Genesis 16:12

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.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The angel of the LORD speaks to Hagar while she is fleeing from her mistress. This pronouncement occurs immediately after the angel reveals that Hagar will bear a son named Ishmael.

The words — The text employs פֶּרֶא (pe.re') for “wild donkey” and יָד (ya.d) for “hand.” These terms literally denote an untamed, free-roaming creature and the physical force or aggression directed outward.

The thread — The motif of untamed wilderness survival appears in Genesis 21:20 and Genesis 25:18, which record Ishmael’s lineage settling in desert regions near Egypt and Asshur. Job 39:5 also invokes the wild donkey to illustrate unbridled, unharnessed freedom.

Why it lands — The passage forces a reader to confront how divine purposes unfold through fractured human dynamics. It requires accepting that God’s promises do not erase the reality of ongoing conflict or require immediate reconciliation.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְה֤וּאve./Hu'and/ he יִהְיֶה֙yih.Yehhe will be פֶּ֣רֶאPe.re'a wild donkey of אָדָ֔ם'a.Dama man יָד֣וֹya.D/ohand/ his בַכֹּ֔לva./Kol[will be] on <the>/ everyone וְיַ֥דve./Yadand/ [the] hand of כֹּ֖לkoleveryoneבּ֑וֹb/o[will be] on <the>/ himוְעַל־ve./'al-and/ on פְּנֵ֥יpe.Nei[the] face of כָל־khol-all אֶחָ֖יו'e.Cha/vbrothers/ his יִשְׁכֹּֽן׃yish.Konhe will dwell

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Genesis 21:20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.
Genesis 25:18 Ishmael’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.
Job 39:5 Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness?
Genesis 27:40 You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
Job 11:12 But a witless man can no more become wise than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!