The angel describes Ishmael's character: he will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers. The description is not condemnatory but prophetic — it describes the character of the people who will descend from Ishmael, associated with the nomadic desert-dwelling peoples of the Arabian Peninsula. The wild donkey imagery in the ancient Near East was not entirely negative — it conveyed freedom, independence, living apart from the constraints of settled society. The hostility described is the rough-and-tumble existence of desert tribes, constantly in tension with neighbors. The prophecy is fulfilled throughout the history of the peoples descended from Ishmael. The application: the prophecy over Ishmael is not a curse but a description — Hagar's son will produce a people of fierce independence. God sees what will come and names it honestly. Honest prophecy is not the same as condemnation.

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