Jews and Others
ible with, an underlying presupposition that ‘‘Ishmaelites’’ are nomads from
the desert. They may be assumed to wear gold rings (cf. Judges : on the
booty taken by Gideon from theMidianites, who are called Ishmaelites in this
verse), or may be associated with tents or camels.^20 But in no case is any fur-
ther comment offered, nor any common descent explicitly alluded to, other
than that to be deduced from the name itself (which is, however,notused, in
either the Hebrew or the Greek, in the account in Genesis of the descendants
of Ishmael). Nor still less is there any allusion to a resemblance or relation-
ship in customs or observances between Israelites and Ishmaelites. In Psalms
/:, indeed, there is a clear allusion to the hostility of the surrounding
peoples: ‘‘the tents of Edom, and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Agarim.’’
It should be noted also, as shown in an important article by I. Eph‘al, that
while the term ‘‘Arab’’ is used in the Bible as the designation of nomadic indi-
viduals or peoples, no explicit identification of ‘‘Ishmaelites’’ and ‘‘Arabs’’ is
offered anywhere in the biblical text.^21 Josephus’ introduction of this equa-
tion is therefore a deliberate editorial decision on his part.
The relative brevity and lack of interest which characterise biblical refer-
ences to the ‘‘Ishmaelites,’’ compared with the editorial expansions by Jose-
phus, are very clear in Josephus’ highly novelistic retelling of the story of
Joseph. In the biblical narrative his brothers ‘‘raised their eyes and saw a party
of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels laden with gum, balm
and resin, on their way down to Egypt,’’ and Joseph was sold to them. In the
alternative version which is awkwardly combined with this, Joseph was put
in the well, but then sold to the Ishmaelites not by his brothers but by some
Midianite merchants.
Here again Josephus makes the ethnic identity of the Ishmaelites quite
explicit: ‘‘But Judas, another of the sons of Jacob, having seen some Arab
traders of the race of Ishmaelites conveying spices and Syrian merchandise
from Galadēnē for the Egyptian market, after Rubel’s departure advised his
brethren to draw up Joseph and sell him to these Arabs.’’^22 Theterm‘‘Arab’’is
not used of the Ishmaelite merchants in either the Hebrew text or the LXX.
It is again Josephus’ own interpretation.
. Note that Josephus is recounting the story of Gideon, drops the detail about the
rings, but retains inAnt. , , the identification of some of the defeated enemy as ‘‘Arabs’’
—‘‘The Midianites [Madiēnitai] and the Arabs [Arabes] fighting on their side.’’ For an Ish-
maelite and camels, cf. Chron. :.
. See I. Eph‘al, ‘‘ ‘Ishmael’ and ‘Arab(s)’: A Transformation of Ethnological Terms,’’
JNES (): .
. Genesis :–; :; Josephus,Ant.,.