מִשְׁמָע
Mishma, the name of a son of Ishmael, and of an Israelite
Definition
Mishma is a proper noun used exclusively as a personal name in the Old Testament. It refers primarily to Mishma, a son of Ishmael and grandson of Abraham, listed among the twelve tribal chiefs descended from Ishmael (Genesis 25:14, 1 Chronicles 1:30). The name also appears in the lineage of the tribe of Simeon, referring to a different individual, a son of Mibsam (1 Chronicles 4:25-26). In both cases, the name functions solely to identify a specific person within a genealogical record.
Biblical Usage
The word is used four times, always as a proper name within genealogical lists. It appears in two contexts: first, in the foundational genealogy of Ishmael's descendants in Genesis 25:14 and its parallel in 1 Chronicles 1:30. Second, it appears in the detailed genealogy of the tribe of Simeon in 1 Chronicles 4:25 and 4:26. There is no narrative or descriptive usage beyond simple identification in these lists.
Etymology
Mishma is identical to the common Hebrew noun מִשְׁמָע (mishmâʻ, H4926), which means 'a thing heard,' 'report,' or 'obedience.' It is derived from the root שָׁמַע (shâmaʻ), meaning 'to hear.' As a personal name, it likely carried the sense of 'hearing' or 'obedience,' a thematic element in many Semitic names, though the biblical text does not explicitly assign meaning to the character.
Semantic Range
In ancient Israelite and Near Eastern culture, personal names were often significant, conveying meaning or a hoped-for characteristic. While the biblical narrative does not elaborate on the individuals named Mishma, the name itself, meaning 'hearing' or 'report,' fits a common pattern of theophoric or virtue-based names. Its use in both Ishmaelite and Israelite lineages highlights the interconnected genealogical records preserved in Scripture.
שָׁמַע (shâmaʻ, H8085) — The root verb meaning 'to hear,' from which the name is derived. מִשְׁמָע (mishmâʻ, H4926) — The identical common noun meaning 'report' or 'thing heard.'
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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