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Dumah דּוּמָה

Male Arabia H1746G 2 books

Son of Ishmael and grandson of Abraham

Who is Dumah in the Bible?

Dumah was a son of Ishmael and grandson of Abraham, listed among the twelve sons of Ishmael in Genesis 25:14 and 1 Chronicles 1:30. His name means "silence" or "stillness" in Hebrew, and scholars suggest it may derive from the oasis of Dumat Al-Jandal in northwestern Arabia, an important hub on ancient caravan trade routes. The Bible provides no further biographical details about Dumah beyond his genealogical placement, but his inclusion in these lists serves to fulfill God's covenant promise to Abraham that Ishmael would become the father of twelve princes and a great nation (Genesis 17:20 and 25:16). Dumah's mention thus contributes to the broader narrative of how God's promises extended beyond Isaac to Ishmael's descendants and the peoples of Arabia.

Biography

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.

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In Scripture

2 biblical books ; 1 with study content
Genesis 1 verse
1 Chronicles 1 verse
  • 1 Chronicles 1:30

    "Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema,"

Names & Aliases

Form Language Script Transliteration Meaning
Named Hebrew דּוּמָה dûmāh Dumah , a tribe and region of Arabia
Encyclopedia Article

Dumah

ISBE 1915 (Public Domain)

(2) a town in the highlands of Judah between Hebron and Beersheba, now ed-Daume (Jos 15:52);

(3) an emblematical designation of Edom in the obscure oracle (Isa 21:11,12);

(4) an Ishmaelite tribe in Arabia (Ge 25:14; 1Ch 1:30). According to the Arabic geographies this son of Ishmael rounded the town of Dumat-el-Jandal, the stone-built Dumah, so called to distinguish it from another Dumah near the Euphrates. The former now bears the name of the Jauf ("belly"), being a depression situated half-way between the head of the Persian Gulf and the head of the gulf of Akaba. Its people in the time of Mohammed were Christians of the tribe of Kelb. It contained a great well from which the palms and crops were irrigated. It has often been visited by European travelers in recent times. See Jour. Royal Geog. Soc., XXIV (1854), 138-58; W. G. Palgrave, Central and Eastern Arabia, chapter ii. It is possible that the oracle in Isa (number 3 above) concerns this place.

Thomas Hunter Weir

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dum (alam, 'illem, literally, "tied in the tongue"; kophos): Used either as expressing the physical condition of speechlessness, generally associated with deafness, or figuratively as meaning the silence produced by the

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