ISHMAELITES. - This is the name given, from that of their father, to the descendants of Ishmael.
He had 12 sons, presented in the Bible as the progenitors of 12 Arab tribes: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, Kedemah (cf. Gen. 25, 12 ff.). The I., together with the Midianites, are mentioned in the account of Joseph sold (Gen. 37, 27 ff.; 39, 1): they were merchants who carried spices and aromatics into Egypt. The I. must have had close contacts with the Midianites and the Edomites, with whom they are often mentioned in the Bible (cf. Gen. 28, 9; 36, 3; Iud. 8, 3, 24; Iud. 2, 13; I Par. 2, 17; 27, 30; Ps. 82, 7). Like their father, they adopted a nomadic life. As is well known, present-day Arabs claim descent from Ishmael; but not all descend from him. Genuine descendants of Ishmael are generally recognized among the Bedouin Arabs, who dwell between the steppes of Palestine and the Syro-Arabian desert. Gaetano Stano