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32
Jacob sent gifts to Esau as he prepared to meet him
1 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 army camp!” So he named that place Mahanaim, which means ‘two camps’.
3 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 slept there that night. The next morning he selected some animals to give to his brother Esau. 14 He selected 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep, 15 30 female camels and their offspring, 40 cows and ten bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys. 16 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 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 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 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 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 men taking the gifts [PRS] went ahead, but Jacob himself stayed in the camp that night.
Jacob wrestled with Yahweh
22 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 After he had done that, he sent other slaves, carrying all his possessions, across the river. 24 So Jacob was left there alone. But a man came and wrestled with him until dawn. 25 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 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?” He replied, “Jacob.” 28 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 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 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 was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of what had happened to his hip. 32 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.

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© 2008-2017 Ellis W. Deibler, Jr.