Genesis 32
1 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
As Jacob and his family continued traveling, some angels, whom God sent, met him.
2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God's camp,” so he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s army camp!” So he named that place Mahanaim, [which means ‘two camps’].
3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, in the region of Edom.
Jacob told some of the men to go ahead of him to his older brother Esau, who was living in Seir, the land where the descendants of Edom lived.
4 He commanded them, saying, “This is what you will say to my master Esau: This is what your servant Jacob says: 'I have been staying with Laban, and have delayed my return until now.
He told them, “This is what I want you to say to Esau: 'I, Jacob, want to be your servant and I want you to be my master. I have been living with our uncle Laban, and I have stayed there until now.
5 I have oxen, donkeys, and flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent this message to my master, so that I may find favor in your eyes.'”
I now own many cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and male and female slaves. Now I am sending this message to you, sir, hoping that you will (be friendly toward me/treat me kindly) when I arrive.’ “
6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
The messengers went and gave that message to Esau. When they returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your older brother Esau. Now he is coming to you, and 400 men are coming with him.”
7 Then Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, and also the flocks, the herds, and the camels.
Jacob was very afraid and worried. So he divided the people who were with him into two groups. He also divided the sheep and goats, the cattle, and the camels, into two groups.
8 He said, “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.”
He was thinking, “If Esau and his men come and attack us, perhaps one of the groups will be left and will be able to escape.”
9 Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will prosper you,'
Then Jacob prayed, “O Yahweh God, whom my grandfather Abraham worshiped and my father Isaac worships, you said to me, ‘Go back to your own land and to your relatives, and I will (cause good things happen to/do good things for) you.’
10 I am not worthy of all your acts of covenant faithfulness and of all the trustworthiness that you have done for your servant. For with only my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.
I am not worthy for you to have been so kind and faithful to me in so many ways, your servant. I had only this walking stick with me when I crossed the Jordan [River on my way to Haran], but now I am so wealthy that there are two large groups of my family and possessions.
11 Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.
So now I pray that you will rescue me from [MTY] my [older] brother Esau, because I am afraid that he and his men will come and attack and kill me and the children and their mothers.
12 But you said, 'I will certainly make you prosper. I will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for their number.'”
But do not forget that you have said, ‘I will certainly enable you to prosper, and I will cause your descendants to be as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore, which are so many that no one can count them.’”
13 Jacob stayed there that night. He took some of what he had with him as a gift for Esau, his brother:
Jacob slept there that night. The next morning he selected some animals to give to his brother Esau.
14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
He selected 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep,
15 thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
30 female camels and their offspring, 40 cows and ten bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys.
16 These he gave these into the hand of his servants, every herd by itself. He said to his servants, “Go on ahead of me and put a space between each of the herds.”
He divided them into small herds, and put each herd into the care of one of his servants. He said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, one group at a time, and keep some space between each herd.”
17 He instructed the first servant, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, 'To whom do you belong? Where are you going? Whose animals are these that are in front of you?'
He said to the servant who was going with the first group, “When my brother Esau meets you, and he asks you, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’
18 Then you will say, 'They are your servant Jacob's. They are a gift sent to my master Esau. See, he is also coming after us.'”
tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. He has sent them to you as a gift, sir. And he is coming behind us.’”
19 Jacob also gave instructions to the second group, the third, and all the men who followed the herds. He said, “You will say the same thing to Esau when you meet him.
He also said the same thing to the servants who were taking care of the second and third groups, and to the other herdsmen. He said to them, “When you meet Esau, I want you to say to him the same thing that I told the first servant.
20 You must also say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming after us.'” For he thought, “I will appease him with the gifts that I am sending ahead of me. Then later, when I will see him, perhaps he will receive me.”
And be sure to say ‘Jacob, who wants to serve you, is coming behind us.’” Jacob told them to say that because he was thinking, “Perhaps these gifts that I am sending ahead of me will cause him to (act peacefully toward/stop being angry with) me. Then later, when I see him, perhaps he will be kind to me.”
21 So the gifts went on ahead of him. He himself stayed that night in the camp.
So the men taking the gifts [PRS] went ahead, but Jacob himself stayed in the camp that night.
22 Jacob got up during the night, and he took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven sons. He sent them across the ford of the Jabbok.
Some time during that night, Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female slaves, and his eleven sons and his daughter, and he sent them across the ford at the Jabbok River.
23 In this way he sent them across the stream along with all his possessions.
After he had done that, he sent other slaves, carrying all his possessions, across the river.
24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
So Jacob was left there alone. But a man came and wrestled with him until dawn.
25 When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob's hip. Jacob's hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him.
When the man realized that he was not winning against Jacob, he struck Jacob’s hip and caused the thigh bone to pull away from the hip socket.
26 The man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
Then the man said, “Let me go, because it will soon be daylight.” [Then Jacob realized who he was really wrestling with]. So he replied, “No, if you will not bless me, I will not let you go!”
27 The man said to him, “What is your name?” Jacob said, “Jacob.”
The man said to him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Jacob.”
28 The man said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. For you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
The man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. Your name will be Israel, [which means ‘he struggles with God’, ] because you have struggled with God and with people, and you have won.”
29 Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” He said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
Jacob said, “Now, please tell me your name!” The man replied, “(Why do you ask me what my name is?/You should not have to ask me what my name is!)” [RHQ] But he blessed Jacob there.
30 Jacob called the name of the place Peniel for he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is delivered.”
So Jacob named the place Peniel, [which means ‘God’s face’, ] saying “I looked directly at God, but I did not die because of doing that.”
31 The sun rose on Jacob as he passed Peniel. He was limping because of his hip.
The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of what had happened to his hip.
32 That is why to this day the people of Israel do not eat the ligaments of the hip which are at the hip joint, because the man injured those ligaments while dislocating Jacob's hip.
The muscle on his hip joint had been injured. So to this present time, because of what happened to Jacob, the Israeli people do not eat the muscle/tendon that is attached to the socket of the hips of animals.
