And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee, &c,
Took notice of his prayer for him, and accepted of and would
answer him, and did, as follows:
behold, I have blessed him;
determined in his mind to bless him, promised to bless him, (
Genesis
16:10 Genesis
16:12 ) ; had blessings laid up and in reserve for him:
and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him
exceedingly;
as he did, many of the Arabian nations, the Hagarenes, Saracens,
and Turks, all springing from him:
twelve princes shall he beget;
whose names are given, ( Genesis
25:13-15 ) ; and their number there exactly agrees with this
prophecy. Melo F19, the Heathen writer above
mentioned, says, that Abraham, of his other wife, the Egyptian
servant (that is, Hagar), begat twelve sons, which he mistakes
for twelve sons of Ishmael, his son by Hagar; and, adds he, these
going into Arabia, divided the country among them, and were the
first that reigned over the inhabitants of it; hence down to our
times the kings of the Arabians have twelve names like to those.
So the Saracens were divided into twelve tribes, of which there
were so many "phylarchi", or governors; and the Turks also are
divided into the same number of tribes F20. And
I will make him a great nation;
as the nation of the Turks especially is; and the Turkish empire
is frequently called in Jewish writings the kingdom of Ishmael,
as the Arabic language is called the Ishmaelitish language.