Jewish Martyrdom

To "Yishmael's name" Yishmael does mean "Gd will listen". Ancient Jewish tradition states that as a descendant of Abraham, Yishmael will merit Gds blessing, especially since most agree Yishmael did teshuvah (repented from his idolatrous ways) at the end of his days. Indeed, the prophecy that Abraham's descendants will be numerous has CLEARLY been fufilled. Homelitically, it has been taught that the descendants of Yishmael will rule over ARABIA and that their prayers, if righteous, can be more effective in their blessing...but in line with Jewish law, blessings from fore-fathers do not absolve wicked behavior...in order to actualize the blessings from our heritage we need to act accordingly through prayer, study, and acts of kindness ( of which Avraham Aveinu was famous for). Reply

Yishmael's name Doesn't Yishma-el translate as 'he who will hear Gd'?

It seems to me that a father such as Abraham- who based his whole life on listening to Gd- would want to give this name to his first-born son as a way of life-a blessing. Reply