Genesis 32
32
1And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2And Jacob said when he saw them, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the field of Edom. 4And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau; Thus saith thy servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now: 5and I have oxen, and asses and flocks, and menservants ard maidservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. 6And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. 7Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies; 8and he said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the company which is left shall escape.
9And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will do thee good: 10I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two companies. 11Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he come and smite me, the mother with the children. 12And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
13And he lodged there that night; and took of that which he had with him a present for Esau his brother; 14two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15thirty milch camels and their colts, forty kine and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals. 16And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. 17And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? 18then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, he also is behind us. 19And he commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him; 20and ye shall say, Moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept me. 21So the present passed over before him: and he himself lodged that night in the company. 22And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven children, and passed over the ford of Jabbok. 23And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that he had.
24And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him. 26And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Penuel, and he halted upon his thigh. 32Therefore the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.
historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Genesis 32
32
Jacob’s Fear of Esau
1Then as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him [to reassure and protect him]. 2When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” So he named that place Mahanaim (#Jacob may have been referring to the angels as another camp, along with his own, and viewing their presence as evidence of divine protection. This was Jacob’s second encounter with the “angels of God” (28:12).double camps).
3Then Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4He commanded them, saying, “This is what to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says this, “I have been living temporarily with Laban, and have stayed there until now; 5I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants; and I have sent [this message] to tell my lord, so that I may find grace and kindness in your sight.” ’ ”
6The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” 7Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps; 8and he said, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the other camp which is left will escape.”
9Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your people, and I will make you prosper,’ 10I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and compassion and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant. With only my staff [long ago] I crossed over this Jordan, and now I have become [blessed and increased into these] two groups [of people]. 11Save me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. 12And You [Lord] said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper and make your descendants as [numerous as] the sand of the sea, which is too great to be counted.’ ”
13So Jacob spent the night there. Then he selected a present for his brother Esau from the livestock he had acquired: 14two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams, 15thirty milking camels with their colts, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten [donkey] colts. 16He put them into the care of his servants, every herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go on ahead of me, and put an interval [of space] between the individual herds.” 17Then he commanded the one in front, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks to whom you belong, and where you are going, and whose are the animals in front of you? 18then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s; they are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And he also is behind us.’ ” 19And so Jacob commanded the second and the third as well, and all that followed the herds, saying, “This is what you shall say to Esau when you meet him; 20and you shall say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said [to himself], “I will try to appease him with the gift that is going ahead of me. Then afterward I will see him; perhaps he will accept and forgive me.” 21So the gift [of the herds of livestock] went on ahead of him, and he himself spent that night back in the camp.
22But he got up that same night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and waded over the ford of the Jabbok. 23Then he took them and sent them across the brook. And he also sent across whatever he had.
Jacob Wrestles
24So Jacob was left alone, and a #This was God Himself (as Jacob eventually realizes in Gen 32:30; see also v 29 and Hosea 12:4), in the form of an angel.Man [came and] wrestled with him until daybreak. 25When the Man saw that He had not prevailed against Jacob, He touched his hip joint; and Jacob’s hip was dislocated as he wrestled with Him. 26Then He said, “Let Me go, for day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You declare a blessing on me.” 27So He asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28And He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but #“He who strives with God,” or “God strives.”Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” 29Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.” But He said, “Why is it that you ask My name?” And He declared a blessing [of the covenant promises] on Jacob there. 30So Jacob named the place Peniel (the face of God), saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life has not been snatched away.” 31Now the sun rose on him as he passed Penuel (Peniel), and he was limping because of his hip. 32Therefore, to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh by the tendon of the hip.
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