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Jacob’s Fear of Esau
Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him.
Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him.
Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’s camp.” So he named that place Mahanaim.
Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
Jacob Sends Gifts to Esau
Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom.
He also commanded them saying, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now;
He told them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings from your servant Jacob. Until now I have been living with Uncle Laban,
I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.”’”
and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.’”
The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you — with an army of 400 men!”
Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies;
Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups.
for he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.”
He thought, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps the other group can escape.”
Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,’
Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac — O LORD, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’
I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.
I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps!
“Deliver me, I pray, 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.
O LORD, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children.
“For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’”
But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore — too many to count.’”
So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau:
Jacob stayed where he was for the night. Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to present to his brother, Esau:
two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams,
thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
30 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys.
He delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on before me, and put a space between droves.”
He divided these animals into herds and assigned each to different servants. Then he told his servants, “Go ahead of me with the animals, but keep some distance between the herds.”
He commanded the one in front, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’
He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group: “When my brother, Esau, meets you, he will ask, ‘Whose servants are you? Where are you going? Who owns these animals?’
then you shall say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.’”
You must reply, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, but they are a gift for his master Esau. Look, he is coming right behind us.’”
Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, “After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;
Jacob gave the same instructions to the second and third herdsmen and to all who followed behind the herds: “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him.
and you shall say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”
And be sure to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’”
Jacob thought, “I will try to appease him by sending gifts ahead of me. When I see him in person, perhaps he will be friendly to me.”
Jacob thought, “I will try to appease him by sending gifts ahead of me. When I see him in person, perhaps he will be friendly to me.”
So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.
So the gifts were sent on ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp.
Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
Jacob Wrestles with God
During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them.
He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.
After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions.
Jacob Wrestles
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break.
When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket.
Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
“What is your name?” the man asked.
He replied, “Jacob.”
He replied, “Jacob.”
He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.
“Please tell me your name,” Jacob said.
“Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.
“Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.
So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”
Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.”
Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh.
Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.
(Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob’s hip.)