Genesis 32
32
1Nowe Iaakob went forth on his iourney and the Angels of God met him. 2And when Iaakob saw them, he said, This is Gods hoste, and called the name of the same place Mahanaim. 3Then Iaakob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, vnto the land of Seir into the countrey of Edom: 4To whom he gaue commandement, saying, Thus shall ye speake to my lorde Esau: thy seruant Iaakob sayeth thus, I haue bene a stranger with Laban, and taried vnto this time. 5I haue beeues also and Asses, sheepe, and men seruantes, and women seruantes, and haue sent to shew my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. 6So ye messengers came againe to Iaakob, saying, We came vnto thy brother Esau, and hee also commeth against thee and foure hundreth men with him. 7Then Iaakob was greatly afraid, and was sore troubled, and deuided the people that was with him, and the sheepe, and the beeues, and the camels into two companies. 8For he said, If Esau come to ye one company and smite it, the other companie shall escape. 9Moreouer Iaakob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Izhak: Lord, which saydest vnto me, Returne vnto thy coutrey and to thy kinred, and I will do thee good, 10I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and al the trueth, which thou hast shewed vnto thy seruant: for with my staffe came I ouer this Iorden, and now haue I gotte two bads. 11I pray thee, Deliuer me from the hande of my brother, from the hande of Esau: for I feare him, least he will come and smite me, and the mother vpon the children. 12For thou saydest; I will surely doe thee good, and make thy seede as the sande of the sea, which can not be nombred for multitude. 13And he taryed there the same night, and tooke of that which came to had, a present for Esau his brother: 14Two hundreth shee goates and twenty hee goates, two hundreth ewes and twentie rammes: 15Thirtie mylche camels with their coltes, fourtie kine, and ten bullockes, twentie she asses and ten foles. 16So he deliuered them into the hande of his seruants, euery droue by themselues, and saide vnto his seruants, Passe before me, and put a space betweene droue and droue. 17And he commanded the formost, saying, If Esau my brother meete thee, and aske thee, saying, Whose seruant art thou? And whither goest thou? And whose are these before thee? 18Then thou shalt say, They be thy seruant Iaakobs: it is a present sent vnto my lord Esau: and beholde, he him selfe also is behinde vs. 19So likewise commanded he the seconde and the thirde, and all that followed the droues, saying, After this maner, ye shall speake vnto Esau, when ye finde him. 20And ye shall say moreouer, Beholde, thy seruant Iaakob commeth after vs (for he thought, I will appease his wrath with the present that goeth before me, and afterwarde I will see his face: it may be that he will accept me.) 21So went the present before him: but he taried that night with the companie. 22And he rose vp the same night, and tooke his two wiues, and his two maides, and his eleuen children, and went ouer the forde Iabbok. 23And he tooke them, and sent them ouer the riuer, and sent ouer that he had. 24Now when Iaakob was left him selfe alone, there wrestled a man with him vnto the breaking of the day. 25And he sawe that he could not preuaile against him: therefore he touched the holowe of his thigh, and the holowe of Iaakobs thigh was loosed, as he wrestled with him. 26And he saide, Let me goe, for the morning appeareth. Who answered, I will not let thee go except thou blesse me. 27Then said he vnto him, What is thy name? And he said, Iaakob. 28Then said he, Thy name shalbe called Iaakob no more, but Israel: because thou hast had power with God, thou shalt also preuaile with men. 29Then Iaakob demaded, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore now doest thou aske my name? and he blessed him there 30And Iaakob called the name of the place, Peniel: for, saide he, I haue seene God face to face, and my life is preserued. 31And the sunne rose vp to him as he passed Peniel, and he halted vpon his thigh. 32Therefore the children of Israel eate not of the sinewe that shranke in the hollowe of the thigh, vnto this day: because he touched the sinew that shranke in the holow of Iaakobs thigh.
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Genesis 32: GNV
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Genesis 32
32
A Divine Encounter
1As Jacob continued toward Canaan, the angels of God came to meet him! 2When he saw them, he exclaimed, “This is God’s military camp!” # 32:2 Or “This is God’s camp,” “This is God’s army,” or “Mahanaim.” So he named that place Two Camps of Angels.
3Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother Esau who was living in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4He instructed them, “Give this message from me to my master Esau, ‘I am your servant. I have lived with our uncle Laban all these years 5and have acquired sheep, cattle, donkeys, and both male and female servants. I send this message to you, my master, in the hope of finding favor in your eyes.’ ”
6When the messengers returned to Jacob, they informed him, “We gave your brother Esau your message, and he himself is coming here to meet you. In fact, he’s on his way now with four hundred men!”
7Gripped with fear # 32:7 Or “Bound,” “Tied-up,” “Restricted,” implying that Jacob was immobilized by his anxiety. to the point of panic, Jacob split all the people who were with him into two camps, and also the flocks, herds, and camels. 8He said to himself, “If Esau attacks the first camp and destroys them, at least the other camp will escape.”
9Then Jacob prayed, “Yahweh, God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, you said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will make you prosper.’ 10I am so unworthy of all the loving-kindness and faithfulness that you have showered upon me, your servant. When I crossed this river Jordan years ago, all I had to my name was a staff in my hand, and now I have increased to become two camps! 11Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I’m afraid he will come and kill all of us, including the women and children. 12You said to me, ‘I will certainly prosper you and make your offspring as innumerable as the sand of the sea.’ ” 13So he spent the night there.
From what he had with him, Jacob sent a gift # 32:13 Or “Jacob sent from what he had in his hand.” to his brother Esau: 14two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15thirty female camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. # 32:15 This was at least 550 animals, a substantial gift indeed. Perhaps Jacob was attempting to return a portion of the stolen birthright. 16He placed them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself. He told them, “Go on ahead of me, and put some space between each herd.”
17He gave these instructions to the one in the lead, “When my brother Esau meets you, and asks, ‘Who is your master? # 32:17 Or “To whom are you?” Where are you going? Who owns these herds you are driving?’ # 32:17 Or “Whose are these ahead of you?” 18then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. He’s sent them as a gift to you, my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’ ”
19He likewise instructed the leaders of the second and the third herds and all those following them, “You must say the same thing when you meet Esau. 20And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us,’ ” because he reasoned, “If I can appease Esau with these gifts before I have to meet him face-to-face, he may accept me.” 21So he sent the gifts on ahead of him, while he spent that night in the camp.
A Midnight Wrestling Match
22During the night, Jacob arose, woke up his two wives, his two maidservants, and eleven sons, and had them cross the ford of the Jabbok River. # 32:22 The name of this river was a prophecy of what God was doing in his servant. Jabbok means “emptying.” The Jabbok is known today in Arabic as the Wadi Zerga, which empties into the Jordan twenty-five miles north of the Dead Sea. 23He sent them across along with everything he had, 24and Jacob was left all alone. # 32:24 To be left alone with God is the only true way of coming to self-discovery. This was the turning point for Jacob. His schemes had all failed, and now he faced God alone. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man appeared and wrestled # 32:24 The Hebrew word for “wrestle” is related to a word for “dust” or “get dusty,” as two people do when wrestling on the ground. There is an amazing play on words in the Hebrew between the words “he wrestled” (ye’abeq), “Jabbok” (yabboq), and “Jacob” (yàaqob). The eyes of Jacob could not discern who was coming out of the shadows, just as Jacob’s father, Isaac, could not discern who it was that received his blessing. It was not Jacob wrestling a man, but a Man wrestling with Jacob. The One whom Jacob saw at the top of the stairway at Bethel had come down to wrestle with him—and roll in the mud of Jacob’s mistakes. with him until daybreak. 25When the man saw that he was not winning the match, he struck Jacob’s hip and knocked it out of joint, leaving it wrenched as he continued to wrestle with him. # 32:25 Jacob grabbed a heel; God grabbed his hip! Through these private encounters with the Lord, we become those whose names have been changed (see Gen. 17:5; Isa. 62:2, 4; Rev. 2:17; 3:12); we are changed into humbled, transformed ones who are subdued by the power of God (see Phil. 3:21). Jacob had at least two night encounters with the Lord: one while he rested (see Gen. 28) and the other while he wrestled. When he rested, the region got a new name—Luz became Bethel. When he wrestled, he got a new name—Jacob became Israel.
26Eventually, the man said to him, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.”
But Jacob refused. “No! Not until you bless me!” # 32:26 Jacob might have initially thought it was Esau who had come at midnight to wrestle him. But as the night wore on, he realized the Man was a divine being (see Hos. 12:4). Perceiving this was a supernatural Man who had the power to bless or to curse, Jacob refused to release him until he pronounced a blessing over him.
27“What is your name?” # 32:27 This was a strange question because God knew his name. God touched not only his hip but also his slumbering conscience. When asked this question, Jacob’s imagination took him back over twenty years to the dark tent where his blind, aged father had faced him with the same question and he had answered, “It’s I—Esau”—and got away with it (see Gen. 27:19)! Now the Lord had come to Jacob insisting he acknowledge that he was the one who took advantage of his father and his brother. Jacob means “heel grabber” or “supplanter.” The Lord was insisting that his blessings would only begin when Jacob realized the true need of his heart. By speaking out his name, Jacob confessed his true nature: “I am a deceiver, a cheat. My name is heel grabber.” This confession liberated Jacob and opened the way for inner transformation (see Ps. 119:116; 2 Cor. 4:16). asked the man.
“Jacob,” he replied.
28“Not anymore,” the man said to him. “Your new name is Israel, # 32:28 Israel means “one who struggled with God and prevailed,” “may God [El] preserve,” or “prince with God.” for you have struggled both with God and with people and have overcome.”
29Jacob said, “Please, tell me your name.”
“Why ask my name?” # 32:29 If this is a rhetorical question, it may mean “You should not ask my name.” the man replied, then he spoke a blessing # 32:29 This blessing empowered Jacob to succeed and prosper. over Jacob.
30So Jacob named the place Penuel, # 32:30 Or “Peniel [face of God].” Eight times in the Old Testament this word is spelled “Penuel,” and only once “Peniel.” Since both spellings are in vv. 30 and 31, the translator has chosen to make them identical. saying, “I have seen God face-to-face, yet my life has been spared!” # 32:30 Once you have seen the face of God, the faces of those who oppose you will no longer intimidate you. Jacob could now look Esau in the eyes. 31The sun rose upon him as he crossed the Jabbok River from Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32To this day, the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle attached to the hip socket, because the man struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.
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