This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He will be like a wild donkey among men. His hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. He will live opposite all of his brothers.”
- 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.
- BSB He 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.”
- NKJV He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
- NASB “But he will be a wild donkey of a man; His hand will be against everyone, And everyone’s hand will be against him; And he will live in defiance of all his brothers.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The angel foretold Ishmael would be a wild, contentious man living in conflict with others. His character and future were honestly disclosed.
Overview
God describes Ishmael's untamed, independent nature and a life marked by strife among his kin. The prophecy is realistic, neither idealizing nor condemning, and was fulfilled in the wandering, fierce peoples descended from him. While Ishmael is blessed, he stands outside the covenant line, underscoring that God's saving promise advances through Isaac.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Gen 25:18They lived from Havilah to Shur that is before Egypt, as you go toward Assyria. He lived opposite all his relatives.
- Gen 21:20God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer.
- Job 39:5–8“Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,
- Job 11:12An empty-headed man becomes wise when a man is born as a wild donkey’s colt.
- Gen 27:40By your sword will you live, and you will serve your brother. It will happen, when you will break loose, that you shall shake his yoke from off your neck.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 16:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.