Ishmael (Moby-Dick) Ishmael (Moby-Dick) Ishmael is a fictional character in Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick" (1851). Ishmael, the only surviving crewmember of the "Pequod", is the narrator of the book. His importance relies on his role as narrator; as a character, he is only a minor participant in the action and the main protagonist is Captain Ahab. The Biblical name has come to symbolize orphans, exiles, and social outcasts. Because he was the first person narrator, most of the criticism of "Moby-Dick" either confused Ishmael with the author himself or overlooked him. From the mid-twentieth century onward, critics distinguished Ishmael from Melville, establishing the
Ishmael son of Nethaniah his advice and depart for Egypt (Jeremiah 43:6). Ishmael ben Nethaniah is described in 2 Kings 25:25 as the son of Nethaniah, ‘son of Elishama of the royal family’. Jeremiah describes him as one of the chief officers of the (former) king Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 41:1). Ishmael was a soldier, described as a ‘captain of the forces’ (2 Kings 25:23; and Jeremiah 41:3). Together with a number of other such captains, Ishmael emerges from the surrounding open country (Jeremiah 40:7) and makes his way to Mizpah, a city in Benjamin, after Gedaliah is appointed governor. Although the forces were likely to