Genesis 16:12
in Genesis 16He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he shall be as a wild ass among men; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his brethren.
KJV
And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
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This verse in Genesis 16
Commentary
9 notes on this verseHe will be a wild man - פרא אדם pere adam. As the root of this word does not appear in the Hebrew Bible, it is probably found in the Arabic farra, to run away, to run wild; and hence the wild ass, from its fleetness and its untamable nature.
This site's exposition
you have conceived and will bear a son
on Genesis 16:11-12
Ishmael means God hears, and the angel gives the name for the cry the LORD had heard. This is the first birth announcement of its form in Scripture, and the same shape returns to Mary at Luke 1:31. He is called a wild donkey of a man, an animal that lives free of any owner. The promise and the trouble are spoken in one breath.
This site's exposition
his hand will be against everyone
Adam Clarke finds the root of the Hebrew for wild donkey in the Arabic farra, to run wild. Jerome read the words of the desert tribes of his own day, whose hand was against everyone and who were attacked by all in turn. The hostility runs both ways.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
There are a number of differences that distinguish a man who is studious, sophisticated and urbane from a man who is none of these things.
(Verse 12) This will be a rustic man. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand against him, and he will dwell against the face of all his brothers. In Hebrew, Phara () is written for rustic, which means onager. It signifies that his descendants will dwell in the wilderness, that is, the wandering Saracens, in uncertain lands, who attack and are attacked by all the nations to which the desert is adjacent.
The Medieval Church1 voice
He will be a wild man, his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him, and he will dwell opposite all his brothers.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He will be a wild man - A wild ass of a man, so the word is: rude, and bold and fearing no man; untamed, untractable, living at large, and impatient of service and restraint. His hand will be against every man - That is his sin, and every man's hand against him - That is his punishment.
And he will be a wild man,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Note, The children of the bondwoman, who are out of covenant with God, are, as they were born, like the wild ass's colt; it is grace that reclaims men, civilizes them, and makes them wise, and good for something.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
‘PERE ADAM.’ Rashi comments: “One who loves the deserts. The word pere is thus, according to Rashi, synonymous with “desert,” as it says peraim bamidbar (Job:5). Pere adam is thus: “a man who loves the desert.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The angel informed Hagar that his name will be Ishmael — just as in the verse, Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David Josiah by name. I Kings:2.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְה֤וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִהְיֶה֙ | yihyeh | he will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| פֶּ֣רֶא | pere' | a wild donkey of | H6501 → | |
| אָדָ֔ם | ʾadam | a man | H120 → | 551 times |
| יָד֣וֹ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בַכֹּ֔ל | vakol | [will be] on <the> everyone | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| וְיַ֥ד | veyad | and [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | everyone | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בּ֑וֹ | bo | [will be] on <the> him | ||
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֶחָ֖יו | ʾechav | brothers his | H251 → | 630 times |
| יִשְׁכֹּֽן׃ | yishkon | he will dwell | H7931 → | 129 times |
וְה֤וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
יִהְיֶה֙he will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
פֶּ֣רֶאa wild donkey of
pere'H6501 →
אָדָ֔םa man
ʾadamH120 →551 times
יָד֣וֹhand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
בַכֹּ֔ל[will be] on <the> everyone
vakolH3605 →5413 times
וְיַ֥דand [the] hand of
veyadH3027 →1618 times
כֹּ֖לeveryone
kolH3605 →5413 times
בּ֑וֹ[will be] on <the> him
bo
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
אֶחָ֖יוbrothers his
ʾechavH251 →630 times
יִשְׁכֹּֽן׃he will dwell
yishkonH7931 →129 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 27:40You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
it leads to
- 2 Kings 8:20–22
In the days of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against the hand of Judah and appointed their own king.
- Genesis 25:23
and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the…
- 2 Samuel 8:14
He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
- 2 Chronicles 21:8
In the days of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against the hand of Judah and appointed their own king.
- 2 Chronicles 25:11–12
Amaziah, however, summoned his strength and led his troops to the Valley of Salt, where he struck down 10,000 men of Seir,
- 2 Kings 8:20–22
Through
Genesis 21:20And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.
it leads to
- Genesis 28:15
Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what…
- Genesis 39:21
the LORD was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
- Genesis 28:15
Through
Genesis 25:18Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
it leads to
- Genesis 20:1
Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,
- Genesis 20:1
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Didymus the Blind, ON GENESIS 246; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.