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.
12. as a wild-ass among men ] Lit. “a wild-ass of a man.” This description of Ishmael vividly portrays the characteristics of his descendants. The wild ass, for which see Job 39:5-8, Hos 8:9, is the typically untameable, strong, free, roaming, suspicious, and untrustworthy animal, living wild in the desert, far from the haunts of men.
in the presence of all his brethren ] R.V. marg. over against. Cf. Gen 25:18. “Brethren”: see notes on Gen 13:8, Gen 14:14. While “in the presence,” or “in the face of” all his brethren, might legitimately be rendered “to the east of” the Israelites, the east was scarcely the quarter in which the Ishmaelites were chiefly found. A better explanation gives to the words the meaning of a foe, dwelling close at hand and “over against” his brethren, ever ready to attack and raid their territory.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 16:12
He will be a wild man
The national character of the Arabs foretold
I.
THESE WORDS CONTAIN NOT A MERE CONTINGENT PROMISE, BUT A SPECIFIC PREDICTION OF FUTURE EVENTS. A bare announcement of what would be the physical, moral, and social condition of the person or persons to whom the passage refers.
II. THESE WORDS ARE INTENDED TO APPLY, NOT MERELY TO THE PERSONAL HISTORY AND CHARACTER OF ISHMAEL, BUT TO THE HISTORY AND CHARACTER OF HIS OFFSPRING. Some of the terms employed and some of the things affirmed are not only unintelligible, but absurd, if they are to be understood of Ishmael rather than of his offspring; for in what sense can it be affirmed, that his hand was against every man, and every mans hand against him? Individually, that strife at all events would very soon be brought to an end. How, either, could it be affirmed that he should dwell in the presence of all his brethren, if a single dwelling, and that a tent in the wilderness, were the only thing intended to be set forth?
III. THE ARABIANS ARE THE DESCENDANTS OF ISHMAEL.
IV. THE ARABIANS HAVE EXEMPLIFIED IN THEIR WHOLE HISTORY AND CHARACTER ALL THE PECULIARITIES MENTIONED IN THIS PASSAGE. The term here employed is singularly strong in relation to the first part of the subject. That subject is divided into three particulars: the first, declarative of their freedom; the second, of their hostile dispositions; the third, of their numbers and their power.
1. Here, I say, you have a declaration concerning their freedom: He will be a wild man. The language is peculiarly strong; and literally, the affirmation is, that Ishmael should be the same as the animal described in the thirty-ninth chapter of the Book of Job. There the word is literally rendered the wild ass: and we read, Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who has loosed the hands of the wild ass? whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings; he scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver; the range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing. No terms could have been employed, more fitly or more vividly describing the roaming liberty, or, if you will, licentiousness of the entire Arab nation, whether you regard their internal condition or their external relation.
2. Secondly, we are assured not only of their freedom, but also of the singular hostility of their disposition: His hand will be against every man, and every mans hand against him. During the lapse of three thousand years, they have by turns assaulted all their neighbours, and been assaulted by them. At this present moment they seek not the alliance of the great or the small, the rich or the poor; they care not who wins or who loses in the strife of the world, if they can remain–the hated of the whole family of mankind besides. What is sacrificed or what is gained is to them matter of perfect indifference if still they may frown upon a world they deem their foe. This has been the case, while all other nations have passed through the phases of slavery and of freedom, of poverty and of wealth, of luxury and of hardihood, of disaster and of danger. Still the Arab is the same.
3. Thirdly, these words exhibit to us their numbers and their power. I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. Not an easy thing this, to affirm concerning any individual, in the early period of time to which reference is made. Few, indeed, could ever have attained to such distinction, because there are but few nations who ever arrive to any great degree of honour; much less to such a state of renown, as to secure observation in the pages of inspired truth, or in the general history of the world. Yet if you have been called upon, at all events, to point out those individuals, perhaps the very last you would have fixed upon would have been the son of that poor outcast slave, without a father, without a friend, without a prospect excepting the wilderness for his home. Yet these wanderers in the desert and amongst the rocks were the objects and the sources of surprise and of terror to their early neighbours. It was they who first gave to commerce its gold, its spices, its gems. It was they who furnished to the navies of Tyre that for which they were renowned. It was they who gave to monarchs that by which they decorated their halls and their palaces. It was they who gave to arms honour and renown, while with one hand they seized on the fertile plains of Egypt and with the other laid hold on the mountains of Assyria. Thus during successive ages did they continue dwelling in the presence of all their brethren; whether the Babylonian or the Macedonian, whether the Persian or the Roman swayed the destinies of the world, the Arab occupied the same position, and exerted to a great extent the same power. In later days, however, they came forth under another form, and their course was followed by far deadlier consequences. They lifted up in one hand the Koran, which they regarded as at once the product and the instrument of their great prophet, who said he came from God; with the other they brandished the sword, while nations trembled and fell. They passed off to the east–rushed through the turbid and impetuous waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris–and laid prostrate the millions of India, even to the walls of China. Theypassed to the north, swept the sacred shrines and hollow mummeries of Palestine; laid prostrate the cities and temples and towers of Greece–rushed through the Bosphorus–reared the tokens of their power, and at length became consolidated into a mighty empire, in the eastern part of Europe. They passed to the west–overflowed the plains of Egypt with more resistlessness than the waters of the Nile–dashed along the coast of Barbary–rolled away to Central and Western Africa–overleaped the pillars of Hercules and the barriers of Spain–planted the crescent on the walls of Grenada–illumined darkened Europe with a ray of science–and then returned, leaving the marks of their science and their power in arithmetical characters, used in every one of our schools. And so their history, so unique and so marvellous, has been interwoven with the history of all people, to gather from them all some increasing attestation of the truth of this book, the pillar on which our hopes rest; and resting where we can defy the dashing of every wave, assured that we are in the truth of Him, in whose hand our breath is, and whose are all our ways. (J. Aldis.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. He will be a wild man] pere adam. As the root of this word does not appear in the Hebrew Bible, it is probably found in the Arabic [Arabic] farra, to run away, to run wild; and hence the wild ass, from its fleetness and its untamable nature. What is said of the wild ass, Job 39:5-8, affords the very best description that can be given of the Ishmaelites, (the Bedouins and wandering Arabs,) the descendants of Ishmael: “Who hath sent out the wild ass ( pere) free? or who hath loosed the bands ( arod) of the brayer? Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.” Nothing can be more descriptive of the wandering, lawless, freebooting life of the Arabs than this.
God himself has sent them out free – he has loosed them from all political restraint. The wilderness is their habitation; and in the parched land, where no other human beings could live, they have their dwellings. They scorn the city, and therefore have no fixed habitations; for their multitude, they are not afraid; for when they make depredations on cities and towns, they retire into the desert with so much precipitancy that all pursuit is eluded. In this respect the crying of the driver is disregarded. They may be said to have no lands, and yet the range of the mountains is their pasture – they pitch their tents and feed their flocks, wherever they please; and they search after every green thing – are continually looking after prey, and seize on every kind of property that comes in their way.
It is farther said, His hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. – Many potentates among the Abyssinians, Persians, Egyptians, and Turks, have endeavoured to subjugate the wandering or wild Arabs; but, though they have had temporary triumphs, they have been ultimately unsuccessful. Sesostris, Cyrus, Pompey, and Trajan, all endeavoured to conquer Arabia, but in vain. From the beginning to the present day they have maintained their independency, and God preserves them as a lasting monument of his providential care, and an incontestable argument of the truth of Divine Revelation. Had the Pentateuch no other argument to evince its Divine origin, the account of Ishmael and the prophecy concerning his descendants, collated with their history and manner of life during a period of nearly four thousand years, would be sufficient. Indeed the argument is so absolutely demonstrative, that the man who would attempt its refutation, in the sight of reason and common sense would stand convicted of the most ridiculous presumption and folly.
The country which these free descendants of Ishmael may be properly said to possess, stretches from Aleppo to the Arabian Sea, and from Egypt to the Persian Gulf; a tract of land not less than 1800 miles in length, by 900 in breadth; see Ge 17:20.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He will be a wild man; Heb. A wild-ass man, i.e. a man like a wild ass, fierce and untamed, and unsettled in his habitation; or as that creature is, Job 39:5,8; Jer 2:24; Hos 8:9, living in deserts and mountains, warlike and violent, exercising himself continually in hunting beasts, and oppressing men. See Gen 21:20. He will provoke and injure all that converse with him, and thereby will multiply his enemies; which is to be understood not only of him, but also of his posterity.
And he shall dwell in the borders of the other sons and kindred of Abram and Isaac, who though they shall be vexed and annoyed with his neighbourhood, yet shall not be able to make him quit his habitation. See Gen 25:18.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. he will be a wild manliterally,”a wild ass man,” expressing how the wildness of Ishmaeland his descendants resembles that of the wild ass.
his hand will be againstevery mandescriptive of the rude, turbulent, and plunderingcharacter of the Arabs.
dwell in the presence of allhis brethrendwell, that is, pitch tents; and the meaning isthat they maintain their independence in spite of all attempts toextirpate or subdue them.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he will be a wild man,…. Living in a wilderness, delighting in hunting and killing wild beasts, and robbing and plundering all that pass by; and such an one Ishmael was, see
Ge 21:20; and such the Saracens, his posterity, were, and such the wild Arabs are to this day, who descended from him; or “the wild ass of a man” t; or “a wild ass among men”, as Onkelos; or “like to a wild ass among men”, as the Targum of Jonathan; wild, fierce, untamed, not subject to a yoke, and impatient of it, see Job 11:12; such was Ishmael, and such are his posterity, who never could be subdued or brought into bondage, neither by the Assyrians, nor Medes and Persians, nor by the Greeks nor Romans, nor any other people u; and at this day the Arabs live independent on the Turks, nay, oblige the Turks to pay a yearly tribute for the passage of their pilgrims to Mecca, and also to pay for their caravans that pass through their country, as travellers into those parts unanimously report; wherefore Aben Ezra translates the word rendered “wild”, or “wild ass”, by , “free”, and refers to the passage in Job 39:5. These people having been always free, and never in bondage, always lived as free booters upon others:
his hand [will be] against every man, and every man’s hand against him; signifying, that he would be of a quarrelsome temper and warlike disposition, continually engaged in fighting with his neighbours, and they with him in their own defence; and such the Arabs his posterity always have been, and still are, given to rapine and plunder, harassing their neighbours by continual excursions and robberies, and pillaging passengers of all nations, which they think they have a right to do; their father Ishmael being turned out into the plains and deserts, which were given him as his patrimony, and as they suppose a permission from God to take whatever he could get. And a late traveller into those parts observes w, that they are not to be accused of plundering strangers only, or whomsoever they may find unarmed or defenceless; but for those many implacable and hereditary animosities which continually subsist among themselves, literally fulfilling to this day the prophecy of the angel to Hagar, Ge 16:12; the greatest as well as the smallest tribes are perpetually at variance with one another, frequently occasioned upon the most trivial account, as if they were from the very days of their first ancestor naturally prone to discord and contention.
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren; the sons of Abram by Keturah, the Midianites, and others; and the Edomites that sprung from Esau, the son of his brother Isaac; and the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob, another son of Isaac; and his kinsmen the Moabites and Ammonites, upon all which he and his posterity bordered, see Ge 25:18. It may be rendered, “he shall tabernacle” x, or dwell in tents, as he did, and his posterity afterwards; particularly the Scenite Arabs, so called from their dwelling in tents, and the Bedouins, such were the tents of Kedar, one of his sons, So 1:5; the same with them to this day: according to Jarchi, the sense of the phrase is, that his seed should be large and numerous, and spread themselves, and reach to the borders of all their brethren.
t “onager hominis”, Cocceius, Schmidt. u Vid. Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 131. w Dr. Shaw’s Travels, p. 238, 239. Ed. 2. x “figet tabernacula”, V. L. “tabernaculabit”, Malvenda.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
12. And he will be a wild man. The angel declares what kind of person Ishmael will be. The simple meaning is, (in my judgment,) that he will be a warlike man, and so formidable to his enemies, that none shall injure him with impunity. Some expound the word פרא ( pereh) to mean a forester, and one addicted to the hunting of wild beasts. But the explanation must not, it seems, be sought elsewhere than in the context; for it follows immediately after, ‘His hand shall be against all men, and the hand of all men against him.’ It is however asked, whether this ought to be reckoned among benefits conferred by God, that he is to preserve his rank in life by force of arms; seeing that nothing is, in itself, more desirable than peace. The difficulty may be thus solved; that Ishmael, although all his neighbors should make war upon him, and should, on every side, conspire to destroy him; shall yet though alone, be endued with sufficient power to repel all their attacks. I think, however, that the angel, by no means, promises Ishmael complete favor, but only that which is limited. Among our chief blessings, we must desire to have peace with all men. Now, since this is denied to Ishmael, that blessing which is next in order is granted to him; namely, that he shall not be overcome by his enemies; but shall be brave and powerful to resist their force. He does not, however, speak of Ishmael’s person, but of his whole progeny; for what follows is not strictly suitable to one man. Should this exposition be approved, no simple or unmixed blessing is here promised; but only a tolerable or moderate condition; so that Ishmael and his posterity might perceive that something was divinely granted to them, for the sake of their father Abram. Therefore, it is, by no means, to be reckoned among the benefits given by God, that he shall have all around him as enemies, and shall resist them all by violence: but this is added as a remedy and an alleviation of the evil; that he, who would have many enemies, should be equal to bear up against them.
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. As this is properly applicable only to a nation, we hence the more easily perceive, that they are deceived who restrict the passage to the person of Ishmael. Again, others understand, that the posterity of Ishmael was to have a fixed habitation in the presence of their brethren, who would be unwilling to allow it; as if it were said, that they should forcibly occupy the land they inhabit, although their brethren might attempt to resist them. Others adduce a contrary opinion; namely, that the Ishmaelites, though living among a great number of enemies, should yet not be destitute of friends and brethren. I approve, however, of neither opinion: for the angel rather intimates, that this people should be separate from others; as if he would say, ‘They shall not form a part or member of any one nation; but shall be a complete body, having a distinct and special name.’
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) He will be a wild man.Heb., he will be a wild-ass man. The wild ass of the Arabian deserts is a very noble creature, and is one of the animals selected in the Book of Job as especially exemplifying the greatness of God (Job. 39:5-8). Its characteristics are great speed, love of solitude, and an untamable fondness of liberty. It is thus the very type of the Bedaween Arabs, whose delight is to rove at will over the desert, and who despise the ease and luxury of a settled life.
His hand will be against every man . ..The Bedaween can be bound by no treaties, submit to no law, and count plunder as legitimate gain. Nevertheless
He shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.That is, he shall maintain his independence, and his descendants shall continue to exist as a free race in the presence of the other Abrahamic nations. Many commentators, however, consider that the more exact rendering is, he shall dwell to the east of all his brethren. This is certainly the meaning of the word in Gen. 25:6, but does not suit equally well there in Gen. 25:18.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. He will be a wild man Hebrews, a wild ass man, that is, a man like the wild, free, untamable creature described in Job 39:5-8, that makes the wilderness his dwelling, and “scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver . ” Hagar is to be the mother of a numerous and mighty race, but not of the chosen seed . Her progeny were to become the lawless rovers of the desert . “The character of the Ishmaelites, or the Bedouins,” observes Kalisch, “could not be described more aptly or more powerfully . They have preserved it almost unaltered during three or four thousand years . Against them alone time seems to have no sickle, and the conqueror’s sword no edge. They have defied the softening influences of civilization, and mocked the attacks of the invader. Ungovernable and roaming, obeying no law but their spirit of adventure, regarding all mankind as their enemies, whom they must either attack with their spears or elude with their faithful steeds, and cherishing their deserts as heartily as they despise the constraint of towns and communities; the Bedouins are the outlaws among the nations.”
His hand against every man Such a wild and lawless race could never be at peace with a civilized community, and hence, whenever there is any contact with other peoples, there is continual discord. They are also known to have constant feuds among themselves.
In the presence of all his brethren The brethren here are doubtless to be understood of other descendants of Abram, especially those by Keturah, (see Gen 25:1-4,) and the fact that the descendants of Ishmael have ever occupied the deserts south and east of Palestine is to serve in interpreting these words . Many critics understand the phrase in the presence of as equivalent to east of, a meaning which the words will bear . The persons of whom the words are thus used are supposed to be looking toward the sunrise . But the expression may with equal propriety be used in the sense of contiguity . The Ishmaelites occupied the country in front of the Hebrews, bordering on the south and east, and especially dwelt in immediate proximity to the Midianites, Edomites, and other descendants of Abram .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 16:12. He will be a wild man In the original it is, a wild ass man; and the learned Bochart translates it, tam ferus quam onager, as wild as a wild ass. But what is the nature of the animal to which Ishmael is so particularly compared? It cannot be described better than it is in the book of Job 39:5; Job 39:30. Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwelling. He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing. Ishmael, therefore, and his posterity, would be wild, savage, ranging in the desarts, and not easily softened and tamed to society: and whoever hath ever read or known any thing of this people, knows this to be their true and genuine character. It is said of Ishmael, ch. Gen 21:20. that he dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer: and the same is no less true of his descendants than of himself: he dwelt in the wilderness; and his sons still inhabit the same wilderness, and many of them neither sow nor plant, according to the best accounts, ancient and modern. He became an archer: and such were the Ituraeans, whose bows and arrows are famous in all authors: such were the mighty men of Kedar in Isaiah’s time, Isa 21:17 and such the Arabs have been from the beginning, and are at this time; and it was late before they admitted the use of fire-arms among them.
His hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him The one is the natural and almost necessary consequence of the other. Ishmael lived by prey and rapine in the wilderness; and his posterity have all along infested Arabia and the neighbouring countries with their robberies and incursions. They are in a state of continual war with the rest of the world, and are both robbers by land, and many of them pirates by sea. And as they have been such enemies to mankind, it is no wonder that mankind have been enemies to them; that several attempts have been made to extirpate them; and even now, as well as formerly, travellers are forced to go with arms and in caravans, or large companies, and to march and keep watch and guard, like a little army, to defend themselves from the assaults of these freebooters, who run about in troops, and rob and plunder all they can by any means subdue. And these robberies they justify, according to Mr. Sale, “by alledging the hard usage of their father Ishmael, who being turned out of doors by Abram, had the open plains and desarts given him by God for his patrimony, with permission to take whatever he could find there. And on this account they think they may, with a safe conscience, indemnify themselves, as well as they can, not only on the posterity of Isaac, but also on every body else; always supposing a sort of kindred between themselves and those they plunder. And, in relating their adventures of this kind, they think it sufficient to change the expression, and instead of, I robbed a man of such a thing, to say, I gained it.”
He shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren Shall tabernacle, ishcon; for many of the Arabs dwell in tents, and are therefore called Scenites. This is very extraordinary, that every man’s hand should be against him, &c. and yet that he should be able to dwell in the presence of all his brethren; but, extraordinary as it is, this also hath been fulfilled, both in the person of Ishmael and in his posterity. As for Ishmael himself, the sacred historian, ch. Gen 25:17-18. relates, that his years were an hundred and thirty and seven, and he died in the presence of all his brethren. And as for his posterity, they dwelt likewise in the presence of all their brethren; of Abram’s sons, by Keturah; the Moabites and Ammonites, descendants of Lot; the Israelites, descended of Isaac and Jacob; and the Edomites, descendants of Isaac and Esau: and they still subsist a distinct people, and inhabit the country of their progenitors, notwithstanding the perpetual enmity between them and the rest of mankind. It may be said, perhaps, that the country was not worth conquering, and its barrenness was its preservation; but this is a mistake: for, by all accounts, though the greater part of it consists of sandy and barren desarts, yet beautiful spots and fruitful vallies are interspersed. One part of the country was anciently known and distinguished by the name of Arabia, the Happy. And now the Proper Arabia is, by the Oriental writers, generally divided into five provinces. Of these the chief is the province of Yaman, which, as Mr. Sale asserts, “has been famous from all antiquity for the happiness of its climate, its fertility, and riches.” But, if the country were ever so bad, one would think it should be for the interest of the neighbouring princes and states; at any hazard, to root out such a pestilential race of robbers; and it has been attempted several times, but never accomplished. They have, from first to last, maintained their independency; and notwithstanding the most powerful efforts for their destruction, still dwell in the presence of all their brethren, and in the presence of all their enemies.
As the history of Ishmael and his descendants, is one of the standing public evidences of the truth of the sacred Scriptures, the reader will excuse me if I enlarge upon it. Diodorus, one of the great heathen Historians, says of them, that neither the Assyrians, nor the kings of the Medes and Persians, nor yet of the Macedonians, were able to subdue them; nay, though they led many and great forces against them, yet they could not accomplish their attempts. And undoubted history informs us of such remarkable interpositions of Providence to preserve them, when they have been upon the brink of ruin; that when we consider them, we cannot help being struck with admiration at the holy Scriptures, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done.
When Alexander the Great overturned the Persian Empire, and conquered a great part of Asia, the neighbouring princes sent their ambassadors to make their submissions. The Arabs (the descendants of Ishmael) alone disdained to acknowledge the Conqueror, and scorned to send any embassy, or take any notice of him. This contempt so provoked him, that he meditated an expedition against them; and, humanly speaking, considering his vast army, the great assistance he would have received from all the neighbouring princes, and his being in want of nothing which could contribute to his success, we can scarcely suppose but he would have entirely destroyed them: but while he was meditating on these things, God took him away by death, and put an end to all his resentment and designs against them; and again shewed the world, that there was one greater than the greatest. When the Romans subdued the rest of the East, Arabia alone stood out; and when Lucullus, one of their generals, had subdued some of the Arabs, he was recalled, and Pompey sent in his room: this latter most successful general gained some victories, and penetrated into the country; but the word of God was against him, so that when success seemed ready to crown him with an entire subjection of the country, other affairs obliged him to leave it, and by retiring he lost all the advantages he had gained. AElius Gallus, a Roman general in the reign of Augustus, penetrated far into the country; but of a sudden a strange distemper made terrible havoc in his army; and after two years spent in the enterprize, he was glad to escape with the small remainder of his forces. But, at the times they were attacked by the Emperors Trajan and Severus, the interpositions of Providence to save them were still more remarkable.
Dio, who must have been impartial in the present instance, informs us, that when Trajan besieged the city of the Hagarenes (who were descended and denominated from Hagar,) as often as his soldiers attacked the city, the whole heavens shook with thunder, rainbows were seen in the sky, (both considered as terrifying omens by the Romans,) violent storms, hail, and thunderbolts, fell upon them; and all these were repeated, as often as they returned to the assault of the city; and as often as they sat down to refresh themselves with a repast, a multitude of flies alighting both on their eatables and liquors, made all they ate or drank nauseous; so that the emperor was at last compelled by these circumstances to raise the siege. It may be observed here, that when they were attacked by Trajan, the power of the whole world was united in one empire, and the whole power of that empire was in his hands; that he was himself a man of great abilities, remarkably beloved by his soldiers, indefatigable in the toils of war, and greatly experienced in all that belongs to it; so that if it were possible that God’s promise to Ishmael of subsistence in freedom, though at enmity with the rest of the world, could be defeated by human wisdom or mortal might, it must have been at this time. About eight years after, the emperor Severus besieged the same city with a numerous army; and Dio, the historian, who gives an account of this expedition, as well as of that under Trajan, again remarks, that God preserved the city; who, by the Emperor, called back the soldiers, when they could have entered it; and again, by the soldiers, restrained the emperor from taking it, when he was desirous. The whole anecdote is very wonderful: the emperor being at first repulsed with loss, made great preparations for the second assault, in which (after a great loss of his soldiers) he overthrew part of the city-wall, so that an entrance lay open into the city. Just at that time the emperor caused a retreat to be sounded, imagining that the besieged would intreat for peace; and that, to obtain it, they would discover where the vast treasures lay, which were supposed to be concealed in their temple of the sun, and which he thought might be lost, if the city were sacked and the inhabitants destroyed. But the Hagarenes continued resolute the whole day, giving no intimation of their desire of entering into terms of capitulation. On the morrow following, when the emperor would have renewed the attack, the European soldiers, at all other times most resolute, would make no attempt to enter at the breach; and the Syrians, enforced to take the service, met with a grievous repulse. No persuasions, no promises, no threats could engage the Europeans to renew their attacks; so that, though the conquest in martial esteem appeared so easy after the breach in the walls, that one of Severus’s captains confidently undertook to effect it, if he could but have five hundred and fifty European soldiers assigned to the attack, yet the emperor could do no more than reply in a rage, “Where shall I find so many soldiers?” and so departed into Palestine. And yet this very emperor was beloved and revered by his soldiers almost to adoration, but could not now influence them to assault the enemy, when they were almost at their mercy: a fact so extraordinary, that it appears to be manifestly the interposition of that Mighty Being, who at his pleasure poureth contempt upon princes, and bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought. It may be added, that the Hagarenes stood single in this extremity, against the whole Roman power; for Dio expressly says, that not one of their neighbours would assist them. And we may likewise observe, that the spirit of freedom, which was the declared characteristic of Ishmael before he was born, was remarkable at this time in these his descendants; as they seem to have been fully determined, either to live absolutely free, or to die so; disdaining to capitulate, or make any terms, even with the emperor of the world.
Nothing can be more convincing, that it was God himself who dictated the Scriptures, than to find them thus declaring what shall be, for ages to come; and to know that these predictions have been thus exactly fulfilled without any variation during so many ages; and that the prophecies concerning Ishmael, this son of Abram, should to this day be receiving their accomplishment publicly and exactly in every particular, in his numerous descendants. They who are desirous to see this curious subject more copiously handled, may be referred to a dissertation upon the independency of the Arabs, in the last volume of the Ancient Universal History.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
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.
The Hebrew reads, “a wild-ass man.” Unrenewed nature is always thus. Job 11:12 . See this promise concerning Ishmael fulfilled. Gen 25:18 . The wild Arabs, which are descendants of Ishmael, preserve the same character to this day.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 16:12 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.
Ver. 12. And he will be a wild man. ] Heb., A wild ass, which is fierce, untractable, and untameable. And such by nature is every mother’s child of us, Job 11:12 “a wild ass’s colt.” An ass is none of the wisest of creatures, much less an ass’s colt; least of all, a wild ass’s colt. Lo, such is man.
His hand will be against every man. ] This was first accomplished in his person, and then in his posterity. For himself, he was ferus et pugnax , ever quarrelling and contending. a Now a quarrelsome man is like a cock of the game, that is still bloody with the blood of others, and of himself. As for his posterity the Saracens, Mohammed, the mischief of mankind, had his generation from this wild ass. And Sarai was utterly disappointed; for these Agarens were ever enemies, and so continue to be to her seed.
a Figimus, inque vicem praebemus tela sagittis .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
against. True to-day and for over 3,000 years. Compare Gen 21:20. Isa 21:13. Jer 3:2. Ezr 8:31. Psa 10:8, Psa 10:9.
presence = face, i.e. on the face of the same country.
brethren. Esp. with the Midianites (Gen 37:28), Midian being his half-brother, by Keturah (compare Jdg 8:22, Jdg 8:24). Compare the fulfillment in Gen 25:18.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
be a: Gen 21:20, Job 11:12, Job 39:5-8
wild: The word rendered “wild” also denotes the “wild ass;” the description of which animal in Job 39:5-8, affords the very best representation of the wandering, lawless, freebooting life of the Bedouin and other Arabs, the descendants of Ishmael.
his hand: Gen 27:40
he shall: Gen 25:18
Reciprocal: Gen 37:25 – Ishmeelites Job 24:5 – the wilderness Job 30:7 – brayed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 16:12. 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 mans hand against him That is his punishment. Those that have turbulent spirits, have commonly troublesome lives: they that are provoking and injurious to others, must expect to be repaid in their own coin. But this prediction chiefly respects the seed of Ishmael, who, it is here foretold, should be wild, free men, like wild asses, mischievous to all around them, and extremely numerous. Such they have been for almost four thousand years; infamous for theft, pillage, robbery, revenge, and murder. It hath, therefore, as Mr. Brown justly observes, been the continued and common interest of mankind to extirpate them from the earth. But though almost every noted conqueror who hath appeared in the world, whether Persian, Grecian, Roman, Tartar, or Turkish, hath pushed his conquests to their borders, or even beyond them, into Egypt or Arabia Felix, not one hath ever been able to subdue these Ishmaelites, or deprive them of their freedom. Here then we have another remarkable prophecy most evidently fulfilled, and a continued and standing proof, before the face of the whole world, exactly like that which arises from the present state of the Jews, of the truth of divine revelation. He shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren Although threatened and insulted by all his neighbours, he shall keep his ground; and, for Abrams sake, more than his own, shall be able to make his part good against them. Accordingly, we read, Gen 25:18, that he died, as he lived, in the presence of all his brethren. But this also was chiefly intended of his posterity: for Ishmael had twelve sons, who gave rise to as many tribes or nations, called by their names, and who dwelt southward in Arabia, before the face, or in the presence of the Ammonites and Moabites, of the descendants of Keturah, and of the Edomites and Jews, all nearly related to them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16:12 And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and {f} he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
(f) That is, the Ishmaelites will be a separate people by themselves and not part of another people.