God told Abraham that He would establish his covenant through Isaac, and when Abraham inquired as to Ishmael's role, God answered that Ishmael has been blessed and that he "will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget and I will make him a great nation." [14]
Because Ishmael was born due to Abraham and Sarah's impatience with God's promise of an heir, Ishmael's life was marked by conflict and prophecy. He was foretold to be a "wild donkey of a man," living in hostility towards his relatives.
Ishmael, son of Abraham through Hagar. In the Old Testament, Ishmael was conceived to be Abraham’s heir, but God’s covenant with Abraham was ultimately established through Isaac, and Ishmael was banished to the desert.
Ishmael is the son of Abraham and Hagar, the Egyptian slave-girl belonging to Sarah, Abraham’s wife. Abraham gave him the name Ishmael, which means “God hears,” presumably because he and Sarah had thought he was the son of God’s promise.
Ishmael’s life story is only hinted at in the biblical narrative, while much of his story is expounded in the Talmud and Midrash. So let’s dig deeper into Ishmael’s origins, and perhaps we’ll gain a better understanding of him—as well as why ultimately Isaac was chosen over Ishmael to be the progenitor of the Nation of Israel.
The author of Genesis includes the Ishmael account primarily to bring about a contrast between Isaac and Ishmael, not so much as persons but as illustrations of God’s working.
In the Book of Genesis, Ishmael was the first of Abraham's household to undergo the rite of circumcision. Later, Ishmael and his mother were banished to the wilderness at God's command after Abraham's primary wife came to view Ishmael as a threat to her own son, Isaac.