In the Bible Abraham was given separate blessings for his children found in Genesis 12-17, two blessings one for the descendants of his son Isaac found in Genesis 17:2-9, Deuteronomy 1:7-8 and the other for the descendants of Ishmael found in Genesis 16:11-13, Genesis 17:20, Genesis 21:8-21. Upon hearing the Lord’s blessing for Isaac, Abraham pleaded with the Lord that Ishmael also be given a blessing. In the second covenant given to Ishmael, the Lord promises:

• To make his descendants one great nation
• That his descendants would not live in hostility with all his brothers
• that his descendants would live to the east of all his brothers

Ishmael’s brothers, other than Isaac, are found in Genesis 25:1-6.

Among Abraham’s other descendants are Medan (the father of the Medes) and Jokshan whose son was Dedan whose son was Asshurim (the father of the Assyrian people).

An extra biblical book known as the book of Jubilees places the location and identity of the Ishmaelites as the Arab peoples residing in Arab territories. This is the current view for the majority of the Christian, Islamic and Jewish faiths, though according to Biblical accounts the Arab people traditionally have had long-standing alliances with the descendants of the Assyrians and the Medes.

They lived in the wilderness of Paran, where Hagar’s son became an expert in archery. His mother married him to an Egyptian woman.

According to the Bible, Ishmael had 12 sons who became twelve tribal chiefs. The twelve sons of Ishmael were named Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah (See Genesis 25)

Ishmael’s sons settled everywhere from Havilah to Shur, i.e. from Assyria to the border of Egypt. Ishmael also had a daughter named Mahalath or Bashemath who married Esau. Ishmael also appears with Isaac at the burial of Abraham. Ishmael died at the age of 137

As well, the Arab populations in modernity represent many nations rather than one nation as specified biblically. Other references, such as the book of Jashar indicate that the Ishmaelites settled in Havilah which is located in Central India.

“Drink…and I will also draw water for your camels to drink.” (Genesis 24:17-18)

With these words, Rebecca betrothed herself to Isaac and rose to become mother of two nations; Jacob and Esau. It was her act of giving and her eagerness to do good, as she took the opportunity seeking out with joy and delight, with all her soul and being. She implanted this goodness within us as our inheritance. In the Bible the story of the union of Rebecca and Isaac is told and retold three times. In this story lies the birth of the Jewish people and their purpose. In it lies the secret for which all the cosmos was created: the fusion of opposites, the paradox and beauty of life.

It is the servant Abraham, the matchmaker, who speaks to the Master of the universe from the sincerity of his heart, who is obsessed with his mission and delights in its every step. It is each and any one of us. We are here to unite heaven and earth. And in the union of Man and Woman is found all these.

In the north of Israel near the Hiram Junction is the village of Bar’am where there is a tomb that is believed by many to contain the remains of the Prophet Ovadiah. Bar’am in the Upper Galilee, is the site of two ancient synagogues, one, whose remains are some of the most beautiful and best preserved in the country, and the other, known as the Synagogue of Obadiah the Prophet of which nothing remains but the lintel, discovered in 1861, and preserved today in the Louvre.

Our Talmudic Sages describe Ovadiah as an Edomite proselyte whose prophecy, recorded in the Book of the 12 “Minor Prophets”, is entirely directed against Edom. He managed the household of the idol-worshipping King Achav and Queen Izevel and managed to save a hundred true prophets from their murderous hands by hiding them in two caves and supplying all their needs.

The Prophet Ovadiah was a convert from the religion practiced in Edom. He lived at the time of Eliyahu HaNavi and his disciple, Elisha, and is identified as the Administrator in Achav’s and Izevel’s Palace (“Melachim”/Kings I, 18:3). He is described there as “fearing the L-rd greatly.” Ovadiah’s great merit was that he risked his life to maintain 100 prophets in a cave, providing them with all their needs, at a time that the Prophets were under tremendous pressure and great danger from the Palace. Ovadiah was chosen as the Prophet to deliver the message of Edom’s doom; perhaps because he grew up there and was intimately knowledgeable concerning the conspiracies and evils of the royal, the political and the military complex.

The Book of Ovadiah consists of only one Chapter. Edom had relied on its location to guarantee its protection from attack. But G-d says through Ovadiah,

“The wickedness of your heart enticed you,
Who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Whose habitation is on high and who says,
‘Who will bring me down to earth?’ ”

“If you ascend as an eagle,
And if you place your nest among the stars,
From there I will bring you down, says the L-rd.” (Ovadiah 1:3-4)

Ovadiah relates the demise of Edom to the hatred and hateful acts perpetrated by Esav/Edom against Yaakov/Yisrael from the beginning of their relationship.

“Shame shall cover you,
And you will be cut off forever.” (Ovadiah 1:10)

And the ones who will bring Esav down will be the descendants of your brother, Yaakov.

“And the house of Yaakov shall be a fire,
And the House of Yoseph a flame,
And the House of Esav shall be as stubble,
And they shall ignite them and consume them,
And the House of Esav shall have no survivors,
For the L-rd has spoken.” (Ovadiah 1:18)

And ultimately, the returning Jewish population from all over the world will displace Esav, and the L-rd’s Kingdom shall prevail.

“And the returning host of the Congregation of Israel,
Who are with the Canaanites as far as ‘Tzorfas’/France,
And the Exile of Jerusalem from as far as “Sepharad”/Spain,
Shall inherit the cities of the Negev;
And saviors shall ascend Mt. Zion,
To judge the mountain of Esav,
And the L-rd shall have the Kingdom.” (Ovadiah 1:20-21)

Today you can visit the synagogue at Bar’am dating back to the 3rd century, a time when the Galilee was the center of Jewish learning and Jewish life. During this era, a number of synagogues were constructed including those at Meron, Gush Halav, Arbel, and Bar’am.