Genesis 32
1 Likewise, Jacob continued on the journey that he had begun. And the Angels of God met him.
As Jacob and his family continued traveling, some angels, whom God sent, met him.
2 When he had seen them, he said, “These are the Encampments of God.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim, that is, ‘Encampments.’
When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s army camp!” So he named that place Mahanaim, [which means ‘two camps’].
3 Then he also sent messengers before him to his brother Esau, in the land of Seir, in the region of Edom.
Jacob told some of the men to go ahead of him to his older brother Esau, who was living in Seir, the land where the descendants of Edom lived.
4 And he instructed them, saying: “You shall speak in this way to my lord Esau: ‘Your brother Jacob says these things: “I have sojourned with Laban, and I have been with him until the present day.
He told them, “This is what I want you to say to Esau: 'I, Jacob, want to be your servant and I want you to be my master. I have been living with our uncle Laban, and I have stayed there until now.
5 I have oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, and men servants, and women servants. And now I send an ambassador to my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.”’”
I now own many cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and male and female slaves. Now I am sending this message to you, sir, hoping that you will (be friendly toward me/treat me kindly) when I arrive.’ “
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We went to your brother Esau, and behold, he rushes to meet you with four hundred men.”
The messengers went and gave that message to Esau. When they returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your older brother Esau. Now he is coming to you, and 400 men are coming with him.”
7 Jacob was very afraid. And in his terror, he divided the people who were with him, likewise the flocks, and the sheep, and the oxen, and the camels, into two companies,
Jacob was very afraid and worried. So he divided the people who were with him into two groups. He also divided the sheep and goats, the cattle, and the camels, into two groups.
8 saying: “If Esau goes to one company, and strikes it, the other company, which is left behind, will be saved.”
He was thinking, “If Esau and his men come and attack us, perhaps one of the groups will be left and will be able to escape.”
9 And Jacob said: “God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me: ‘Return to your land, and to the place of your nativity, and I will do well for you.’
Then Jacob prayed, “O Yahweh God, whom my grandfather Abraham worshiped and my father Isaac worships, you said to me, ‘Go back to your own land and to your relatives, and I will (cause good things happen to/do good things for) you.’
10 I am less than any of your compassions and your truth, which you have fulfilled to your servant. With my staff I crossed over this Jordan. And now I go back with two companies.
I am not worthy for you to have been so kind and faithful to me in so many ways, your servant. I had only this walking stick with me when I crossed the Jordan [River on my way to Haran], but now I am so wealthy that there are two large groups of my family and possessions.
11 Rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am very afraid of him, lest perhaps he may come and strike down the mother with the sons.
So now I pray that you will rescue me from [MTY] my [older] brother Esau, because I am afraid that he and his men will come and attack and kill me and the children and their mothers.
12 You did say that you would do well by me, and that you would expand my offspring like the sand of the sea, which, because of its multitude, cannot be numbered.”
But do not forget that you have said, ‘I will certainly enable you to prosper, and I will cause your descendants to be as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore, which are so many that no one can count them.’”
13 And when he had slept there that night, he separated, from the things that he had, gifts for his brother Esau:
Jacob slept there that night. The next morning he selected some animals to give to his brother Esau.
14 two hundred she-goats, twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
He selected 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep,
15 thirty milking camels with their young, forty cows, and twenty bulls, twenty she-donkeys, and ten of their young.
30 female camels and their offspring, 40 cows and ten bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys.
16 And he sent them by the hands of his servants, each flock separately, and he said to his servants: “Pass before me, and let there be a space between flock and flock.”
He divided them into small herds, and put each herd into the care of one of his servants. He said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, one group at a time, and keep some space between each herd.”
17 And he instructed the first, saying: “If you happen to meet my brother Esau, and he questions you: “Whose are you?” or, “Where are you going?” or, “Whose are these which follow you?”
He said to the servant who was going with the first group, “When my brother Esau meets you, and he asks you, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’
18 you shall respond: “Your servant Jacob’s. He has sent them as a gift to my lord Esau. And he is also coming after us.”
tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. He has sent them to you as a gift, sir. And he is coming behind us.’”
19 Similarly, he gave orders to the second, and the third, and to all who followed the flocks, saying: “Speak these same words to Esau, when you find him.
He also said the same thing to the servants who were taking care of the second and third groups, and to the other herdsmen. He said to them, “When you meet Esau, I want you to say to him the same thing that I told the first servant.
20 And you will add: ‘Your servant Jacob himself also follows after us, for he said: “I will appease him with the gifts that go ahead, and after this, I will see him; perhaps he will be gracious to me.”’”
And be sure to say ‘Jacob, who wants to serve you, is coming behind us.’” Jacob told them to say that because he was thinking, “Perhaps these gifts that I am sending ahead of me will cause him to (act peacefully toward/stop being angry with) me. Then later, when I see him, perhaps he will be kind to me.”
21 And so the gifts went before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.
So the men taking the gifts [PRS] went ahead, but Jacob himself stayed in the camp that night.
22 And when he had arisen early, he took his two wives, and the same number of handmaids, with his eleven sons, and he crossed over the ford of Jabbok.
Some time during that night, Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female slaves, and his eleven sons and his daughter, and he sent them across the ford at the Jabbok River.
23 And having delivered over all the things that belonged to him,
After he had done that, he sent other slaves, carrying all his possessions, across the river.
24 he remained alone. And behold, a man wrestled with him until morning.
So Jacob was left there alone. But a man came and wrestled with him until dawn.
25 And when he saw that he would not be able to overcome him, he touched the nerve of his thigh, and immediately it withered.
When the man realized that he was not winning against Jacob, he struck Jacob’s hip and caused the thigh bone to pull away from the hip socket.
26 And he said to him, “Release me, for now the dawn ascends.” He responded, “I will not release you, unless you bless me.”
Then the man said, “Let me go, because it will soon be daylight.” [Then Jacob realized who he was really wrestling with]. So he replied, “No, if you will not bless me, I will not let you go!”
27 Therefore he said, “What is your name?” He answered, “Jacob.”
The man said to him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Jacob.”
28 But he said, “Your name will not be called Jacob, but Israel; for if you have been strong against God, how much more will you prevail against men?”
The man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. Your name will be Israel, [which means ‘he struggles with God’, ] because you have struggled with God and with people, and you have won.”
29 Jacob questioned him, “Tell me, by what name are you called?” He responded, “Why do you ask my name?” And he blessed him in the same place.
Jacob said, “Now, please tell me your name!” The man replied, “(Why do you ask me what my name is?/You should not have to ask me what my name is!)” [RHQ] But he blessed Jacob there.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “I have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved.”
So Jacob named the place Peniel, [which means ‘God’s face’, ] saying “I looked directly at God, but I did not die because of doing that.”
31 And immediately the sun rose upon him, after he had crossed beyond Peniel. Yet in truth, he limped on his foot.
The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of what had happened to his hip.
32 For this reason, the sons of Israel, even to the present day, do not eat the nerve that withered in Jacob’s thigh, because he touched the nerve of his thigh and it was obstructed.
The muscle on his hip joint had been injured. So to this present time, because of what happened to Jacob, the Israeli people do not eat the muscle/tendon that is attached to the socket of the hips of animals.
