Interesting Facts

• Ebed-Tamed is identified in the sources as one of the sons of Naphish.
• As Naphish was a son of Ishmael, Ebed-Tamed held the position of grandson to Ishmael.
• The provided textual fragments do not offer any specific accounts of Ebed-Tamed’s personal deeds, statements, or life occurrences beyond his inclusion in a listing of descendants.

Genealogy

• Ebed-Tamed’s father was Naphish, son of Ishmael.
• His grandfather was Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham.
• The sources reveal that Naphish fathered at least three sons: Ebed-Tamed, Abiyasaph, and Mir, thus establishing Ebed-Tamed as a brother to Abiyasaph and Mir.
• Through his lineage, Ebed-Tamed was a great-grandson of Abraham.
• The extant textual excerpts contain no information pertaining to Ebed-Tamed’s birth, potential spouses, or any progeny he may have had.

Historical Context

As a descendant within the lineage of Ishmael, Ebed-Tamed’s life would be situated within the historical epoch following the era of Abraham. A significant historical movement of this period involved the eastward expansion and settlement of Ishmael’s progeny. Abraham facilitated this dispersal by bestowing gifts upon them and directing their habitation in regions distinct from those designated for Isaac. Naphish, and consequently Ebed-Tamed, would have been part of the Ishmaelite communities establishing themselves in the territories to the east of Canaan, extending towards areas such as Havilah and Shur. These communities are understood to have contributed to the genesis of the Arab and Ishmaelite peoples.

The cultural and likely religious influences shaping Ebed-Tamed’s existence would have been rooted in the traditions and precepts transmitted through Ishmael from Abraham. These ancestral teachings emphasized adherence to the way of the Lord, the practice of righteousness, the significance of the covenant of circumcision, and the imperative to abstain from intermarriage with the Canaanites, a directive grounded in the perceived divine judgment upon that lineage due to the transgression of Ham. Therefore, Ebed-Tamed would have existed within this developing Ishmaelite identity in the eastern territories, influenced by these foundational principles and the geographical realities of their settlements and interactions with neighboring groups.

Narrative

Within the narrative framework of these ancient writings, Ebed-Tamed’s presence is strictly genealogical in nature. He is merely listed as one of the sons of Naphish, who himself is enumerated among the twelve sons of Ishmael. No specific narratives, dialogues, or individual actions are ascribed to Ebed-Tamed within these sources. His significance within the narrative framework resides in his inclusion within the recorded lineage of Ishmael, contributing to the broader comprehension of the familial expansion and geographical distribution of Ishmael’s descendants in the lands east of Canaan. This genealogical thread pertaining to Ishmael’s posterity unfolds in parallel to the primary narrative focus on the lineage of Isaac and Jacob within Canaan, which forms a central theological and historical concern of these texts. The enumeration of Ishmael’s sons serves principally to delineate familial connections and their territorial placement, rather than to furnish detailed biographical accounts of each individual within that lineage. Consequently, Ebed-Tamed remains a figure whose existence is acknowledged through his genealogical connection to Ishmael, but whose personal narrative and impact are not developed within the scope of these scriptural and related traditions.