Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Ishmael" in English language version.
ISHMAEL, or, in Hebrew, Yishmaʿeʾl; eldest son of Abraham. Ishmael's mother was Hagar, an Egyptian slave girl whom Sarah gave to Abraham because of her own infertility; in accordance with Mesopotamian law, the offspring of such a union would be credited to Sarah (Gn. 16:2). The name Yishmaʿeʾl is known from various ancient Semitic cultures and means 'God has hearkened,' suggesting that a child so named was regarded as the fulfillment of a divine promise. Ishmael was circumcised at the age of thirteen by Abraham and expelled with his mother at the instigation of Sarah, who wanted to ensure that Isaac would be Abraham's heir (Gn. 21). In the New Testament, Paul uses this incident to symbolize the relationship between Judaism, the older but now rejected tradition, and Christianity (Gal. 4:21–31). In the Genesis account, God blessed Ishmael, promising that he would be the founder of a great nation and a 'wild ass of a man' always at odds with others (Gn. 16:12). He is credited with twelve sons, described as 'princes according to their tribes' (Gn. 25:16), representing perhaps an ancient confederacy. The Ishmaelites, vagrant traders closely related to the Midianites, were apparently regarded as his descendants. The fact that Ishmael's wife and mother are both said to have been Egyptian suggests close ties between the Ishmaelites and Egypt. According to Genesis 25:17, Ishmael lived to the age of 137. Islamic tradition tends to ascribe a larger role to Ishmael than does the Bible. He is considered a prophet and, according to certain theologians, the offspring whom Abraham was commanded to sacrifice (although surah 37:99-111 of the Qur'an never names that son). Like his father Abraham, Ishmael too played an important role in making Mecca a religious center (2:127-129). Judaism has generally regarded him as wicked, although repentance is also ascribed to him. According to some rabbinic traditions, his two wives were Aisha and Fatima, whose names are the same as those of Muhammad's wife and daughter. Both Judaism and Islam see him as the ancestor of Arabian peoples.
Ishmael married a Moabitess named 'Adishah or 'Aishah (variants "'Ashiyah" and "'Aifah," Arabic names; Targ. pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. xxi. 21; Pirḳe R. El. l.c.); or, according to "Sefer ha-Yashar" (Wayera), an Egyptian named Meribah or Merisah.
...In medieval Hebrew usage, Ishmael represents the muslim world (i.e., the arabs and later the turks)
We already know from the basic narrative that Hagar the Egyptian provided an Egyptian wife for her son and an Egyptian daughter-in-law for herself (Gen. 21:21). The wife remained nameless, but we know this would not be for long. One suggestion in Pirqe de Rabbi Eliezer (The Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer), from the eighth century, written probably under Islamic rule, is that Ishmael had two wives named Aisha and Fatima, which happen to be the names of Muhammad's wife and daughter, respectively (Pirqe R. El. 30). Rather than coincidence, this could have been a way of emphasizing the close affinity of Islamic peoples with the great prophet and founder. At all events, Ishmael (Isma'il) became the symbol, representative, and patriarch of the Arab peoples in general and, in virtue of his noble descent and Arabian origins, of Islamic peoples...
Ishmael married a Moabitess named 'Adishah or 'Aishah (variants "'Ashiyah" and "'Aifah," Arabic names; Targ. pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. xxi. 21; Pirḳe R. El. l.c.); or, according to "Sefer ha-Yashar" (Wayera), an Egyptian named Meribah or Merisah.
