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32 And Ya’akov went on his derech, and the malachim of Elohim met him.

(3) And when Ya’akov saw them, he said, This is Mahaneh Elohim; and he called the shem of that makom (place) Machanayim.

[VAYISHLAH]

(4) And Ya’akov sent malachim before him to Esav achiv unto Eretz Seir, the country of Edom.

(5) And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto adoni Esav; Thy eved Ya’akov saith thus, I have sojourned with Lavan, and stayed there until now;

(6) And I have shor (oxen), and chamor, tzon, and eved, and shifchah; and I have sent to tell adoni, that I may find chen (grace) in thy sight.

(7) And the malachim returned to Ya’akov, saying, We came to Esav achicha, and also he cometh to meet thee, and arba me’ot ish with him.

(8) Then Ya’akov was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided HaAm that was with him, and the tzon, and bakar, and the gemalim, into two machanot;

(9) And said, If Esav come to the one machaneh, and attack it, then the other machaneh which is left shall escape.

(10) And Ya’akov said, O Elohei Avi Avraham, and Elohei Avi Yitzchak, Hashem which saidst unto me, Shuv l’aretzecha and to thy moledet (kindred), and I will deal well with thee;

10 (11) I am not worthy of the least of all the chasadim, and of all the emes, which Thou hast showed unto Thy eved; for with my makal (rod, staff) I passed over this Yarden; and now I am become two machanot.

11 (12) Save me, now, from the yad achi, from the yad Esav; for I fear him, lest he will come and attack me, em with banim.

12 (13) But Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy zera as the chol of the yam, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

13 (14) And he spent there that same night; and took of that which came to his yad a minchah for Esav achiv;

14 (15) Two hundred female goats, and twenty male goats, two hundred rechelim (ewes), and twenty eilim (rams),

15 (16) Thirty nursing gemalim with their colts, forty parot (cows), and ten parim (bulls), twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys.

16 (17) And he delivered them into the yad of his avadim, every herd by itself; and said unto his avadim, Pass over before me, and keep a space between herd and herd.

17 (18) And he commanded the rishon, saying, When Esav achi meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? And to where goest thou? And whose are these [animals] before thee?

18 (19) Then thou shalt say, They are of thy eved Ya’akov; it is a minchah sent unto adoni Esav; and, hinei, also he is behind us.

19 (20) And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the adarim (herds), saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esav, when ye find him.

20 (21) And say ye moreover, Hinei, thy eved Ya’akov is behind us. For he said, Akhapperah (I will appease, pacify) his face with the minchah that goeth ahead of me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.

21 (22) So went the minchah (present) over ahead of him; but he himself stayed balailah in the machaneh.

22 (23) And he rose up that night, and took his two nashim and his two shifchot, and his eleven yeladim, and passed over the ma’avar (ford) Yabbok.

23 (24) And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over [all] that he had.

24 (25) And Ya’akov was left by himself; and there wrestled an ish with him until the shachar (dawn, sunup).

25 (26) And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he struck his hip socket; so Ya’akov’s hip socket dislocated while he wrestled with him.

26 (27) And he said, Let me go, for shachar breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, unless thou make a berakah upon me.

27 (28) And he said unto him, What is shemecha? And he said, Ya’akov.

28 (29) And he said, Shimcha shall be called no more Ya’akov, but Yisroel: for sarita im Elohim ([yisrah=to prevail + El=G-d = Yisroel] ye have striven with Elohim) and with anashim, and hast overcome.

29 (30) And Ya’akov asked him, and said, Tell me, now, shemecha. And he said, Why is it that thou dost ask after shmi? And he made a brocha upon him there.

30 (31) And Ya’akov called the shem of the makom (place) Peniel [Face of G-d): for I have seen Elohim panim el panim, and my nefesh is saved.

31 (32) And as he passed over Penuel the shemesh rose upon him, and he limped upon his hip.

32 (33) Therefore the Bnei Yisroel eat not of the sinew of the thigh vein (sciatic nerve) which is upon the hip socket, unto this day; because he touched the hip socket of Ya’akov in the sinew of the thigh vein.

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

32 [a]Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God(A) met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!”(B) So he named that place Mahanaim.[b](C)

Jacob sent messengers(D) ahead of him to his brother Esau(E) in the land of Seir,(F) the country of Edom.(G) He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord(H) Esau: ‘Your servant(I) Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban(J) and have remained there till now. I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants.(K) Now I am sending this message to my lord,(L) that I may find favor in your eyes.(M)’”

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.”(N)

In great fear(O) and distress(P) Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,[c](Q) and the flocks and herds and camels as well. He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group,[d] the group[e] that is left may escape.”

Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham,(R) God of my father Isaac,(S) Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’(T) 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness(U) you have shown your servant. I had only my staff(V) when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps.(W) 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid(X) he will come and attack me,(Y) and also the mothers with their children.(Z) 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand(AA) of the sea, which cannot be counted.(AB)’”

13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift(AC) for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,(AD) 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.(AE) 16 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.”(AF)

17 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?’ 18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant(AG) Jacob. They are a gift(AH) sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’”

19 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. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Your servant(AI) Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts(AJ) I am sending on ahead;(AK) later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.”(AL) 21 So Jacob’s gifts(AM) went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles With God

22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons(AN) and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.(AO) 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.(AP) 24 So Jacob was left alone,(AQ) and a man(AR) wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip(AS) so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”(AT)

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,”(AU) he answered.

28 Then the man said, “Your name(AV) will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[f](AW) because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”(AX)

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”(AY)

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?”(AZ) Then he blessed(BA) him there.

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[g] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face,(BB) and yet my life was spared.”

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,[h](BC) and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip,(BD) because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 32:1 In Hebrew texts 32:1-32 is numbered 32:2-33.
  2. Genesis 32:2 Mahanaim means two camps.
  3. Genesis 32:7 Or camps
  4. Genesis 32:8 Or camp
  5. Genesis 32:8 Or camp
  6. Genesis 32:28 Israel probably means he struggles with God.
  7. Genesis 32:30 Peniel means face of God.
  8. Genesis 32:31 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel