Genesis 25:18
in Genesis 25Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: he abode over against all his brethren.
KJV
And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.
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This verse in Genesis 25
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThey dwelt from Havilah unto Shur - The descendants of Ishmael possessed all that country which extends from east to west, from Havilah on the Euphrates, near its junction with the Tigris, to the desert of Shur eastward of Egypt; and which extends along the isthmus of Suez, which separates the Red Sea from the Mediterranean. As thou goest toward Assyria - “These words,” says Calmet, “may refer either to Egypt, to Shur, or to Havilah. The desert of Shur is on the road from Egypt to Assyria in traversing Arabia Petraea, and in passing by the country of Havilah.
This site's exposition
Ishmael lived a total of 137 years
on Genesis 25:17-18
Ishmael dies at 137 and is gathered to his people, the phrase used of his father nine verses earlier. His account closes with his descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, living in hostility toward all their brothers. The angel had told Hagar that at 16:12, beside a spring.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur,....
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁכְּנ֨וּ | vaiyishkenu | and they dwelt | H7931 → | 129 times |
| מֵֽחֲוִילָ֜ה | mechavilah | from Havilah | H2341 → | 7 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| שׁ֗וּר | shur | Shur | H7793 → | 6 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [is] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| בֹּאֲכָ֖ה | boakhah | going you | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אַשּׁ֑וּרָה | ʾashurah | Asshur towards | H804 → | 151 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֶחָ֖יו | ʾechav | relatives his | H251 → | 630 times |
| נָפָֽל׃ פ | nafal | he fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
וַיִּשְׁכְּנ֨וּand they dwelt
vaiyishkenuH7931 →129 times
מֵֽחֲוִילָ֜הfrom Havilah
mechavilahH2341 →7 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
שׁ֗וּרShur
shurH7793 →6 times
אֲשֶׁר֙which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[is] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
בֹּאֲכָ֖הgoing you
boakhahH935 →2568 times
אַשּׁ֑וּרָהAsshur towards
ʾashurahH804 →151 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
אֶחָ֖יוrelatives his
ʾechavH251 →630 times
נָפָֽל׃ פhe fell
nafalH5307 →435 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 16:12He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
it leads to
- Genesis 21:20
And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.
- Job 39:5–8
Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness?
- Genesis 21:20
Through
Genesis 2:11The name of the first river is Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
it leads to
- Genesis 10:29
Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
- 1 Samuel 15:7
Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
- Genesis 10:7
The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. And the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
- Genesis 10:29
Through
Genesis 20:1Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,
it leads to
- Genesis 26:1
Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.
- Genesis 26:6
So Isaac settled in Gerar.
- Genesis 26:1
Through
Genesis 14:10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some men fell into the pits, but the survivors fled to the hill country.
it leads to
- Genesis 19:17
As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or…
- Genesis 19:17
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
