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The Arab peoples are destined to
play a significa nt role in the develop–
ment of future world events. They
will be at the very center of a series of
crises which will plunge the Middle
East into a major war-ultimately
drawing in all the nations of the
earth!
What ls an Arab?
But first-just wha t is an Arab? This
question has plligued scholars for
centuries. Peoples of many different
ethnic groups, often exhibi ting wide–
ly differing physical characteristics,
consider themselves or are considered
by others to be "Arabs." Experts
place the number of "Arabs" in the
world t oday at well over
100,000,000.
The Arabic term
al-Arab
ongJ–
nally referred only to the wandering
Bedouins
(Badawis)
of the Arabian
Desert. The Bedouins consider
themselves to be the original Arabs
and the only true Arabs remaining
today. Scattered from Morocco to
lran-but concentrated in the Ara–
bian Peninsula-the Bedouins main–
tain a lifestyle which has changed
little since the time of the Old Tes–
tament.
But t he meaning of the term
"Arab" has changed over the centu–
ries. During the Moslem military
conquests of the seventh and eighth
centuries
A.D.,
widespread Bedouin
intermarr iage with the indigenous
peoples of conquered North Africa
and other areas of the Middle East
served to blur earlicr ethnic distinc–
tions.
To this day, no standard or "offi–
cial" definition of an Arab has yet
been agreed upon, or is likely to be.
The best criterion of who is an Arab
is probably
/anguage.
Therefore
many use the term "Arabic-speaking
peoples" instead of "Arabs" to desig–
nate a linguistic group composed of
many diverse peoples.
Where Dld the Araba Come From?
Nations are merely families grown
big. In general, the Arab peoples are
descended from one man-[shmael
(called
lsmail
by Arabs) , the son of
the bíblica! patriarch Abraham (or
Jbrahim).
The Arabs themselves ac–
knowledge tbis. The story is found in
8
the book of Genesis, beginning in
chapter 16.
Abraham's wife Sarah was unable
to have children. Sarah suggested
that Abraham take Hagar the Egyp–
tian, ber handmaid, and obtain an
heir by ber. Abrabam agreed, and
Hagar conceived a child.
As could be expected, friction soon
developed between Sarab and Hagar.
Sarah began to treat Hagar harshly.
When she could take it no longer,
Hagar fled into the desert. There an
angel appeared to her, telling her to
return to Sarah. The angel declared:
" Behold, thou art with cbild, · and
sbalt bear a son, and shalt call his
name Ishmael [meaning "God will
hear"]; because the Lord hath heard
thy affiiction" (Genesis 16:ll). The
angel also revealed that her progeny
would be multiplied exceedingly,
that it would " not be numbered for
multitude." So Hagar returned and
soon afterwards presented Abraham
with a son.
Thirteen years passed. God then
appeared to Abrabam a nd a n–
nounced tbat Sarah-then age 90-–
would soon bear Abraham a son!
Abraham was incredulous. More–
over, he had grown to !ove Ishmael
greatly and desired that he be his
heir and receive the birthright bless–
ings. "O that Ishmael might live be–
fore tbee! " Abraham entreated
God.
But God replied: "Sarah thy wife
shall bear tbee a son indeed; and thou
shalt call his name Isaac: and 1 will
establish my covenant witb
him
..."
(Genesis 17: 19). But God understood
Abraham's concern for lshmael's fu–
ture, and assured him: "And as for
lshmael ,
1
have heard tbee: Behold, I
have blessed him, and will make him
fruitful , and will multiply him ex–
ceedingly; twelve princes shall he be–
get, and
1
will make him a great
nation" (verse 20).
After the ·birth of Isaac, Hagar
and Ishmael were cast forth into the
desert at tbe insistence of Sarah.
There God miraculously preserved
them and reaffirmed His promise to
make of Ishmael a great nation
(Genesis 21:18). "And God was
with the lad," the account contin–
ues, "and he grew, and dwelt in the
wilderness, and became an archer.
And he dwelt in the wilderness of
Paran [the modern Negev Desert] :
and his mother took him a wife out
of the land of Egypt" (verses 20-
21). One or two additional wives
were later added.
As
God had prophesied, Ishmael
became the father of 12 sons, whose
names are recorded in Genesis 25: 13-
16: Nebajoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mib–
sam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Had–
ar, Tema, Jetur , Napbish and Kede–
mah. Ishmael also had one daughter,
called Maha la tb or Basbemath
(Genesis 28:9; 36:3), who married
Esau , the son of the patriarch
Isaac.
A Great Nation
Ishmael died at the age of 137 (Gen–
esis 25: 17). As God had promised ,
his twelve sons grew into a "great
nation"- today numbering scores of
millions!
The specific genealogies of each of
tbe modern-day Arab tribes, sub–
tribes, families and clans are virtual–
ly impossible to trace back in every
caseto their ultimate bíblica! origins.
But sorne of the major lines of de–
scent are known. For example: From
Ishmael' s son Kedar
(Qaidar
in
Arabic)~ated
approximately 1840
B.c.-can be traced a line of descent
to Adnan (or
Qais)-122
B.c.- and
from him (21 generations further on)
to Mohammed
(A.D.
570-632) of the
Koreish tribe, the founder and proph–
et of the Is1amic faith.
Though lshmael is considered to
have been the progenitor of the ma–
jority of the Arab world, there are
indications of sorne intermingling of
Ishmael ites with other related
peoples- specifically the Joktanites
and Keturahites.
Joktan (called
Qahtan
or
Kahtan
by the Arabs) was tbe son of the
patriarch Eber (Genesis l 0:25), who
lived many generations before Abra–
bam and Isbmael. This Joktan–
whom authorities consider to have
been the u1timate father of all
south–
ern
Arabs- had 13 sons, named in
Genesis 10:26-29. One of them, Jer–
ah
(Yarab
to the Arabs) , is believed
to have founded the kingdom of
Yemen in the southern part of the
Arabian Península. Sorne authorities
believe bis name was the origin of the
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1979