Berĕshith (Genesis) 32
32
1And Ya‛aqoḇ went on his way, and the messengers of Elohim met him.
2And when Ya‛aqoḇ saw them, he said, “This is the camp of Elohim.” And he called the name of that place Maḥanayim.
3And Ya‛aqoḇ sent messengers before him to Ěsaw his brother in the land of Sĕ‛ir, the field of Eḏom
4and he commanded them, saying, “Say this to my master Ěsaw, ‘Your servant Ya‛aqoḇ said this, “I have sojourned with Laḇan and stayed there until now.
5“And I have bulls, and donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants. And I have sent to inform my master, to find favour in your eyes.” ’ ”
6So the messengers returned to Ya‛aqoḇ, saying, “We came to your brother Ěsaw, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men with him.”
7And Ya‛aqoḇ was greatly afraid and distressed. So he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups,
8and he said, “If Ěsaw comes to the one group and strikes it, then the other group which is left shall escape.”
9And Ya‛aqoḇ said, “O Elohim of my father Aḇraham and Elohim of my father Yitsḥaq, יהוה who said to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives, and I do good to you,’
10“I do not deserve the least of all the loving-commitment and all the truth which You have shown Your servant, for I passed over this Yardĕn with my staff, and now I have become two groups.
11“Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Ěsaw, for I fear him, lest he come and shall strike me and the mother with the children.
12For You said, ‘I shall certainly do good to you, and shall make your seed as the sand of the sea, which are too numerous to count.’
13And he spent the night there, and took what came to his hand as a present for Ěsaw his brother –
14two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
15thirty suckling-camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.
16And he gave into the hand of hisservants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between drove and drove.”
17And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Ěsaw my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? And whose are these in front of you?’
18then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Ya‛aqoḇ’s. It is a present sent to my master Ěsaw. And see, he also is behind us.’ ”
19So he commanded the second, and the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “Speak to Ěsaw this same word when you find him,
20and you shall say, ‘Also look, your servant Ya‛aqoḇ is behind us.’ ” For he said, “Let me appease him with the present that goes before me, and after that see his face. He might accept me.”
21And the present passed over before him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.
22And he rose up that night and took his two wives, and his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford of Yabboq.
23And he took them and sent them over the stream, and sent over what he had.
24And Ya‛aqoḇ was left alone. And a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
25And when He saw that He did not overcome him, He touched the socket of his hip. And the socket of Ya‛aqoḇ’s hip was dislocated as He wrestled with him.
26And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I am not letting You go until You have blessed me!”
27So He asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Ya‛aqoḇ.”
28And He said, “Your name is no longer called Ya‛aqoḇ, but Yisra’ĕl,#Yisra’ĕl means “to strive with Ěl; to overcome with Ěl; to rule with Ěl". because you have striven with Elohim and with men, and have overcome.”
29And Ya‛aqoḇ asked Him, saying, “Please let me know Your Name.” And He said, “Why do you ask about My Name?” And He blessed him there.
30And Ya‛aqoḇ called the name of the place Peni’ĕl, “For I have seen Elohim face to face, and my life is preserved.”
31And the sun rose on him as he passed over Penu’ĕl, and he limped on his hip.
32That is why the children of Yisra’ĕl to this day do not eat the sinew of the hip, which is on the socket of the thigh, because He touched the socket of the thigh of Ya‛aqoḇ, in the sinew of the hip.
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Berĕshith (Genesis) 32: TS2009
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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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