in Scotch Law, signifies expiration. Thus we say "the ish of a lease." It signifies also to go out; thus we say, "free ish and entry" from and to any place.

ISHMAEL was Abraham's eldest son, born to him by Hagar. He made the desert into which he had been cast his abode, and by attaching himself to, and acquiring influence over, the native tribes, rose to great authority and influence. Although their lots were cast apart, it does not appear that any serious alienation existed between Ishmael and Isaac; for we read that they both joined in the sepulchral rites of their father Abraham (Gen. xxv. 9). This fact has not been noticed as it deserves. It is full of suggestive matter. As funerals in the East take place almost immediately after death, it is evident that Ishmael must have been called from the desert to the death-bed of his father; which implies that relations of kindness and respect had been kept up, although the brevity of the sacred narrative prevents any special notice of this circumstance. Ishmael had, probably, long before received an endowment from his father's property, similar to that which had been bestowed upon the sons of Keturah (Gen. xxv. 6). Nothing more is recorded of him than that he died at the age of 137 years, and was the father of twelve sons, who gave their names to as many tribes (Gen. xvii. 20; xxv. 13). He had also two daughters, one of whom became the wife of Esau.

Ishmael has no claim to the honour which is usually assigned to him, of being the founder of the Arabian nation. That nation existed before he was born. He merely joined it, and adopted its habits of life and character; and the tribes which sprung from him formed eventually an important section of the tribes of which it was composed. The celebrated prophecy which describes the habits of life which he, and in him his descendants, would follow, is therefore to be regarded not as describing habits which he would first establish, but such as he would adopt:—"Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael (God hears), because the Lord hath heard thine affliction. And he shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him, and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren" (Gen. xvi. 11, 12). This means, in short, that he and his descendants should lead the life of the Bedouins of the Arabian deserts; and how graphically this description portrays their habits, may be seen in the article Arabia, and in the works of Niebuhr, Burckhardt, Lane, &c.; and, more particularly, in the Arabian romance of Antar, which presents the most perfect picture of real Bedouin manners now in existence. The last clause, "He shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren," is pointedly alluded to in the brief notice of his death, which states that "he died in the presence of all his brethren" (Gen. xxv. 18). Of this expression, various explanations have been given, but the plainest is the most probable. It had seemingly some such force as this: The heritage of Canaan is, indeed, destined for another son of Abraham; but still the lot of Ishmael, and of those that spring from him, shall never be cast far apart from that of his brethren. This view is confirmed by the circumstance, that the Israelites did, in fact, occupy the country bordering on that in which the various tribes descended from Abraham or Terah had settled—the Ishmaelites, Edomites, Midianites, Moabites, Ammonites, &c. Most interpreters find in this passage, a promise that the descendants of Ishmael should never be subdued. But we are unable to discover this in the text; and, moreover, such has not been the fact, whether we regard the Ishmaelites apart from the other Arabians, or consider the promise made to Ishmael as applicable to the whole Arabian family.

See Arabia.