Chapter Overview
Jacob sends a bunch of people to Esau, runs away with his wife and children, and ends up “wrestling” some dude all night on the bank of a river.
Additional Notes
This is yet another chapter that is far to long for what it tries to convey.
Note that there is no indication that anything mystical happens at all during the “wrestling” that goes on. Why Jacob thinks anything special happened is a mystery.
Chapter 32: Jacob Whines
AKA: “Wrestling” All Night
- And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
- And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
- And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
- And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
- And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
- And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
- Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
- And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
- And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
- I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
- Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
- And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
- And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;
- Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
- Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.
- And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
- And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
- Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.
- And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.
- And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
- So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.
- And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
- And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
- And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
- And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
- And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
- And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
- And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
- And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
- And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
- And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
- Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.
- Gotta reaffirm that he’s the protagonist again?
- Again, why do the authors seem so intent on naming everything? It’s getting old.
- Probably a good thing to do. Esau was either wanting to kill or something depending on which chapter you believe.
- Is Jacob preparing to send himself into some more slavery?
- AKA: I have all these things, please don’t kill me?
- Looks like Esau took it to be a challenge.
- I suppose that could work if Esau is an idiot.
- Sounds like a terrible bargain for whichever gets wiped out.
- You’re the chosen one or something, stop your whining. You’re really not that important.
- Blah blah blah so humble, blah blah blah mercy, blah blah blah save me.
- I wish Jacob would stop being so damn melodramatic. First he though Laban would kill him, and he didn’t. Now Esau? Jacob is the main character. As if.
- blah blah blah blah. Stop yammering on.
- Apparently bribing someone who might be trying to kill you is a good thing to do now?
- That’s a lot of animals. I still say Laban would have had none of this.
- And the animal list continues.
- Preparing to send forth servants now too… when did Jacob get servants?? I thought this was a journey of his wife and children.
- AKA: “Hey, you know that potentially murdery brother of mine? Walk up with more wealth than most people in the area and say hi.”
- Sounds like advertising his location to Esau, the opposite of what he was trying to do earlier.
- This is nearly repetitious
- Yeah, we get it. Stop repeating yourself.
- Servants gotta travel all night while tired, but he doesn’t have to. Got it.
- Are they trying to be sneaky or something?
- Not nearly as dramatic as George Washington crossing the deleware.
- Where did this man come from? Did his wife and children just sit by idly and watch?
- That sounds painful… how much of an absolute badass would he have to be to keep on wrestling after that?
- Who says what to who? There is nothing to indicate who says what.
- This couldn’t have been asked earlier?
- Guess what? Literally no one ever calls him this, nor does the bible ever refer to him as this. (In)consistency at it’s finest!
- Well… asking the name of the guy you just spent the night with seems like a decent thing to do.
- There is no indication that anything mystical happened here. Why does he think this?
- How did it halt there? Sensually caressing it? Describe in excruciating detail now!
- This… is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard. Have you ever considered NOT eating other humans instead of making up a story to rationalize not eating a specific part of a human?