Genesis 16:12-14
New English Translation
12 He will be a wild donkey[a] of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone,[b]
and everyone will be hostile to him.[c]
He will live away from[d] his brothers.”
13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,”[e] for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!”[f] 14 That is why the well was called[g] Beer Lahai Roi.[h] (It is located[i] between Kadesh and Bered.)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 16:12 sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.
- Genesis 16:12 tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.
- Genesis 16:12 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”
- Genesis 16:12 tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).
- Genesis 16:13 tn Heb “God of my seeing.” The pronominal suffix may be understood either as objective (“who sees me,” as in the translation) or subjective (“whom I see”).
- Genesis 16:13 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”sn For a discussion of Hagar’s exclamation, see T. Booij, “Hagar’s Words in Genesis 16:13b, ” VT 30 (1980): 1-7.
- Genesis 16:14 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.
- Genesis 16:14 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, beʾer lakhay roʾi) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” The text suggests that God takes up the cause of those who are oppressed.
- Genesis 16:14 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Genesis 16:12-14
New International Version
12 He will be a wild donkey(A) of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward[a] all his brothers.(B)”
13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,(C)” for she said, “I have now seen[b] the One who sees me.”(D) 14 That is why the well(E) was called Beer Lahai Roi[c];(F) it is still there, between Kadesh(G) and Bered.
Footnotes
- Genesis 16:12 Or live to the east / of
- Genesis 16:13 Or seen the back of
- Genesis 16:14 Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.