Isaac

Isaac (Hebrew: יצחק Yitschaq "he will laugh" or "he laughs") was the only son of Abraham (אברם 'Abram / אברהם 'Abraham) and Sarah (שרי Saray / שרה Sarah) and the father of Jacob (יעקב Ya`aqob) and Esau (עשו `Esav) as described in the book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible. Isaac was the longest-lived of the patriarchs (one hundred and eighty years), and the only biblical patriarch whose name was not changed. Isaac was also the only patriarch who did not leave Canaan, although he once tried to leave and God told him not to do so:

¹ Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. ² And the LORD appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. ³ Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. ⁴ I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, ⁵ because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Compared to other patriarchs in the Bible, his story is less colorful, relating few incidents of his life.

Abraham's willingness to follow God's command to sacrifice Isaac has been viewed by early as well as modern Christianity as an example of faith and obedience.

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 Isaac and Abimelech — Genesis 26:1–34

Ishmael

Ishmael or Yishma'el (יִשְׁמָעֵאל "God hears or obeys") is Abraham's eldest son, born by his servant Hagar. Ishmael the son of Abraham, is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis as the eldest son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah's female Egyptian maid-servant or slave.

In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), Ishmael's life is described in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 16, 17, 21, 25) and later texts. In Genesis 16 Sarai (Abram's wife) gives him her maid-servant Hagar to bear him children, since she believed that God had kept her from having children (Genesis 16:2).

Hagar became pregnant and despised Sarai (Genesis 16:4) who then expelled Hagar from the home of Abraham in retaliation.

Hagar fled from Sarai and ran into the desert, where an angel found her near a spring. Here the prophecy of Ishmael is recorded in Genesis 16:

¹¹ "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael ("God hears"), for the Lord has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."

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