Genesis Encyclopedia:

I

Iram
     A chief of Edom. (36:43)

Isaac
     Isaac has his own page. To read about Isaac, click here.

Iscah
     A child of Haran. (11:29)

Ishbak
     A child of Abraham by his second wife, Keturah (25:2)

Ishmael
     The oldest son of Abraham, and his only child by Hagar, Sarai's Egyptian handmaid. Ishmael was born when Abraham was 86 years old. (16:15-16) Even though Ishmael was not the favorite son, he was still a son of Abraham. So God said "I will make Ishmael fruitful, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will still be with his younger brother Isaac after Isaac is born." (17:20)
     Ishmael was circumcised at age 13. (17:25)
     After Isaac was born, Sarai had Abraham cast Hagar and Ishmael out of the family. They went to the wilderness of Beersheba. (21:14) When Ishmael grew up, he became an archer, and lived in the wilderness of Paran. It was here that he started his own tribe, the Ishmaelites. He married an Egyptian woman. (21:20-21) His children were Nabajoth, Kedar, Abdeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Napish, and Kademah. (25:13-15) These were the beginnings of the Ishmaelites.
     Ishmael had at least one daughter, but there is a discrepancy about her. 28:9 says that he had a daughter named Mahalath who married Esau. But later, 36:3 says that he had a daughter named Basemath who married Esau. One might think that Mahalath and Basemath are really just two names for the same person. But 26:34 says that Esau had another wife named Basemath, who was the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
     Ishmael joined Isaac in burying Abraham. (25:9) He died at age 137. (25:17)

Ishmaelites
     A tribe that are descendants of Ishmael. Their beginnings are told in chapter 25.
     Joseph's brothers sold Joseph to a group of Ishmaelites who were traveling on camels from Gilead to Egypt. (37:25,28; 39:1)

Ishuah (also called Ishvah)
     A son of Asher. He was one of Jacob's family that moved to Egypt. (46:5-8,17)

Ishvah (also called Ishuah)
     A son of Asher. He was one of Jacob's family that moved to Egypt. (46:5-8,17)

Israel - There are two:
     1. The new name given to Jacob. He was first called Israel after his struggle with the angel. (32:28) Then later, he and his family went to the city of Bethel. There, God officially renamed Jacob as "Israel". (35:10)
     2. The collective name for the twelve tribes that trace their ancestry back to Jacob. (32:32; 49:16,28)
     Jacob (later renamed Israel) had twelve sons. Each of his sons started his own tribe. Each tribe is named after the son that started it. The twelve tribes are: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin. (49:1-28)

Israelite
     A member of any of the twelve tribes of Israel. It doesn't matter which one. If a person is a descendant of any of the twelve tribes that traces its ancestry back to Jacob (which are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin), then that person is an Israelite. (49:1-28)

Issachar
     The fifth son of Jacob by his wife Leah. (30:18; 35:23; 49:14)
     Issachar's sons were Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron. (46:13)

Isui
     A son of Asher. He was one of Jacob's family that moved to Egypt. (46:5-8,17)

Ithran
     A son of Dishon. (36:26)


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