Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Joel C. Salomon" <joelcsalomon AT gmail.com>]

On 11/9/2009 12:45 AM, Ishinan wrote:
> SCENARIO #1 -- In Genesis, Abraham appears as a Hebrew speaker….
>
> PROBLEM:  If Abraham spoke Hebrew and he was also father to Ishmael, the
> progenitor of the Arabs, then this would imply that the Arabic language is a
> dialect of the Hebrew language.

The assumption that Ishmael is “the progenitor of the Arabs” may not be 
warranted.  Ishmael (along with Abraham’s children by Ketura) was sent 
away and likely joined the already-existing Arab people, possibly 
becoming a chieftain there.  (All this according to my reading of the 
Biblical text –– or at least, not inconsistent with the Biblical text.)

Is there any source for Arab descent from Ishmael other than the Koran?

—Joel C. Salomon