Genesis 25:13 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
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,
an appellation · noun, common feminine plural construct
sons
בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Ishmael
יִשְׁמָעֵ֔אלyish.ma.'El
H3458
Jishmael · proper noun, a man's name
names
בִּשְׁמֹתָ֖םbish.mo.Tam
H8034
an appellation · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
generations
לְתוֹלְדֹתָ֑םle.tol.do.Tam
H8435
(plural only) descent · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
firstborn
בְּכֹ֤רbe.Khor
H1060
firstborn · noun, common masculine singular construct
Ishmael
יִשְׁמָעֵאל֙yish.ma.'eL
H3458
Jishmael · proper noun, a man's name
Nebajoth
נְבָיֹ֔תne.va.Yot
H5032
Nebajoth · proper noun, a man's name
Kedar
וְקֵדָ֥רve.ke.Dar
H6938
Kedar · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Adbeel
וְאַדְבְּאֵ֖לve.'ad.be.'El
H110
Adbeel · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Mibsam
וּמִבְשָֽׂםu.miv.Sam
H4017
Mibsam · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Chronicles 1:29-31 These are their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
Isaiah 60:7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with accepta…
Psalms 120:5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
Song of Solomon 1:5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
Isaiah 42:11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, l…
Genesis 36:3 And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth.
Isaiah 21:16-17 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 25:11-18
Immediately after the account of Abraham's death, Moses begins the story of Isaac (Gen 25:11), and tells us where he dwelt and how remarkably God blessed him. Note, The blessing of Abraham did not die with him, but survived to all the children of the promise. But he presently digresses from the story of Isaac, to give a short account of Ishmael, forasmuch as he also was a son of Abraham, and God had made some promises concerning him, which it was requisite we should know the accomplishment of. Observe here what is said, 1. Concerning his children. He had twelve sons, twelve princes they are called (Gen 25:16), heads of families, which in process of time became nations, distinct tribes, numer…
his sons . . . buried him--Death often puts an end to strife, reconciles those who have been alienated, and brings rival relations, as in this instance, to mingle tears over a father's grave.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 25:13
Nebajoth - From whom came the Nabatheans, whose capital was Petra, or, according to Strabo, Nabathea. They dwelt in Arabia Petraea, and extended themselves on the east towards Arabia Deserta.
Kedar - The founder of the Cedreans, who dwelt near to the Nabatheans. The descendants of Kedar form a part of the Saracens.
Adbeel, and Mibsam - Where these were situated is not known.
John Gill on Genesis 25:13
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 o…
The Church Fathers
WHY ARE THE NAMES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISHMAEL BASED ON THE NAMES OF THEIR GENERATIONS? — What do these words mean: And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, according to the names of their generations ? For it is not sufficiently clear why he added, “according to the names of his generations”, since only those he begot are named, and not those begotten by others. Perhaps with these words: According to the names of their generations it is meant to indicate that the nations coming out of them are called by their respective names. But in this way the names of the nations would be in conformity with the names of the children of Ishmael, rather than the names of the latter, in conformity with those of the nations which did not exist until afterwards. We must therefore note this expression, for it is said even farther that they were "twelve rulers according to their nations (Gen. 25:16)." [
(Verse 13) And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations. The firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, and Kedar, and the rest, up to the place where it is said: They lived from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go towards Assyria. He fell in the sight of all his brothers. Twelve sons were born to Ishmael, and the firstborn was Nebaioth, from whom the whole region from the Euphrates to the Red Sea is called Nebaioth until this day, which is part of Arabia. For both their families, towns and villages, fortified castles, and three of them, Cedar in the desert, and Duma in another region, and Theman to the south, and Cedema to the east, are celebrated with this name. But what we read in the final section of this chapter, according to the Septuagint, is that he dwelt opposite the face of all his brothers (Gen. XIII, 18): it is more accurate to say what we have put, he died in the presence of all his brothers, that is, he died in the hands of all his children, with his surviving children, and with no one dying before him. But to be called brothers for the sons, Jacob also shows to Laban, saying: What is my sin, because you have persecuted me: and because you have searched all my vessels? What have you found of all the vessels of your house? Let it be placed before my brothers and your brothers: and let them judge between us (Ibid. 35). For we cannot believe, as Scripture recounts, that Jacob, apart from his children, had any brothers with him.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Adbeel — Miracle of God, the third of the twelve sons of Ishmael, and head of an Arabian tribe (Gen. 25:13; 1 Chr. 1:29).
Kedar — Dark-skinned, the second son of Ishmael (Gen. 25:13). It is the name for the nomadic tribes of Arabs, the Bedouins generally (Isa. 21:16; 42:11; 60:7; Jer. 2:10; Ezek. 27:21), who dwelt in the…
Mibsam — Fragrance. (1.) One of Ishmael’s twelve sons, and head of an Arab tribe (Gen. 25:13). (2.) A son of Simeon (1 Chr. 4:25).
Nebaioth — Height. (1.) Ishmael’s eldest son (Gen. 25:13), and the prince of an Israelitish tribe (16). He had a sister, Mahalath, who was one of Esau’s wives (Gen. 28:9; 36:3). (2.) The name of the Ishmaelite…
Nebaioth, Nebajoth — (heights), the “first-born of Ishmael,” (Genesis 25:13; 1 Chronicles 1:29) (B.C. about 1850), and father of a pastoral tribe named after him, the “rams Of Nebaioth” being mentioned by the prophet…
Adbeel · General references — General references
Genealogy · Of Ishmael — Of Ishmael
Hagar · General references — General references
Ishmael · .Children of — .Children of
Ishmaelites, The · Heads of tribes — Heads of tribes
Kedar · 1. — 1.
Mibsam · 1. — 1.
Nebaioth · General references — General references
Now these are the generations of Ishmael. This narration is not superfluous. In the commencement of the chapter, Moses alludes to what was done for the sons of Keturah. Here he speaks designedly more at large, for the purpose of showing that the promise of God, given in the seventeenth chapter (Genesis 17:1-22,) was confirmed by its manifest accomplishment. In the first place, it was no common gift of God that Ishmael should have twelve sons who should possess rank and authority over as many tribes; but inasmuch as the event corresponded with the promise, we must chiefly consider the veracity of God, as well as the singular benevolence and honor which he manifested towards his servant Abraha…
To show that the promises of God, which had been made to Ishmael (Gen 16:10. and Gen 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 Isa 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 th…
This record lists Ishmael’s descendants before tracing Isaac’s (25:19–35:29), which is in keeping with the literary arrangement of Genesis (see Genesis Book Introduction, “Summary”).
Rashi on Genesis 25:1
קטורה KETURAH — This is Hagar. She was named Keturah because her deeds were as beautiful (sweet) as incense (Ketoreth) (Genesis Rabbah 61). And since she closed her 'opening,' as she did not mate with anyone from the time she separated from Avraham (Genesis Rabbah 61:4).
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
