In Genesis 17:20 God says that He will make Ishmael a great nation. Muslim apologists often point out that this is somehow connected to Muhammad. What exactly does the verse say? Let’s have a look.
And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
If we look at this the term “great nation” it seems to refer to numbers. In the first part of the verse, God talks about increasing Ishmael’s numbers. Is this connected to Muhammad at all? Keep in mind that this isn’t a prophecy about a prophet; this is a prophecy about a nation. Obviously today there are millions of Arab people in the Middle East and other places in the world. Most Arabs are Muslim though I’ve met a good number of Christian and atheist Arabs as well.
Basically this is the only verse where we find a promise to Ishmael. Ishmael is not promised a covenant, land, or prophets. It seems that they’ll have political success as they’re promised to have twelve rulers in their descendants. It’s ironic because if I know anything about Arabs, they love talking about politics.
Here is verse 21:
But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.”
So the covenant is established with Isaac, not Ishmael. However, when you look at verses 19 through 22 the promise of the great nation comes as a consolation almost. God is talking to Abraham. He tells Abraham of the covenant with the offspring of Sarah, says that Ishmael will be a great nation, then reaffirms the covenant with Sarah.
It’s almost as if God would give the grand prize to the offspring of Sarah but don’t worry, Ishmael will still get something. Now, God made this promise before the birth of Isaac. We seem to be forgetting something though. Abraham’s days of having children weren’t over. We turn to Genesis 25:1-2.
Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah.
Abraham had six more children. What were these children promised? Absolutely nothing. Remember that Isaac had the covenant, Ishmael had the great nation, and the rest got nothing. There are three categories for Abraham’s offspring. Traditionally Muslims try to say that the text has been corrupted and Ishmael was part of the covenant. In light of looking at all the offspring there are three categories and they seem to be very specific. It’s also a testament to the Bible’s authenticity because history easily played out that way. Isaac had the covenant, Arabs became numerous and the other children didn’t amount to much.
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