Philip the Arab and Christianity that appear—save for one reference to Ishmael—figure in the political history of the first three centuries of the Christian era. To Eusebius, the Saracens of the 4th century are direct-line descendants of the biblical Ishmaelites, descendants of the handmaid, Hagar, and the patriarch, Abraham. They are thus outcasts, beyond God's Covenant with the favored son of Abraham, Isaac. The twin images of the Ishmaelite and the Saracen—outcasts and "latrones", raiders of the frontiers—reinforce each other and give Eusebius' portrait of the Arab nation an unhappy color. He may have been reluctant to associate the first Christian emperor with a people
Biblical and Quranic narratives can do so, however, God tells him to stop and gives him a replacement sacrifice. Abraham is subsequently honored for his faithfulness to God. (As-Saaffat ; Genesis ) However, there are several differences between the biblical and Quranic accounts: The Bible describes Abraham as in Iraq-Syria, then in Canaan, Paran and Egypt, with his final days in Canaan and Hebron. Both Isaac and Ishmael attend Abraham's funeral. The Quran mentions that Abraham left his wife and Ishmael (as an infant) in the land where present-day Mecca is, while he left to what was apparently Palestine. According to the Bible, after