Guide
Two Palestinian Rabbinic Depictions of Arabs: Robber Ishmaelites
3rd–4th Centuries
Restricted
Two Palestinian rabbinic texts from the late third and fourth centuries CE employ biblical exegesis to identify the Ishmaelites with robbery leading to a loss of both God’s good will and the Torah itself. Yet the second text emphasizes that the Arabs are not innately evil and have the capacity to accept the Torah, as God offered it to them. Furthermore, this text says that Arabic was one of the four languages in which the Torah was initially proclaimed.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
God Regrets Creating Ishmael
R. Joshua ben Yair [said] in the name of R. Pinḥas ben Yair: There are three [things] that the Holy One created, and regrets that He created: the Chaldeans, the Ishmaelites, and the evil inclination…
Primary Source
Robbery as the Essence of Ishmael
Another thing: And he said, The Lord came from Sinai (Deuteronomy 33:2). When the Holy One revealed Himself to give the Torah to Israel, He revealed Himself not in one language but in four languages.…
Related Guide
Arabs in Ancient Rabbinic Texts
2nd–6th Centuries
Related Guide
Real and Imagined "Others" in Ancient Jewish Literature
4th Century BCE–6th Century CE