Person Old Testament
Dumah
Dumah was a son of Ishmael and grandson of Abraham, mentioned in the genealogies of Genesis and Chronicles. Mentioned in 2 verses across 2 books, first at Genesis 25:14.
Why it matters. Son of Ishmael and grandson of Abraham
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Dumah
Dumah is mentioned in the genealogies of Gen.25.14 and 1Ch.1.30 as one of the twelve sons of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar. Ishmael's descendants became twelve princes according to their nations (Gen.25.16), fulfilling the promise God made to Abraham regarding Ishmael (Gen.17.20).
The name Dumah means "silence" or "stillness" in Hebrew. Some scholars suggest that the name may be associated with the oasis of Dumah (modern-day Dumat Al-Jandal) in northwestern Arabia, which was an important stop on the caravan trade routes.
Apart from being listed among Ishmael's sons, no further information is provided about Dumah in the Bible. His inclusion in the genealogies serves to highlight the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham concerning Ishmael and to trace the origins of the Arab peoples who descended from him.
Dumah's descendants, along with those of his brothers, likely became nomadic tribes that inhabited the regions of the Arabian Peninsula. These tribes played a significant role in the early history and development of the Arab world.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Parents
- Ishmael
Appears in Scripture
Named in 2 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.