What Does Genesis 25:12 Mean in the King James?

Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham:

Genesis 25:12 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

“Generations” and “bare” grow from the same Hebrew root: Ishmael’s lineage is literally a story of births.

THE MEANING

The verse holds Ishmael within a web of relation: Abraham is his father, and Hagar is his mother, identified as Egyptian and Sarah’s handmaid. His name means “God hears,” so this family record carries a living note of divine hearing.

THE ROOT

תּוֹלְדֹת

toledot

GROWS FROM

ילד

yalad

to bear, beget, bring forth

Both ⁨תּוֹלְדֹת⁩ (toledot, “generations”) and ⁨יָלְדָה⁩ (yaldah, “she bore”) come from ⁨ילד⁩ (yalad, “to bear, beget”). The verse names a lineage and, in its very wording, ties that lineage to the act that brings children forth.

ALSO GROWS

yaldah: she bore

יָלְדָה

This is the verb used for Hagar in the verse, linking Ishmael’s birth directly to the word for his generations.

yeled: child

יֶלֶד

The same root names the child within the lineage, making the family line a sequence of births.

יִשְׁמָעֵאל

Yishma'el

GROWS FROM

שמע

shama

to hear, listen

Ishmael’s name is formed from ⁨יִשְׁמַע⁩ (yishma, “he hears”) and ⁨אֵל⁩ (El, “God”), yielding “God hears.” The name brings hearing into this family record as part of Ishmael’s identity.

ALSO GROWS

shama: hear, listen

שָׁמַע

The verb supplies the hearing carried in Ishmael’s name.

shemuah: report, news

שְׁמוּעָה

This noun from the same root shows hearing extending into what is heard and reported.

THE PATTERN

Scripture introduces a family line by naming the generations through which it unfolds.

This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

Genesis 5:1 · KJVThe line of Adam is introduced as a record of generations, just as Ishmael’s line is.

Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

Ruth 4:18 · KJVThe same formula opens a lineage by naming the births that carry it forward.

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:1 · KJVA New Testament genealogy also begins by naming a generation and the relationships through which it unfolds.

THE THREAD

And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

Genesis 16:11 · KJV

This verse tells you why Ishmael bears that name: its Hebrew form joins “he hears” with ⁨אֵל⁩ (El, “God”), and the LORD says he has heard Hagar’s affliction. The genealogy’s name carries that same witness: God hears.

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