsam; of whom no mention is made elsewhere, nor are there any traces of their names, unless the Agubeni, placed by Ptolemy (o) near Arabia Felix.

(i) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 12. sect. 4. (k) Geograph. l. 16. p. 528, 534, 536. (l) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 11. & l. 6. c. 28. & l. 12. c. 17. (m) lbid. l. 5. c. 11. (n) L. 22. p. 228. l. 23. p. 250. Ed. Vales. (o) Geograph. l. 5. c. 19.

Geneva Study Bible

And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

13. and these are the names] Cf. the genealogy in 1 Chronicles 1:29-31.

Nebaioth] Mentioned also in Genesis 28:9, Genesis 36:3, and in Isaiah 60:7, where the name is associated also with Kedar. Probably Nebaioth is to be identified with the Nabajâti of the inscriptions of Assurbanipal. The identification with the Nabataeans, of the Christian era, is now generally abandoned.

Kedar] Cf. Isaiah 60:7. Probably the Assyrian Ḳidri, a region on the Syro-Arabian frontier, mentioned as a hostile people in Psalm 120:5, dwelling in black tents (Song of Solomon 1:5) and in open villages (Isaiah 42:11; Jeremiah 49:28-31).

Possibly the Cedraei mentioned together with Nabataei by Pliny are to be identified with these tribes.

Dumah] Possibly the same as in Isaiah 21:11.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 13. - And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; - "Heights;" the Nabathaeans, a people of Northern Arabia, possessed of abundant flocks (Isaiah 9:7), and, according to Diodorus, living by merchandise and rapine (Gesenius). From Petraea they subsequently extended as far as Babylon (Keil) - and Kedar, - "Black Skin;" the Cedrei of Pliny (Gesenius, Keil, Rosen-mailer); characterized as good bowmen (Isaiah 21:17), and dwelling between Arabia Petraea and Babylon - and Adbeel, - "Miracle of God" (Gesenius); of whom nothing is known - and Mibsam, - "Sweet Odor" (Gesenius); equally uncertain. Genesis 25:13

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

~~c==============================gen Genesis 25:1 Chronicles 1:28-31)

To show that the promises of God, which had been made to Ishmael (Genesis 16:10. and Genesis 17:20), were fulfilled, a short account is given of his descendants; and according to the settled plan of Genesis, this account precedes the history of Isaac. This is evidently the intention of the list which follows of the twelve sons of Ishmael, who are given as princes of the tribes which sprang from them. Nebajoth and Kedar are mentioned in Isaiah 60:7 as rich possessors of flocks, and, according to the current opinion which Wetzstein disputes, are the Nabataei et Cedrei of Pliny (h. n. 5, 12). The Nabataeans held possession of Arabia Petraea, with Petra as their capital, and subsequently extended toward the south and north-east, probably as far as Babylon; so that the name was afterwards transferred to all the tribes to the east of the Jordan, and in the Nabataean writings became a common name for Chaldeans (ancient Babylonians), Syrians, Canaanites, and others. The Kedarenes are mentioned in Isaiah 21:17 as good bowmen. They dwelt in the desert between Arabia Petraea and Babylon (Isaiah 42:11; Psalm 120:5). According to Wetzstein, they are to be found in the nomad tribes of Arabia Petraea up to Harra. The name Dumah, Δούμεθα Αουμαίθα (Ptol. v. 19, 7, Steph. Byz.), Domata (Plin. 6, 32), has been retained in the modern Dumat el Jendel in Nejd, the Arabian highland, four days' journey to the north of Taima. - Tema: a trading people (Job 6:19; Isaiah 21:14; mentioned in Jeremiah 25:23, between Dedan and Bus) in the land of Taima, on the border of Nejd and the Syrian desert. According to Wetzstein, Dma and Tma are still two important places in Eastern Hauran, three-quarters of an hour apart. Jetur and Naphish were neighbours of the tribes of Israel to the east of the Jordan (1 Chronicles 5:19), who made war upon them along with the Hagrites, the Αγραῖοι of Ptol. and Strabo. From Jetur sprang the Ituraeans, who lived, according to Strabo, near the Trachonians in an almost inaccessible, mountainous, and cavernous country; according to Wetzstein, in the mountains of the Druses in the centre of the Hauran, possibly the forefathers of the modern Druses. The other names are not yet satisfactorily determined. For Adbeel, Mibsam, and Kedma, the Arabian legends give no corresponding names. Mishma is associated by Knobel with the Μαισαιμανείς of Ptol. vi. 7, 21, to the N.E. of Medina; Massa with the Μασανοί on the N.E. of Duma; Hadad (the proper reading for Hadar, according to 1 Chronicles 1:30, the lxx, Sam., Masor., and most MSS) with the Arabian coast land, Chathth, between Oman and Bahrein, a district renowned for its lancers (Χαττηνία, Polyb.; Attene, Plin.).