Commentary for Bava Batra 32:18
תנו רבנן שלשה הטעימן הקב"ה בעולם הזה
At this point Raba awoke and heard them. Children, he said, this is what R. Johanan has said: Ishmael repented in the lifetime of his father. [We know this] because it says, And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. 9. ');"><sup>33</sup></span> But perhaps the text arranges them in the order of their wisdom? — If that were so, then why in the verse, And Esau and Jacob his sons buried him<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XXXV, 29. ');"><sup>34</sup></span> are they not arranged in the order of their wisdom? What we have to say is that the fact of the text placing Isaac first shows that Ishmael made way<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'made him lead'. ');"><sup>35</sup></span> for him, and from the fact that he made way for him we infer that he repented in Abraham's lifetime. Our Rabbis taught: There were three to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, gave a foretaste