ISMAHEL. - A name identical, in Hebrew, to Ishmael (Jihad'e'l); but the Vulgate, for the most part, slightly distinguishes the son of Abraham (Ismael) from the other personages of the same name (Ismahel).

Among these, the following are to be remembered:

1. I., father of Zabadiah: his son was one of the nobles of Judah under King Jehoshaphat (v.) and an active collaborator in the work of reform (II Par. 19, 11).

2. I., son of Jehoiada, one of the centurions who, under the orders of the high priest Jehoiada (v.), struck down Queen Athaliah (II Par. 31, 1).3. Ishmael, the killer of Gedaliah (v.). Son of Nethaniah, of the royal stock of Judah. After Jerusalem fell under King Nebuchadnezzar (387 B.C.), he initially collaborated with Gedaliah, whom the Babylonian king had left to govern Judea. But after three months, while the valiant governor, with the help of the prophet Jeremiah, was preparing for the difficult work of social reconstruction, Ishmael, instigated by the anti-Babylonian faction and supported by the king of the Ammonites, treacherously killed him in his residence at Mizpah, managing afterward to flee and take refuge with the Ammonites (II Kings 25:22-26; Jer. 40-41).

Gaetano Stano

@incollection{ec7_ismahel, author = {Stano, Gaetano}, title = {Ismahel}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VII}, pages = {302}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1951}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/ismahel} }

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