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Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau
Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
Jacob sent messengers ahead of 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 instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till 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 cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’ ”
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.’”
When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now 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!”
Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups.
He thought, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps the other group can escape.”
Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’
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 kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps.
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!
Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their 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.
But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’ ”
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.’”
He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift 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 female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and 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 put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”
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 instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’
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 are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming 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.’”
He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet 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 be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’ ” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive 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 Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.
So the gifts were sent on ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp.
Jacob Wrestles With God
That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons 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.
After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.
After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions.
So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.
This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break.
When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.
When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket.
Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
But Jacob replied, “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.”
The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
“Jacob,” he answered.
“What is your name?” the man asked.
He replied, “Jacob.”
He replied, “Jacob.”
Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then 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.
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.”
Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.
(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.)