 <unk> in this more limited definition holds that Ishmael was both an important religious figure and eponymous ancestor for some of the Arabs of western Arabia . <unk> is given in Arab genealogical accounts to the first two of Ishmael 's twelve sons , Nebaioth ( Arabic : <unk> , <unk> ) and Qedar ( Arabic : <unk> , <unk> ) , who are also prominently featured in the Genesis account . It is likely that they and their tribes lived in northwestern Arabia and were historically the most important of the twelve <unk> tribes . 
