THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
Sam. ii.-iv. Were the Ephraimitic account extant, possibly the coloring of the story might be somewhat changed. Two points in the story appear trustworthy: that David wished to be recognized as the son-in-law of Saul, and that he was innocent of the death of Ishbosheth. The length of Ishbosheth's reign was probably a little less than that of David in Hebron (II Sam. vi. 5). (H. Guthe.)
Bibliography: A. KamphauseD, in ZATW. vi (1886), 43-97; the literature under Samuel, Books of; and the pertinent sections of the works cited under Ahab.
ISHMAEL (Hebr. Yishma'el, "God hears"; LXX., Ismael): The son of Abraham by Hagar (q.v.), an Egyptian slave. He was born in the house of Abraham and was included in the covenant of circumcision (Gen. xvii. 25, P). Since, however, it was the will of God that Isaac should be the sole heir of the covenant blessings, the Lord commanded Abraham to accede to the demands of his wife Sarah that Ishmael be driven from the house. After this enforced flight, a divine revelation came to Hagar (Gen. xxi., E), as she was driven to despair for her son, who was dying of thirst in the " desert of Beersheba." That this vision is only another version of that recounted in chap. xvi. (Hupfeld, Dillmann, and others) can not be maintained, since the details of the divine appearance are entirely different and there is also a difference between the chronology of P and that of E, the former (Gen. xvii. 25) making Ishmael at least fifteen years of age at the time, while E (Gen. xxi.) regards him as still a child of tender years (cf. the LXX. of xxi. 14 which says expressly: " and she placed the child upon her shoulder ").
The especial importance of Ishmael lies in the relation of his descendants to Israel. They were to have no claim on the promised inheritance of the people of God, but were destined to multiply and spread. These descendants are characterized by the words of the angel concerning the ancestor himself (Gen. xvi. 12) : " And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him," thus sketching with a few strokes the spirit and manner of life of the Bedouins. According to Gen. xvi. 12, they were to dwell farther to the eastward than their brothers, and in fact they had possession of the desert east of Palestine, occupying also the country to the south, from the Persian Gulf to the northeastern boundary of Egypt. They spread out over the whole of northern Arabia, and therefore their ethnic designation, Ishmaelites, is used generally for the tribes of northern Arabia, including also the Midianites. Twelve peoples of northern Arabia are derived from Ishmael in Gen. xxv. 12 sqq. (P), where the genealogy is more ethnographic than is usually the case in the histories of the patriarchs. Ishmael is, however, a primitive personal name which occurs in ancient Arabic inscriptions, and in this case the leader gave his name to the tribe, although all the groups of peoples which are brought into connection with him were not his actual descendants. That Israel recognized its blood-relationship with these tribes rests upon a correct tradition. The Mohammedan Arabs, who proudly reckon Ishmael among their ancestors, say that he and his mother were buried
in the Kaaba at Mecca (Abulfeda, Historia anteislamica, ed. H. O. Fleischer, pp. 24 sqq., Leipsic, 1831; E. Pocock, Specimen historiae Arabum, pp. 6-7, 177, 506-507, Oxford, 1806; B. d' Herbelot, Bibliotheque orientate, Maestricht, 1776, s.vv. " Hagar," " Ismael," " Ischak ").
(C. von Oeelli.)
Bibliography: Consult, besides the literature under Isaac and Arabia: A. H. Sayce, Higher Criticism and the Monuments, pp. 201-202, London, 1894; T. P. Hughes, Dictionary of Islam, pp. 216-220, ib. 1896; DB, ii. 502-505; EB, ii. 2211-2215; the appropriate sections in works on the history of Israel and the commentaries on Genesis.
ISHTAR. See Ashtoreth; Assyria, VII.; Babylonia, VII., 2, § 7, 3, § 5.
ISIDORE MERCATOR: A fictitious person, the alleged author of the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals (q.v.). He was formerly erroneously identified with Isidore of Seville; hence the name Pseudo-Isidore.
ISIDORE OF PELUSIUM: Egyptian abbot; b. at Alexandria probably before 370; d. near Pelusium (135 m. e. of Alexandria) about 440. He was presbyter and abbot in a cloister at the east mouth of the Nile, not far from Pelusium. It can not be proved that he was a pupil of John Chrysostom; but he was spiritually akin to him, and highly valued his writings. There are preserved more than 2,000 of his letters, mostly brief notes, but frequently of great length, which show him to have been a highly esteemed spiritual counselor, thoroughly aglow with holy earnestness; a very shepherd of souls, and a teacher versed in Scripture.
Isidore was an example of Greek monasticism in its noblest form. For him the practical philosophy of the disciples of Christ (i. 63 and elsewhere) throve only in withdrawal from the world, in voluntary poverty and abstinence. The soul could not discern God (i. 402) in the bustle of everyday life; only in the utmost emancipation from worldly wants did it approach divine freedom (ii. 19). Yet asceticism and flight from the world did not alone suffice: the garland of all virtues must be woven in monasticism, the peculiar dangers of which, however, did not escape Isidore. But though retired from the world, he still took part in the need and perils of Christianity, supporting, exhorting, wherever he could reach with his written message. He appeared to great advantage in his attitude toward Cyril of Alexandria. While at one with him in dogmatic opposition to Nestorius, he still perceived Cyril's intriguing spirit, and warned him against blind passion (i. 310); frankly warning the emperor, too, against the disorder provoked by the interference of his courtiers in dogmatic affairs (i. 311). But when Cyril, content with the fact that Nestorius had been dropped by the Antiochians, allowed some dogmatic concessions to his opponents, he had to hear the admonition from Isidore that he should stand fast, and not himself become a heretic (i. 324) . Isidore took to heart the dignity of the priesthood, and with great earnestness did he remind negligent ecclesiastics of their serious accountability. He thus very persistently rebuked Bishop Eusebius of Pelusium and his clergy, because they trafficked in priestly offices, suffered their congregations to decay, chose rather