Genesis 25:12
Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham: Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham:
Genesis 25:12 belongs to the Isaac division of Genesis, chapters 21-27, whose leading thought is Isaac as the central figure and whose subject is his varied and remarkable experiences. It falls within the account of God's providential dealings with Abraham's family, with Abraham as the chosen progenitor of the line through which the Seed would come. It belongs to the continuing story of Abraham and his family, showing his gradual development of faith and leading on through Isaac and his two sons in their defects to Jacob's victory that made him Israel, prevailer with God.
It belongs to a chapter of genealogies that also records Abraham's death, the probable last meeting of Isaac and Ishmael, and a forecast of the characters of Esau and Jacob. The verse begins the genealogy of Ishmael, identifying him as Abraham's son by Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid. Together with the passage through verse 18, it gives the descendants of Ishmael and records Ishmael's death at the age of 137.
It introduces the generations of Ishmael in his twelve sons, each of whom became the head of a tribe. Descendants of his oldest son united with the Edomites in building up the Idumean kingdom and in making its rock-hewn capital city Petra. Some other Ishmaelites lived a settled life, but the great majority were nomads whose encampments, or movable villages of tents, were found in all the desert region from the Euphrates westward. They carried on a large carrying trade across the desert, and their roving bands ravaged and plundered whenever an opportunity presented itself. The verse connects Ishmael's line with the Abyssinians, describing them as descendants of Abraham through Ishmael.