Defining the Excluded Middle: The Case of Ishmael in Jubilees

Abstract

This study explores the seemingly anomalous presentation of Ishmael in Jubilees. In a work in which an unbridgeable chasm separates Jewish and Gentile identities, the strikingly positive depiction of Abraham's natural firstborn is surprising. It is suggested that the genealogical considerations so prominent in Jubilees allow Ishmael to be treated as an unthreatening character: as son of an Egyptian mother, he cannot be mistaken for the primary covenant conduit; as brother of Isaac rather than the preeminent Jacob, his existence does not call into question the identity of the first Israelite proper. Beyond this, it is suggested that the favorable treatment of Ishmael in Jubilees is a matter of his full inclusion within the circle of covenant privilege. This is explained as a function of the laudable pedagogical instincts of Abraham, the friend of God, and, most significantly, the distinctive shape of covenant history in Jubilees.