Genesis 10:9

10:9 He was a mighty hunter ¹  before the Lord. ²  (That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.”)

Genesis 16:12

16:12 He will be a wild donkey ³  of a man.

He will be hostile to everyone, ⁴ 

and everyone will be hostile to him. ⁵ 

He will live away from ⁶  his brothers.”

Genesis 25:27

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ⁷  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ⁸ 

Genesis 27:3

27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ⁹  for me.

Genesis 49:23-24

49:23 The archers will attack him, ¹⁰ 

they will shoot at him and oppose him.

49:24 But his bow will remain steady,

and his hands ¹¹  will be skillful;

because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,

because of ¹²  the Shepherd, the Rock ¹³  of Israel,

[10:9]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word for “hunt” is צַיִד (tsayid), which is used on occasion for hunting men (1 Sam 24:12; Jer 16:16; Lam 3:15).

[10:9]  ² tn Another option is to take the divine name here, לִפְנֵי יִהוָה (lifne yÿhvah, “before the Lord [YHWH]”), as a means of expressing the superlative degree. In this case one may translate “Nimrod was the greatest hunter in the world.”

[16:12]  ³ 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.

[16:12]  ⁴ 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.

[16:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”

[16:12]  ⁶ 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).

[25:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “knowing.”

[25:27]  ⁸ tn The disjunctive clause juxtaposes Jacob with Esau and draws attention to the striking contrasts. In contrast to Esau, a man of the field, Jacob was civilized, as the phrase “living in tents” signifies. Whereas Esau was a skillful hunter, Jacob was calm and even-tempered (תָּם, tam), which normally has the idea of “blameless.”

[27:3]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew word is to be spelled either צַיִד (tsayid) following the marginal reading (Qere), or צֵידָה (tsedah) following the consonantal text (Kethib). Either way it is from the same root as the imperative צוּדָה (tsudah, “hunt down”).

[49:23]  ¹⁰ tn The verb forms in vv. 23-24 are used in a rhetorical manner, describing future events as if they had already taken place.

[49:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the arms of his hands.”

[49:24]  ¹² tn Heb “from there,” but the phrase should be revocalized and read “from [i.e., because of] the name of.”

[49:24]  ¹³ tn Or “Stone.”