Genesis 25:16

by their villages, and … encampments The distinction is, probably, between settled habitations in open unwalled villages, and circles of black tents in which the Bedouins dwell. This distinction between the permanent and the movable dwellings of the Ishmaelites is not reproduced in the versions. LXX ἐν ταῖς σκηναῖς … ἐν ταῖς ἐπαύλεσιν, Lat. per castella et oppida.

See, also, for "encampments," the tîrôthof the Midianites (Numbers 31:10) and of "the children of the east" (Ezekiel 25:4).

twelve princes See note on Genesis 25:2. The fulfilment of Genesis 17:20 (P). The "princes" are "leaders," or Sheikhs, of clans.

nations A technical term for "clan" ("ummah = "ummatin Arabic); cf. Psalms 117:1: elsewhere only Numbers 25:15 = "a father's house."