A Dictionary of the Book of Mormon/Ishmael
ISHMAEL. A righteous Israelite of the tribe of Ephraim, who, with his family, which was large, lived in Jerusalem, B. C. 600. At this time Ishmael must have been advanced in years, for he had five marriageable daughters, besides several grown up sons. By the commandment of the Lord, the sons of Lehi returned from their encampment on the border of the Red Sea to Jerusalem, and invited Ishmael and his family to join them in their journey to a promised land. The Lord softened their hearts and they accepted the invitation, left their home, and went down with the young men into the wilderness; though from the oft-repeated rebellious conduct of some of Ishmael's sons, it appears that they never had much faith, if any at all, in the prophetic mission of Lehi, or in the woes pronounced upon Jerusalem by the servants of the Most High. Soon after the arrival of the party at the tents of Lehi, the eldest daughter of Ishmael was married to Zoram, and four others wedded the sons of Lehi. In the vicissitudes of the toilsome journey in the Arabian desert, Ishmael appears to have been faithful to the Lord, but when the company reached a place to which was given the name of Nahom, Ishmael died, and was there buried. His demise was the cause of much sorrow to his family, and was made the pretext, by its rebellious portion, for renewed murmuring and fresh outbreaks. (See Nephi.)