Dumah (son of Ishmael)

Dumah (Aramaic for "silence") was the sixth son of Ishmael, the son of biblical Abraham and Hagar.

Biblical references

The generations of Ishamel are the ninth recorded in the Book of Genesis. In Genesis (21:18), the angel of God promises Hagar and Abraham that their seed will forge a great nation and in Genesis (17:20), it is recorded that Ishamel produced 12 sons, the forefathers of 12 tribes.^[1] Dumah is sixth son of Ishamel and is mentioned in Genesis (25:14) and Chronicles (1:30).^[2]

The tribe of Dumah

In the Book of Isaiah (21:11), Dumah is mentioned in the context of Seir, which was associated with the territory of Edom in the Negev region. Attempts to locate the tribe named for and descended from Dumah have produced multiple possible identifications.^[2] A Dumah (Deir ad-Duma) in the vicinity of Hebron which is mentioned in Joshua (15:52) is one possibility. However, according to Geoffrey Bromiley, the oracle concerning Dumah in Isaiah (21:11f) seems better suited to a place in Arabia, suggesting the site of Dumat al-Jandal as a more likely contender. Known today as Al-Jawf, in ancient times it is mentioned in inscriptions of the Assyrian monarchs as Adummatu and is described as "a fortress of Arabia", "situated in the desert", that was destroyed by Sennacherib's forces.^[2]

References

1. ^ Edwards, 2007, p. 245.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Bromiley, 1979, p. 995.

Bibliography

• Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1979), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (2nd, revised ed.), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, ISBN 0802837816, 9780802837813, http://books.google.com/?id=-J6rtnfjHQoC&pg=PA995&dq=dumah+ishmael 
• Edwards, Larry D (2007), The Twelve Generations of the Creation!, Xulon Press, ISBN 1600349137, 9781600349133, http://books.google.com/?id=t8mv-tVL7isC&pg=PA245&dq=dumah+ishmael 
• Rosenmüller, Ern. Frid. Car; Morren, Nathaniel (1841), The Biblical Geography of Asia Minor, Phoenicia, and Arabia, Thomas Clark, http://books.google.com/?id=pXcOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA145&dq=dumah+ishmael#PPA145,M1 

Sons of Ishmael in order of birth (Genesis)
Nebaioth | Kedar | Adbeel | Mibsam | Mishma | Dumah | Massa | Hadad | Tema | Jetur | Naphish | Kedemah