Genesis 32:1–33:1

Esau Comes to Meet Jacob

32So Jacob went on his way, and ^athe angels of God met him. ²When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s ^bcamp.” And he called the name of that place ¹Mahanaim.

³Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother ^cin the land of Seir, ^dthe ²country of Edom. ⁴And he commanded them, saying, ^e“Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. ^5fI have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that ^gI may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”

⁶Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and ^hhe also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” ⁷So Jacob was greatly afraid and ⁱdistressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. ⁸And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and ³attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

^9jThen Jacob said, ^k“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord ^lwho said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: ¹⁰I am not worthy of the least of all the ^mmercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with ⁿmy staff, and now I have become two companies. ^11oDeliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and ⁴attack me and ^pthe mother with the children. ¹²For ^qYou said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the ^rsand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

¹³So he lodged there that same night, and took what ⁵came to his hand as ^sa present for Esau his brother: ¹⁴two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. ¹⁶Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” ¹⁷And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ ¹⁸then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ” ¹⁹So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; ²⁰and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will ^tappease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” ²¹So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

Wrestling with God

²²And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, ^uand crossed over the ford of Jabbok. ²³He took them, sent them ⁶over the brook, and sent over what he had. ²⁴Then Jacob was left alone; and ^va Man wrestled with him until the ⁷breaking of day. ²⁵Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He ⁸touched the socket of his hip; and ^wthe socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. ²⁶And ^xHe said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”

But he said, ^y“I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

²⁷So He said to him, “What is your name?”

He said, “Jacob.”

²⁸And He said, ^z“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but ⁹Israel; for you have ^astruggled with God and ^bwith men, and have prevailed.”

²⁹Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”

And He said, ^c“Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He ^dblessed him there.

³⁰So Jacob called the name of the place ¹Peniel: “For ^eI have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” ³¹Just as he crossed over ²Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. ³²Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He ³touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.

Jacob and Esau Meet

33Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, ^aEsau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.