And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
1. And Jacob lifted up his eyes, &c.] For this phrase, cf. Gen 18:2, Gen 24:63, Gen 31:10 (J).
four hundred men ] See Gen 32:6.
he divided, &c.] Jacob disposes of his household, placing in the rear those who were most dear to him, so that in the event of an attack by Esau they might have the best chance of escape.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
– Jacob and Esau Meet
17. sukkoth, Sukkoth, booths, consisting of poles forming a roof covered with branches, leaves, or grass.
19. chamor Chamor, ass, red, heap. qesytah Qesitah, weighed or measured. Amnos, Septuagint and Onkelos
Jacob has a friendly interview with Esau, and re-+enters Kenaan.
Gen 33:1-3
Jacob, upon seeing Esau approach with his four hundred men, advances with circumspection and lowly obeisance. He divided his family, arranged them according to their preciousness in his eyes, and walks himself in front. In drawing near, he bows seven times, in token of complete submission to his older brother. Esau, the wild hunter, is completely softened, and manifests the warmest affection, which is reciprocated by Jacob. The puncta extraordinaria over vaysheqehu, and kissed him, seemingly intimating a doubt of the reading or of the sincerity of Esau, are wholly unwarranted. Esau then observes the women and children, and inquires who they are. Jacob replies that God had granted, graciously bestowed on him, these children. They approach in succession, and do obeisance. Esau now inquires of the caravan or horde he had already met. He had heard the announcement of the servants; but he awaited the confirmation of the master. To find grace in the eyes of my lord. Jacob values highly the good-will of his brother. The acceptance of this present is the security for that good-will, and for all the safety and protection which it involved. Esau at first declines the gift, but on being urged by Jacob accepts it, and thereby relieves Jacob of all his anxiety. His brother is now his friend indeed. Therefore, have I seen thy face, that I might give thee this token of my affection. As if I had seen the face of God. The unexpected kindness with which his brother had received him was a type and proof of the kindness of the All-provident, by whom it had been added to all his other mercies. My blessing; my gift which embodies my good wishes. I have all; not only enough, but all that I can wish.
Gen 33:12-16
They now part for the present. I will qo with thee; as an escort or vanguard. Jacob explains that this would be inconvenient for both parties, as his tender children and suckling cattle could not keep pace with Esaus men, who were used to the road. At the pace of the cattle; as fast as the business ( mela’kah) of traveling with cattle will permit. Unto Selr. Jacob is travelling to the land of Kenaan, and to the residence of his father. But, on arriving there, it will be his first duty to return the fraternal visit of Esau. The very circumstance that he sent messengers to apprise his brother of his arrival, implies that he was prepared to cultivate friendly relations with him. Jacob also declines the offer of some of the men that Esau had with him. He had, doubtless, enough of hands to manage his remaining flock, and he now relied more than ever on the protection of that God who had ever proved himself a faithful and effectual guardian.
Gen 33:17
Sukkoth was south of the Jabbok, and east of the Jordan, as we learn from Jdg 8:4-9. From the same passage it appears to have been nearer the Jordan than Penuel, which was at the ford of Jahbok. Sukkoth cannot therefore, be identified with Sakut, which Robinson finds on the other side of the Jordan, about ten miles north of the mouth of the Jabbok. And built him a house. This indicates a permanent residence. Booths, or folds, composed of upright stakes wattled together, and sheltered with leafy branches. The closed space in the text is properly introduced here, to indicate the pause in the narrative, while Jacob sojourned in this place. Dinah, who is not noticed on the journey, was now not more than six years of age. Six or seven years more, therefore, must have elapsed before the melancholy events of the next chapter took place. In the interval, Jacob may have visited his father, and even returned the visit of Esau.
Gen 33:18-20
Jacob at length crosses the Jordan, and enters again the land of Kenaan. In peace. The original word ( shalem safe, in peace) is rendered Shalem, the name of the town at which Jacob arrived, by the Septuagint. The rendering safe, or in peace, is here adopted, because (1) the word is to be taken as a common noun or adjective, unless there be a clear necessity for a proper name; (2) the place was called Shekem in the time of Abraham Gen 12:6, and the town is so designated in the thirty-fifth chapter Gen 35:4; and (3) the statement that Jacob arrived in safety accounts for the additional clauses, which is in the land of Kenaan, and when he went from Padan-aram, and is in accordance with the promise Gen 28:21 that he would return in peace. If, however, the Salim found by Robinson to the west of Nablous be the present town, it must be called the city of Shekem, because it belonged to the Shekem mentioned in the following verse and chapter. Pitched before the city.
Jacob did not enter into the city, because his flocks and herds could not find accommodation there, and he did not want to come into close contact with the inhabitants. He bought a parcel of the field. He is anxious to have a place he may call his own, where he may have a permanent resting-place. For a hundred kesitahs. The kesitah may have been a piece of silver or gold, of a certain weight, equal in value to a lamb (see Gesenius). El-Elohe-Israel. Jacob consecrates his ground by the erection of an altar. He calls it the altar of the Mighty One, the God of Israel, in which he signalizes the omnipotence of him who had brought him in safety to the land of promise through many perils, the new name by which he himself had been lately designated, and the blessed communion which now existed between the Almighty and himself. This was the very spot where Abraham, about one hundred and eighty-five years ago, built the first altar he erected in the promised land Gen 12:6-7. It is now consecrated anew to the God of promise.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Gen 33:1-16
And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him
The reconciliation of Jacob and Esau
I.
IT ILLUSTRATES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS OF THE TWO BROTHERS.
1. Esau was generous and forgiving.
2. In Jacob there are traces of his old subtlety.
II. IT ILLUSTRATES THE POWER OF HUMAN FORGIVENESS.
III. IT ILLUSTRATES THE TYRANNY OF OLD SINS. All was forgiven, but there was no longer any confidence. So the effects of past sin remain.
IV. IT ILLUSTRATES THE POWER OF GODLINESS. Jacobs humility before his brother was but a sign of his humility before God. His satisfaction to Esau is a sign also of his reconciliation with God. (T. H. Leale.)
The brothers reconciled
I. A RECONCILIATION AFTER A LONG SEPARATION,
II. A MOST DESIRABLE RECONCILIATION.
1. Because of the happiness of their aged parents.
2. On account of their own families.
3. On account of their own spiritual well-being.
III. A RECONCILIATION WHICH BROUGHT TO SIGHT THE BEST TRAITS OF THEIR CHARACTER.
1. Prayerfulness.
2. Humility.
3. Disinterestedness. (Homilist.)
Forgiveness of injuries
1. The most obvious motive to forgive is the pleasure of forgiving and the pain of resenting. Therefore, as the apostle says, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, we may say, Forgive, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Forgive while forgiveness is worth having; forgive while there remains enough of life for the renewal of kindness; forgive while you have something else to bestow on repentance than lingering looks and faltering words. And what does this solemn Christian injunction of forgiving do but eradicate from the mind the most painful and most unquiet of all passions? What wretchedness to clamour out for ever, I will pursue, I will overtake; my right hand shall dash in pieces mine enemy; to sacrifice all the quiet happiness of life, to sicken on the bosom of joy, still, after the lapse of years, to feel, to see, and to suffer with the freshness of yesterday; and in the midst of blessings to exclaim, All this availeth me nothing while Mordecai, the Jew, sitteth at the kings gate.
2. Are we sure, too, that the cause of our resentment is just? Have we collected the most ample evidence? Have we examined it with the closest attention? Have we subjected it to impartial revision? Have we suspected our passions? Have we questioned our self-love?
3. Men are so far, generally, from being ashamed of not forgiving injuries, that they often glory in revenge; they believe it to be united with courage and with watchful, dignified pride. Yet, after all, what talents or what virtue can an unforgiving disposition possibly imply? Who is most likely longest to retain the sense of injured dignity? He who has given no pledge to his fellow-creatures that he is good and amiable? who does not feel that he is invulnerable? who is least fortified by a long tenor of just intentions and wise actions? What man who had ever trodden one step in the paths of religion would vex the sunshine of his existence with all the inquietudes of resentment? would ingraft upon his life the labour of hating, and hovel year after year over expiring injuries? Who is there that bears about him a heart of flesh that would put away a brother or a friend who knelt to him for mercy?
4. Other men, who have no desire to be thought magnanimous because they revenge, are still apprehensive of being considered as timid if they forgive and resent to maintain a character for spirit; but it is certainly extremely possible to combine temperate resistance to present injustice with a tendency to forgive what is past; to be firm in the maintenance of just rights while we abstain from any greater injury to our enemies than is necessary to maintain them, and hold ourselves ready for forgiveness when they are maintained. (Sydney Smith, M. A.)
Needless fears
Now think, brethren, what a revulsion of feeling there would be in Jacobs heart. He would think, Have I been all these years vexing myself for this! Here was the thing, so happy and pleasant and kindly when it came, that had many a time broken his nights rest at Haran just to think of it; that had been a dull gnawing at his heart, making him uneasy and restless in cheerful company; that had been the drop of gall in every cup he tasted–all these years! And one thing we may be almost sure of: that in all his picturing out of this dreaded meeting, thinking of it as coming in twenty sad ways, if there was one thing he never pictured out, it would be just the meeting as it actually came! The thing you expect is, in this world, the last thing that is likely to befall you.
1. How needless are our fears! In how many cases we conjure up things to vex and alarm us! For one-and-twenty years Jacob had kept himself unhappy through the fear of a meeting which, when it came, proved one of the happiest things that ever befell him in all his life. Now, have not you many a time looked forward with great anxiety to something that was coming, and then, when it came, found that all your anxiety had been perfectly needless? We all have it in our power to make ourselves miserable if we look far into the years before us and calculate their probabilities of evil, and steadily anticipate the worst. It is not expedient to calculate too far ahead. Oh that we had all more faith, Christian friends, in Gods sure promise made to every true Christian, that as the day, so shall the strength be! We have all known the anticipated ills of life–the danger that looked so big, the duty that looked so arduous, the entanglement that we could not see our way through prove to have been nothing more than spectres on the horizon; and when at length we reached them, all their difficulty had vanished into air, leaving us to think how foolish we had been for having so needlessly set up phantoms to disturb our quiet. I remember well how a good and able man, who died not long ago, told me many times of his fears as to what he would do in a certain contingency which both he and I thought was quite sure to come sooner or later. I know that the anticipation of it cost him some of the most anxious hours of a very anxious, though useful, life. But his fears proved just as vain as Jacobs in the prospect of meeting Esau. He was taken from this world before what he dreaded had cast its most distant shadow. God, in His own way, delivered that man from the event he had feared. Some people are of an anxious, despondent temperament, ready rather to anticipate evil than to look for good. But all of us, brethren, need more faith in God. How comprehensive a prayer that is, asking so much for time and for eternity, Lord, increase our faith! We bear a far heavier burden than we need bear. If we had the faith which we ought to have, and which the Holy Spirit is ready to work in us, we should cast all our care on God, who careth for us.
2. In those seasons of anxiety and foreboding which, through our weak faith and our remaining sinfulness, will come to us all, we should remember what Jacob did, and where Jacob found relief. He turned to God in prayer. He went and told God all his fear, and asked deliverance from God. And not once, but many times; through a long night of terrible alarm and apprehension he wrestled in urgent prayer. And see what he got by it. He got relief of heart, certainly: of that we are sure. Perhaps he got more. We cannot say how far those prayers went to turn Esaus heart, and to make him meet Jacob in that kindly spirit. When we are overwhelmed, fearful, perplexed, anxious, let us go to God, and humbly and earnestly tell Him all we are thinking and fearing, and ask Him to deliver us and comfort us. Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me. If ever there were words confirmed by the experience of Christian people, you have them here. Perhaps our prayer may cause the trouble we bear or we dread to go away. Perhaps the stroke that seemed sure to fall may be withheld; perhaps the hope that seemed sure to be blighted may be fulfilled after all: perhaps the blessing that seemed sure to be taken away from us may be spared us yet. Perhaps, through our prayer, it may be with us as it was with Jacob: when we come up to the time, the trial, the duty, we feared, we may find that there is nothing about it to be afraid of. But our prayer may be answered in a way that is better and happier still. It may please God to allow all that we feared to befall us. It may please Him to disappoint the hope, to frustrate the work, to continue the long disease, to bring the beloved one down to the grave; but with all that to resign our heart, to make us humble and content, to sanctify the trial to work in us a patience, a faith, a humility, a charity, a sympathy, that are worth, a thousand times over, all worldly happiness and success. Oh what an attainment it is, which Christians sometimes reach, to feel, if only for a little while, that our whole hearts wish is that our blessed Saviours will be done and His glory be advanced; and that, as for us, we are content to go where He leads us, and to do and bear what He sends, sure that the way by which He leads us is the right way, and that it will bring us to our home at last! And prayer will bring us to this, if anything will. Do not, with the gnawing anxiety at your heart, sit sullenly and try to bear your burden alone. Go with a lowly heart and roll your burden on the strong arm of God Almighty! Oh how it will lighten your heart to tell Him, simply, all your fears! You will come back, like Jacob, from your Saviours footstool, calmed and cheered. And even if the stroke should fall, even if we come out of our trial somewhat stricken and subdued, not quite the people we were–as Jacob came lamed from that long night of prevailing prayer–we shall be thankful and content if the stroke be sanctified to us: as he (we may be sure) would never murmur as he halted on through life. One word to prevent misapprehension. All this peace and hope is spoken only to Christian people. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked, or to any who have no part in Christ. We can speak no comfort to such in their fears. There is too good reason for that dull foreboding of evil they bear through life. Their fears are not needless. (A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.)
The brothers reconciled
I. THE APPROACH OF THE BROTHERS.
1. Of Esau. At the head of four hundred armed men. Probably at the first meditating revenge, or to make a great display of his power. But Jacob was a man of prayer. Had often asked God to guard and keep him. Had the night before this meeting so mightily prevailed in prayer that his name had been altered. In answer to the prayers of Jacob, the revengeful feelings of Esau depart. As he draws nigh, Esau feels his heart drawn out in love towards his brother.
2. Of Jacob. Full of hope and confidence. Lame, and yet strong. He is now the prevailer. The sun shining upon him, and, better still, God lifts upon him the light of His countenance. He had sent forward the present, and now places himself in advance of all the rest. He–the prevailer–does not fear to meet the first storm of his brothers rage.
II. RECONCILIATION OF THE BROTHERS. Esau, the offended and injured, instead of taking vengeance on Jacob, having his heart softened by the grace of God, runs towards Jacob. Does not proudly wait for Jacob to approach, and then upbraid him for his past conduct. Ran towards him. Then spoke not a single word. Could not. Too full of joy at once more meeting his long-lost brother. They throw themselves in one anothers arms. The kiss of reconciliation. Tears of joy, gratitude. Tears too, it may be, of penitence on both sides. Each needed to be forgiven by the other. Each had done wrong. Jacob, in that he had deprived his brother of the birthright and the blessing; and Esau, in that he had left his fathers house, and harboured wrong feelings against his brother, and been the cause of his long exile. Persons offended with each other have often much need of each others forgiveness. The pardon should be on both sides. He who forgives should also seek forgiveness.
III. THE CONDUCT OF THE BROTHERS.
1. Of Jacob. He entreats Esau to accept his present. Will take no denial. Thus shows the sincerity of his affection. Is unwilling that Esau should at all go out of his way to guard him. Has sufficient trust in God alone.
2. Of Esau. At length, to please his brother, accepts the present he makes. It is often as kind to accept as to make a present. He kindly received the wives and children of Jacob. Goes on the way before Jacob to make the way clear. Acts as his brothers guide and vanguard. Shows his forgiveness by deeds as well as by words. Without practical kindness words are sounding brass, &c.
Learn:
1. In all angry partings, remember that a future meeting will come.
2. God can still the raging of the fiercest storm of passion and revenge.
3. The reconciliation of brethren, a fit and beautiful sight.
4. We have all sinned against God, and need His forgiveness.
5. By causing Esau to forgive his brother, God shows how ready He is to forgive us.
6. Our elder Brother, Jesus, has obtained a full pardon for us. (J. C. Gray.)
The contrast
Reposing, therefore, with confidence on the promised protection of his God, Jacob crossed the brook at sunrise, and, rejoining his family, went calmly on his way. A short time appears to have brought on the crisis of his trial: Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. It is not difficult to conceive the rush of contending feelings that would agitate his breast when the hostile party came in sight; nor to imagine to what a height the tumult of his thoughts would increase as the two bands approached each other. Grace does not make us stoics. It controls and regulates the natural affections by subordinating them to higher principles; but men of the warmest piety, while they are preserved from an exuberant and inordinate indulgence of the affections, are generally possessed of the most tender and benevolent spirit. Excessive natural affection is a common, and in no respects a sublimated, feeling. But the leading point on which I wish at this time to fix your attention is the manifest superiority of character discoverable in Jacob when compared with his elder brother–a superiority evidently not arising from superior intellect or other natural advantages, but originating in his religious principles and habits. A fair and unprejudiced examination of the case before us will show that the godly man, the faithful servant of God through Jesus Christ, has a superiority of character to other men, both in principle and in practice.
1. He possesses a superiority of principle. To examine this more closely–
(1) The first idea included in this conviction is the sense of demerit. Gracious dealing implies undeserved kindness on the part of God, and, consequently, defect and demerit on the part of His creature. And where such convictions dwell, it is impossible but that the individual must view the actions and thoughts of any one day of his life with abhorrence, and the dealings of God with him, from first to last, as characterized only by grace and long-suffering mercy.
(2) Such a conviction includes the idea of a review of Gods mercies to the soul. God has dealt graciously with me.
(3) But to the lively recollection in the Christians mind of Gods merciful dealings with him we must add the grateful acknowledgment of them. The undeserved kindness of God throughout a whole life, manifested in an infinite variety of necessities and trials, cannot pass in review before the mind without emotion.
(4) This is an habitual feeling. It is not a cold philosophical speculation. It is not a rational deduction that because God is great and we are less than nothing, therefore we, of course, must be indebted to Him, and therefore we are; but it is the emotional, affectionate consciousness of obligation. And it will be invariably found that this is the character of true piety; that there is this living and influential sense of the mercy of God; and that this it is, especially, which, coming into play continually as the leading principle of action, does make its possessor a far superior character to those who are merely left to have their conduct regulated by the operation of natural principles and affections. This will become more evident as we proceed to notice–
2. The superiority of the religious mans conduct as originating in this principle. A principle so powerful could not be in action without producing very manifest results. Nor is it; for the man who truly believes the redemption of the gospel lives no longer to himself, but unto Him who died for him. We do not say that there is no virtue among men without the influence of revealed religion. All the virtues of the natural character are of a much lower origin. They are spurious and defective in the motive and principle from which they spring. They are frequently constitutional. Taken, however, at their highest point, such manifestations of virtuous principle are fleeting and uncertain. Let us notice, by way of illustration, the two instances of moral virtue which arise out of the present event of Jacobs life–those of content and liberality.
(1) Content. There are many persons who are tolerably satisfied with their condition. They are not always repining or envying. They are at rest, because they do not think; because they are well assured that they cannot alter them if they would; and they call this content. I have enough. But how different is all this from that Christian content which originates, not in carelessness or sensual indifference, but in a calm, extended, fair, and manly view of the whole circumstances of the case. Yea, God hath dealt graciously with me, and I have enough. This indicates no listless inattention to the real state of things, no reckless indifference, no resolute insusceptibility; but it is peace in the midst of, and in the calm contemplation of, every vicissitude.
(2) Again, if we look to the virtue of liberality, as it is exhibited in Jacob, it differs from the liberality of the men of the world.
Let us now endeavour to draw some plain practical instructions from the whole.
1. In the first place, it will be evident where we must look for the spring of superior virtue; not in the spontaneous emotions of a mans own heart, not in the strong stimulus of occasional circumstances, not in the influence of human opinion, not in the rewarded efforts of heroic resolution, but in the right appreciation of a dying Saviours love. All other principles will fail in their own time and way.
2. Observe, this contrast of the character of Esau and Jacob will enable men of excellent moral habits to discriminate between the virtue of habit and the virtue of principle.
3. This subject speaks with peculiar force to the covetous man. True Christianity imparts, in a high degree, the graces of content and liberality. A greedy pursuit of gain is utterly inconsistent with the self-denying spirit of the gospel. This alone ought to be felt as a cutting rebuke for the love of money. (E. Craig.)
The reconciliation
I. THE FRIENDLY MEETING.
II. THE PRUDENT SEPARATION. Perhaps Jacob was still a little afraid of the impetuosity of his brother. But the deepest reason why Jacob politely declined Esaus offer of help and companionship was, we may well believe, a religious one. He saw that the aims which Esau would have in view and the habits of Esaus life would not suit what he (Jacob) wished to keep in mind and do. Besides, he felt that God intended him to keep apart from his brother, and to train his family in the special knowledge of the covenant with Abraham, and of all the promises which God had given. Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
III. THE MEMORIAL OF GRATITUDE. Implying–
1. Thankfulness. God had enriched, guided, defended, comforted him.
2. Faith. Jacob would trust and worship God.
3. Hope. God, who had blessed him hitherto, would help him now and in his further career. (W. S. Smith, B. D.)
Needlessness of anxiety
The present was quite unnecessary; the plan useless. God appeased Esau, as He had already appeased Laban. Thus it is He ever delights to rebuke our poor, coward, unbelieving hearts, and put to flight all our fears, Instead of the dreaded sword of Esau, Jacob meets his embrace and kiss; instead of strife and conflict, they mingle their tears. Such are Gods ways. Who would not trust Him? Who would not honour Him with the hearts fullest confidence? Why is it that, notwithstanding all the sweet evidence of His faithfulness to those who put their trust in Him, we are so ready, on every fresh occasion, to doubt and hesitate? The answer is simple, we are not sufficiently acquainted with God. Acquaint now thyself with Him and be at peace (Job 22:21). This is true, whether in reference to the unconverted sinner or to the child of God. The true knowledge of God, real acquaintance with Him, is life and peace. (C. H. M.)
Lessons
1. Gods promise falls not short in making men yield to His saints.
2. Where God moveth, even wicked men will make speed and run to show kindness to His servants.
3. The hardest hearts melt in affection when God toucheth them.
4. When men please God, enemies are made friends to them (Pro 16:7).
5. Where greatest danger is feared, God turns it to greatest love.
6. It is natural for brethren, good and bad, to melt in tears upon providential turns and meetings (Gen 33:4). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Lessons
1. Brotherly respect unto brethren will work kind inquisition after their relations.
2. Love makes queries to know such relations as are to be beloved.
3. Truth, piety, and humility become all the answers to be made unto queries of love by Gods servants.
4. Children are to be acknowledged the fruit of Gods mercy and goodness to His (Psa 127:3).
5. The anger of enraged men is turned into love and tenderness best by self-denying submission. The reed overcomes the wind by yielding; the oaks fall by resisting (Gen 33:5).
6. It becometh family relations to keep order designed by their head.
7. Orderly approach and submission is the way to gain acceptance with great men.
8. Providence works by motions of creatures to turn hearts from fury to love (Gen 33:6-7). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The reconciliation of Esau and Jacob
1. Brotherly love is a precious thing; let it be guarded well. Be just, and true, and kind to one another; and let a spirit of forbearance and forgiveness prevail.
2. We see here a striking example of prayer. Wrong as Jacob had been before, he was right in this.
3. Jacob sets us an example also of wisdom and prudence. He prayed; yet he used all the means in his power.
4. The very word reconciliation cannot but remind us of the great reconciliation–that between the sinner and God. If God, in answer to prayer, disposed Esau to be reconciled to his brother, surely He Himself will not refuse pardon, reconciliation, and acceptance to one who has offended Him.
5. God will give His Holy Spirit to those that ask Him; and in this office, among others, as the spirit of peace. He will help those of one family to live together in peace, to bear and forbear, to love as brethren. Nay, more: He can, by the same mighty influence, create a new heart in those who have as yet been far from Him. (F. Bourdillon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER XXXIII
Esau, with four hundred men, meets Jacob, 1.
He places his children under their respective mothers,
passes over before them, and bows himself to his brother, 2, 3.
Esau receives him with great affection, 4.
Receives the homage of the handmaids, Leah, Rachel, and
their children, 5-7.
Jacob offers him the present of cattle, which he at first
refuses, but after much entreaty accepts, 8-11.
Invites Jacob to accompany him to Mount Seir, 12.
Jacob excuses himself because of his flocks and his children,
but promises to follow him, 13, 14.
Esau offers to leave him some of his attendants, which Jacob
declines, 15.
Esau returns to Seir, 16,
and Jacob journeys to Succoth, 17,
and to Shalem, in the land of Canaan, 18.
Buys a parcel of ground from the children of Hamor, 19,
and erects an altar which he calls El-elohe-Israel, 20.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXXIII
Verse 1. Behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men.] It has been generally supposed that Esau came with an intention to destroy his brother, and for that purpose brought with him four hundred armed men. But,
1. There is no kind of evidence of this pretended hostility.
2. There is no proof that the four hundred men that Esau brought with him were at all armed.
3. But there is every proof that he acted towards his brother Jacob with all openness and candour, and with such a forgetfulness of past injuries as none but a great mind could have been capable of.
Why then should the character of this man be perpetually vilified? Here is the secret. With some people, on the most ungrounded assumption, Esau is a reprobate, and the type and figure of all reprobates, and therefore he must be everything that is bad. This serves a system; but, whether true or false in itself, it has neither countenance nor support from the character or conduct of Esau.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
1. behold, Esau came, and with himfour hundred menJacob having crossed the ford and ranged hiswives and children in orderthe dearest last, that they might bethe least exposed to dangerawaited the expected interview. Hisfaith was strengthened and his fears gone (Ps27:3). Having had power to prevail with God, he was confident ofthe same power with man, according to the promise (compare Ge32:28).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked,…. After he had passed over the brook, and was come to his wives and children; which was done either accidentally or on purpose, to see if he could espy his brother coming: some think this denotes his cheerfulness and courage, and that he was now not distressed and dejected, as he had been before:
and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men; see Ge 32:6;
and he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids; some think he made four divisions of them; Leah and her children, Rachel and her son, Bilhah and hers, and Zilpah and hers: but others are of opinion there were but three: the two handmaids and their children in one division, Leah and her children in another, and Rachel and her son in the third; which seems to be confirmed in Ge 33:2, though the word for “divide” signifies to halve or divide into two parts; according to which, the division then must be of the two wives and their children in one company, and of the two handmaids and theirs in the other: and this Jacob did partly for decency and partly for safety.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Meeting with Esau. – As Jacob went forward, he saw Esau coming to meet him with his 400 mean. He then arranged his wives and children in such a manner, that the maids with their children went first, Leah with hers in the middle, and Rachel with Joseph behind, thus forming a long procession. But he himself went in front, and met Esau with sevenfold obeisance. does not denote complete prostration, like in Gen 19:1, but a deep Oriental bow, in which the head approaches the ground, but does not touch it. By this manifestation of deep reverence, Jacob hoped to win his brother’s heart. He humbled himself before him as the elder, with the feeling that he had formerly sinned against him. Esau, on the other hand, “had a comparatively better, but not so tender a conscience.” At the sight of Jacob he was carried away by the natural feelings of brotherly affection, and running up to him, embraced him, fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they both wept. The puncta extraordinaria above are probably intended to mark the word as suspicious. They “are like a note of interrogation, questioning the genuineness of this kiss; but without any reason” ( Del.). Even if there was still some malice in Esau’s heart, it was overcome by the humility with which his brother met him, so that he allowed free course to the generous emotions of his heart; all the more, because the “roving life” which suited his nature had procured him such wealth and power, that he was quite equal to his brother in earthly possessions.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Jacob’s Interview with Esau. | B. C. 1739. |
1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. 2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. 3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
Here, I. Jacob discovered Esau’s approach, v. 1. Some think that his lifting up his eyes denotes his cheerfulness and confidence, in opposition to a dejected countenance; having by prayer committed his case to God, he went on his way, and his countenance was no more sad, 1 Sam. i. 18. Note, Those that have cast their care upon God may look before them with satisfaction and composure of mind, cheerfully expecting the issue, whatever it may be; come what will, nothing can come amiss to him whose heart is fixed, trusting in God. Jacob sets himself upon his watch-tower to see what answer God will give to his prayers, Hab. ii. 1.
II. He put his family into the best order he could to receive him, whether he should come as a friend or as an enemy, consulting their decency if he came as a friend and their safety if he came as an enemy, Gen 33:1; Gen 33:2. Observe what a different figure these two brothers made. Esau is attended with a guard of 400 men, and looks big; Jacob is followed by a cumbersome train of women and children that are his care, and he looks tender and solicitous for their safety; and yet Jacob had the birthright, and was to have the dominion, and was every way the better man. Note, It is no disparagement to very great and good men to give a personal attendance to their families, and to their family affairs. Jacob, at the head of his household, set a better example than Esau at the head of his regiment.
III. At their meeting, the expressions of kindness were interchanged in the best manner that could be between them.
1. Jacob bowed to Esau, v. 3. Though he feared Esau as an enemy, yet he did obeisance to him as an elder brother, knowing and remembering perhaps that when Abel was preferred in God’s acceptance before his elder brother Cain, yet God undertook for him to Cain that he should not be wanting in the duty and respect owing by a younger brother. Unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him, ch. iv. 7. Note, (1.) The way to recover peace where it has been broken is to do our duty, and pay our respects, upon all occasions, as if it had never been broken. It is the remembering and repeating of matters that separates friends and perpetuates the separation. (2.) A humble submissive carriage goes a great way towards the turning away of wrath. Many preserve themselves by humbling themselves: the bullet flies over him that stoops.
2. Esau embraced Jacob (v. 4): He ran to meet him, not in passion, but in love; and, as one heartily reconciled to him, he received him with all the endearments imaginable, embraced him, fell on his neck, and kissed him. Some think that when Esau came out to meet Jacob it was with no bad design, but that he brought his 400 men only for state, that he might pay so much the greater respect to his returning brother. It is certain that Jacob understood the report of his messengers otherwise, Gen 32:5; Gen 32:6. Jacob was a man of prudence and fortitude, and we cannot suppose him to admit of a groundless fear to such a degree as he did this, nor that the Spirit of God would stir him up to pray such a prayer as he did for deliverance from a merely imaginary danger: and, if there was not some wonderful change wrought upon the spirit of Esau at this time, I see not how wrestling Jacob could be said to obtain such power with men as to denominate him a prince. Note, (1.) God had the hearts of all men in his hands, and can turn them when and how he pleases, by a secret, silent, but resistless power. He can, of a sudden, convert enemies into friends, as he did two Sauls, one by restraining grace (1Sa 26:21; 1Sa 26:25), the other by renewing grace, Act 9:21; Act 9:22. (2.) It is not in vain to trust in God, and to call upon him in the day of trouble; those that do so often find the issue much better than they expected.
3. They both wept. Jacob wept for joy, to be thus kindly received by his brother whom he had feared; and Esau perhaps wept for grief and shame, to think of the bad design he had conceived against his brother, which he found himself strangely and unaccountably prevented from executing.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
GENESIS – CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Verses 1-4:
Jacob crossed the Jabbok after his nocturnal encounter with the Angel of Jehovah. He has full, rich assurance, that as he had prevailed with God, so now he must prevail with man. Still, he took precautions to assure safety to at least a part of his family if Esau should come in hostility. He divided his family into three groups: Bilhah and Zilpah and their children comprised the front group, the one first to encounter Esau. Leah and her children formed the second group. Rachel and Joseph were last in line. This grouping was intended to allow part of his family to escape should the need arise.
Jacob saw Esau and his soldiers approaching. He went ahead of the three groups of his family to meet his brother. He bowed “to the ground,” not completely prostrating himself but bending the upper part of his body until it was parallel to the ground. This was an expression of great reverence and respect, still evident in Oriental lands today. Jacob continued to bow, “seven times,” not in servile hypocrisy but in genuine politeness and an attempt to conciliate his brother.
Esau accepted Jacob’s expression of good will, and graciously extended his pardon. It may be inferred that Jehovah had moved in Esau’s heart to melt the bitterness he harbored against his brother. A conciliatory attitude, a genuine spirit of kindness, an expression of grace – these often produce a like response in one who has been offended, see Pr 15:1; 21:1; 16:7.
The meeting of Jacob and Esau is filled with drama and beauty. It is typically Oriental. And it is indicative of Jehovah’s keeping His promise to go before Jacob to protect and bless him in his return to the Land of Promise.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. And Jacob lifted up his eyes. We have said how greatly Jacob feared for himself from his brother; but now when Esau himself approaches, his terror is not only renewed, but increased. For although he goes forth like a courageous and spirited combatant to this contest, he is still not exempt from a sense of danger; whence it follows, that he is not free, either from anxiety or fear. For his cruel brother had still the same cause of hatred against him as before. And it was not probable, that, after he had left his father’s house, and had been living as he pleased, he had become more mild. Therefore, as in a doubtful affair, and one of great danger, Jacob placed his wives and children in the order described; that, if Esau should attempt anything hostile, the whole seed might not perish, but part might have time for flight. The only thing which appears to be done by him out of order is, that he prefers Rachel and her son Joseph to all the rest; whereas the substance of the benediction is really in Judah. But his excuse in reference to Judah is, that the oracle had not yet been revealed; nor, in fact, was made known till shortly before his death, in order that he might become at once its witness and its herald. Meanwhile, it is not to be denied, that he was excessively indulgent to Rachel. It is, indeed, a proof of distinguished courage, that, from a desire to preserve a part of his seed, he precedes his companies, and offers himself as a victim, if necessity demanded it. For there is no doubt that the promise of God was his authority and his guide in this design; nor would he have been able, unless sustained by the contident expectation of celestial life, thus bravely to meet death. It happens, indeed, sometimes, that a father, regardless of himself, will expose his life to danger for his children: but holy Jacob’s reason was different; for the promise of God was so deeply fixed in his mind, that he, disregarding the earth, looked up towards heaven. But while he follows the word of God, yet by the affection of the flesh, he is slightly drawn aside from the right way. For the faith of the holy fathers was not so pure, in all respects, but that they were liable to swerve to one side or the other. Nevertheless, the Spirit always so far prevailed, that the infirmity of the flesh might not divert them from their aim, but that they might hold on their course. So much the more ought every one of us to be suspicious of himself, lest he should deem himself perfectly pure, because he intends to act rightly; for the flesh ever mingles itself with our holy purpose, and many faults and corruptions steal in upon us. But God deals kindly with us, and does not impute faults of this kind to us.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
ISAAC. JACOB AND ESAU
Gen 25:10 to Gen 35:1-29
BEGINNING where we left off in our last study of Genesis, Isaac is the subject of next concern, for it came to pass after the death of Abraham that God blessed his son Isaac, and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi. But we are not inclined to spend much time in the study of Isaacs life and labors. Unquestionably Isaac holds his place in the Old Testament record through force of circumstances rather than by virtue of character. His history is uninteresting, and were it not that he is Abrahams son and Jacobs father, the connecting link between the federal head of the Jews, and father of the patriarchs, he would long since have been forgotten.
Three sentences tell his whole history, and prove him to be a most representative Jew. He was obedient to his father; he was greedy of gain, and he was a gormand! He resisted not when Abraham bound him and laid him upon the altar. Such was his filial submission. At money-making he was a success, for he had possession of flocks and possession of herd, and great store of servants, and the Philistines envied him. His gluttony was great enough to be made a matter of inspired record, for it is written, Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison, and when he was old and his eyes were dim, and he thought the day of his death was at hand, he called Esau and said,
My son**** take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field and take me some venison and make me savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless thee before I die.
Think of a man preparing to sweep into eternity, and yet spending what he supposed to be his last moments in feasting his flesh!
I have no prejudice against the Jew. I believe him to be the chosen of the Lord. My study of the Scriptures has compelled me to look for the restoration of Israel, and yet I say that Isaac, in his filial obedience, his greed of gain and his gluttony of the flesh, was a type. And to this hour the majority of his offspring present kindred traits of character.
Yet Isaacs life was not in vain. We saw in our second study in Genesis that the man who became the father of a great people, who, through his offspring was made a nation, was fortune-favored of God. The greatest event in Isaacs history was the birth of his twin children, Esau and Jacob. It was through their behavior that his own name would be immortalized and through their offspring that his personality would be multiplied into a mighty people. I propose, therefore, this morning to give the greater attention to his younger son, Jacob, Gods chosen one, and yet not to neglect Esau whom the sacred narrative assigns to a place of secondary consideration. For the sake of simplicity in study, let us reduce the whole of Jacobs long and eventful life to three statements, namely, Jacobs shrewdness, Jacobs Sorrows, and Jacobs Salvation.
JACOBS SHREWDNESS.
In their very birth, Jacobs hand was upon Esaus heel, earnest of his character. From his childhood he tripped whom he could.
His deceptions began in the home. This same twin brother Esau, upon whose heel he laid his hand in the hour of birth, becomes the first victim of his machinations. He takes advantage of Esaus hunger and weariness to buy out his birthright, and pays for it the miserable price of bread and pottage. The child is the prophecy of the man. The treatment one accords his brothers and sisters, while yet the family are around the old hearthstone, gives promise of the character to come. The reason why sensible parents show such solicitude over the small sins of their children is found just here. They are not distressed because the transgressions are great in themselves, but rather because those transgressions tell of things to come. In the peevishness of a child they see the promise of a man, mastered by his temper; in the white lies of youth, an earnest of the dangerous falsehoods that may curse maturer years; in the little deceptions of the nursery, a prophecy of the accomplished and conscienceless embezzler.
There comes from England the story of a farmer who, finding himself at the hour of midnight approaching the end of life, sent hastily for a lawyer, and ordered him to quickly write his will. The attorney asked for pen, ink and paper, but none could be found. Then he inquired for a lead pencil, but a thorough search of the house revealed that no such thing existed in it. The lawyer saw that the farmer was sinking fast, and something must be done, and so casting about he came upon a piece of chalk; and taking that he sat down upon the hearthstone and wrote out on its smooth surface the last will and testament of the dying man. When the court came to the settlement of the estate, that hearthstone was taken up and carried into the presence of the judge, and there its record was read, and the will written upon it was executed. And I tell you that before we leave the old home place, and while we sit around the old hearthstone, we write there a record in our behavior toward father and mother, in our dealings with brother and sister, and servant, that is a prophecy of what we ourselves will be and of the end to which we shall eventually come, for the child is father to the man.
Jacob showed this same character to society. The thirtieth chapter of Genesis records his conduct in the house of Laban. It is of a perfect piece with that which characterized him in his fathers house. A change of location does not altar character. Sometime ago a young man who had had trouble in his own home, and had come into ill-repute in the society in which he had moved, came and told me that he was going off to another city, and when I asked Why? he said, Well, I want to get away from the old associations and I want to put distance between me and the reputation I have made. But when he went he carried his own character with him, and the consequence was a new set of associates worse than those from whom he fled, and a new reputation that for badness exceeded the old. It does not make any difference in what house the deceiver lodges, nor yet with what society he associates himselfthe result is always the same.
Parker, who was the real father of the Prohibition movement of Maine, testified that he had traveled into every state of the Union in an endeavor to overcome his drinking habits, and free himself of evil associates, and that in every state of the Union he failed. But, when God by His grace converted him and changed his character, he went back to his old home and settled down with the old associates and friends and not only showed them how to live an upright life, but inaugurated a movement for the utter abolition of his old enemy. If there is any man who is thinking of leaving his city for another because here he has been unfortunate, as he puts it, or has been taken advantage of by evil company, and has made for himself a bad reputation, let him know that removal to a new place will accomplish no profit whatever. As Beecher once said, Men do not leave their misdeeds behind them when they travel away from home. A man who commits a mean and wicked action carries that sin in himself and with himself. He may go around the world but it goes around with him. He does not shake it off by changing his position.
The Jacob who deceived Esau and had to flee in consequence, twenty years later, for cheating Laban and by his dishonest dealings, divorced himself from his father-in-law.
Jacobs piety was a pure hypocrisy. Now some may be ready to protest against this charge, but I ground it in the plain statements of the Word. In all his early years this supplanter seldom employed the name of God, except for personal profit. When his old father Isaac inquired concerning that mutton, Jacob was palming off on him for venison, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? the impious rascal replied, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. Think of voicing such hypocrisy! The next time Jacob employed Gods name it was at Bethel.
And Jacob vowed a vow saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I shall go and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my fathers house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God.
Satans charge against Job would have had occasion had he hurled it against this supplanter instead, Doth Jacob fear God for naught? When the frauds of this man had taken from Laban the greater part of his flocks and herds, and Labans sons had uttered their complaint of robbery, Jacob replied,
Ye know that with all my power I have served your father, and your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times. But God suffered him not to hurt me.
If he said, thus, the speckled shall be thy wages, then all the cattle bare speckled; and if he said thus, the ring straked shall be thy hire, then bare all the cattle ringstraked; thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father and given them to me. What hypocrisy! God had done nothing of the kind. This supplanter, by his knowledge of physiological laws, had enriched himself and robbed Laban, and when charged with his conduct, defended his fortune by the impious claim that God had given it all. I doubt if a man ever descends to greater depths of infamy than he reaches who cloaks bad conduct with pious phrases.
In a certain city a gentleman moved in and started up in business. He dressed elegantly, dwelt in a splendid house, drew the reins over a magnificent span, but his piety was the most marked thing about him. Morning and evening on the Sabbath day he went into the house of God to worship, and in the prayer meeting his testimonies and prayers were delivered with promptness and apparent sincerity. A few short months and he used the cover of night under which to make his exit, and left behind him a victimized host. Some time since our newspapers reported a Jew, who by the same hypocrisy had enriched himself and robbed many of his well-to-do brethren in Minneapolis. We have more respect for the worldling who is a gambler, a drunkard or an adulterer, than for the churchman who makes his church-membership serve purely commercial ends, and whose pious phrases are used as free passes into the confidence of the unsuspecting. It is a remarkable fact that when Jesus Christ was in the world He used His power to dispossess the raving Gadarene; He showed His mercy toward the scarlet woman; He viewed with pathetic silence the gamblers who cast dice for His own coat, but He assailed hypocrisy with the strongest clean invectives of which human language was capable, naming the hypocrites of His time whited sepulchers, a generation of vipers, children of Satan, and charged them with foolishness, blindness and murder. If Christ were here today, hypocrisy would fare no better at His lips, and when He was crucified again, as He surely would be, this class would lead the crowd that cried, Crucify Him! Crucify Him!
But enough regarding Jacobs shrewdness; let us look into
JACOBS SORROWS.
He is separated from his childhoods home. Scarcely had he and his doting mother carried out their deception of Isaac when sorrow smites both of them and the mother who loved him so much is compelled to say, My son, obey my voice and arise; flee thou to Laban, my brother, to Haran; and this mother and son were destined never to see each others face again. One of the ways of Gods judgment is to leave men to the fruits of their own devices. He does not rise up to personally punish those who transgress, but permits them to suffer the punishment which is self-inflicted. The law is Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. It is a law that approves every righteous act, and bestows great blessings upon every good man, but it is also a law that has its whip of scorpions for every soul that lives in sin. It is on account of this law that you cannot be a cheat in your home and be comfortable there. You simply cannot deceive and defraud your fellows and escape the consequences.
What was $25,000 worth to Patrick Crowe when every policeman in America and a thousand private detectives were in search of him? How fitful must have been his sleep when he lay down at night, knowing that ere the morning dawned the law was likely to lay its hand upon him, and how anxious his days when every man he met and every step heard behind him suggested probable arrest. What had he done that he was so hunted? He had done what Jacob did; he had come into possession of blessings which did not belong to him, and as Jacob took advantage of his brothers weariness and hunger and of his fathers blindness to carry out his plot, so this child-kidnapper took advantage of the weakness of youth, the affection of paternity, to spoil his fellow of riches. It is not likely that either Jacob of old or the kidnapper of yesterday looked to the end of their deception. Greed in each case blinded them, to the sorrows to come, as it is doing to hundreds of thousands of others today. But just as sure as Jacobs deception effected Jacobs separation from mother and father and home, similar conduct on your part or mine will plunge us into sorrows, for he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.
In His adopted house Jacob encounters new difficulties. It is no more easy to run away from sorrow than it is to escape from sin. The man who proved himself a rascal in Minneapolis may remove to Milwaukee, but the troubles he had here will be duplicated in his new home. The shrewd man of Gerar, when he comes to Haran, is cheated himself. Seven hard years of service for Rachel, and lo, Leah is given instead. At Haran his wages were changed ten times, so he says. I have no doubt that every change was effected by some new rascality in his conduct. At Haran he was openly charged with deception and greed by the sons of Laban, and at Haran also he witnessed the jealousy that was growing up between Rachel, his best beloved, and Leah, the favored of God. So sorrows ever attend the sinner.
The man who comes to you in a time when you are tempted, to plead with you to deal honestly, to do nothing that would not have the Divine approval, no matter how great the loss in an upright course, is a friend and is pleading for your good. His counsel is not against success, but against sorrow instead. He is as certainly trying to save you from agonizing experiences as he would be if pleading with you not to drink, not to gamble, or even not to commit murder, for better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
It is at the point of his family he suffers most. We have already referred to the estrangement that grew up between Rachel and Leah. That was only the beginning. The baseness of Reuben, the cruelty of Simeon and Levi toward the Shechemites, the spirit of fratricide that sold Joseph into slavery; all of these and more had to be met by this unhappy man. A man never suffers so much as when he sees that his family, his wife and his children, are necessarily involved. Jacob expressed this thought when he prayed to God,
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.
Ah, there is the quick of human lifethe mother with the children.
I know a man who has recently been proven a defaulter. His embezzlements amount to many thousands of dollars, so it is said, and they run back through a course of twenty years. In a somewhat intimate association with him I never dreamed such a thing possible. He was a sweet-spirited man, an affectionate father, a kind husband, a good neighbor, outwardly a loyal citizen and apparently an upright Christian. I do not believe at heart he was dishonest, and I know that he was not selfish. Since the press published his disgrace, I have been pondering over what it all meant and have an idea that he simply lacked the courage to go home and tell his wife and children that he was financially bankrupt, and that they must move into a plainer house, subsist upon the simplest food, and be looked upon as belonging to the poverty stricken; so he went on, keeping up outward appearances, possibly for the wifes sake and for the childrens sake, hoping against hope that the tide would turn and he would recover himself and injure none, until one day he saw the end was near, and the sin long concealed was burning to the surface, and society would understand. It plunged him into temporary insanity.
Young men who sin are likely to forget the fact that when they come to face the consequences of their behavior they will not be alone, and their sufferings will be increased by just so much as the wife and children are compelled to suffer.
Some time ago I read a story of a young man who had committed a crime and fled to the West. In the course of time he met a young woman in his new home and wooed and won her. When a little child came into his home, his heart turned back to his mother, and he longed to go back and visit her and let her meet his wife and enjoy the grandchild; and yielding to this natural desire, he went back. But ere a week had passed, officers of the law walked in and arrested him on the old charge. Alone he had sinned, but now his sufferings are accentuated a thousand-fold because his innocent wife must share them, and even the bewildered babe must untwine her arms from about his neck and be torn from her best-loved bed, his breast. The mother with the children! Ah, Jacob, you may sin by yourself, but when you come to suffer, you will feel the pain of many lives.
But, thank God, there came a change in Jacob. In finishing this talk I want to give the remaining space to
JACOBS SALVATION.
I believe it occurred at Peniel. Twice before God had manifested Himself to Jacob. But Jacob had received little profit from those revelations. On his way to Haran, God gave him a vision in the night a ladder set up on the earth the top of which reached up to heaven, and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. When Jacob awakened out of his sleep he said, This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. But not all who come into the House of God, not all before whom Heavens gate opens; not all to whom the way of salvation is revealed are converted. That nights vision did not result in Jacobs salvation. After that he was the same deceiver.
Twenty-one years sweep by and Jacob is on his way back to the old place, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them he said, This is Gods host. But not every man who meets the hosts of God is saved. Jacob is not saved. But when he came to Peniel and there in the night a Man wrestled with him, it was none other than Gods third appearance, and the Jacob who had gone from the House of God unsaved, who had met the hosts of God to receive from them little profit, seeing now the face of God, surrendered once for all. From that night until the hour when he breathed his last, Jacob the politician, Jacob the deceiver, Jacob the defrauder, was Israelthe Prince of God, whose conduct became the child of the Most High!
His repentance was genuine. Read the record of Gen 32:24-30, and you will be convinced that Jacob truly repented. In that wonderful night he ceased from his selfishness. He said never a word that looked like a bargain with God. He did not even plead for personal safety against angered Esau. He did not even beseech God to save the mother with the children, but he begged for a blessing. He had passed the Pharisaical point where his prayer breathed his self-esteem. He had come to the point of the truly penitent, and doubtless prayed over and over again as the publican, God be merciful to me a sinner. And when God was about to go from him he said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. That is the best sign of genuine repentance.
In Chicago I baptized a young man who for years had been a victim of drink. For years also he had gone to the gambling house. Often he abused his wife and sometimes he beat the half-clad children. One day in his wretchedness he purchased a pistol and went into his own home, purposing to destroy the lives of wife and children and then commit suicide; but while he waited for the wife to turn her head that he might execute his will without her having suspected it, Gods Spirit came upon him in conviction and he told me afterwards that his sense of sin was such that in his back yard, with his face buried in the earth, he cried for Gods blessing. And I found that I was not so much convicted of drunkenness, or of gambling, or of cruelty, or even of the purpose of murder and suicide, as I was convicted of sin. I did not plead for pardon from any of these acts but for Gods mercy that should cover all and make me a man.
Read the 51st Psalm and see how David passed through a similar experience. His cry was, Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. And Jacobs cry was Bless me. It means the same.
His offer to Esau was in restitution. Two hundred she goats, and 20 he goats, 200 ewes and 20 rams; 30 milk camels with their colts; 40 kine and 10 bulls; 20 she asses and 10 foals; all of these he sent to Esau his brother, as a present. Present, did I say? No, Jacob meant it in payment. Twenty-one years before he had taken from Esau what was not his own and now that God had blessed him, he wanted to return to Esau with usury. It is the story of Zacchaeusrestoring four-fold. And the church of God has never received a better evidence of conversion than is given when a man makes restitution.
Some years ago at Cleveland a great revival was on, into which meeting an unhappy man strayed. The evangelist was talking that night of the children of Israel coming up to Kadesh-Barnea but turning back unblessed. This listener, an attorney, had in his pocket seven hundred dollars which he had received for pleading a case which he knew to be false, won only by perjured testimony, and the promise of $12,000 more should he win the case in the highest court. As the minister talked, Gods Spirit convicted him and for some days he wrestled with the question as to what to do. Then he counselled with the evangelist and eventually he restored the $700, told his client to keep the $12,000 and went his way into the church of God. I have not followed his course but you do not doubt his conversion. Ah, Jacob is saved now, else he would never have paid the old debt at such a price.
Thank God, also, that his reformation was permanent. You can follow this life now through all its vicissitudes to the hour of which it is written,
And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost and was gathered unto his people.
You will never find him a deceiver again; you will never find him defrauding again. The righteousness of his character waxes unto the end, and Pharaoh never entertained a more honorable man than when he welcomed this hoary pilgrim to his palace. The forenoon of his life was filled with clouds and storms, but the evening knew only sunshine and shadow, and the shadow was not in consequence of sins continued but sorrows super induced by the sins of others.
It is related that when Napoleon came upon the battlefield of Marengo, he found his forces in confusion and flying before the face of the enemy. Calling to a superior officer he asked what it meant. The answer was, We are defeated. The great General took out his watch, looked at the sinking sun a moment and said, There is just time enough left to regain the day. At his command the forces faced about, fought under the inspiration of his presence, and just as the sun went down, they silenced the opposing guns.
Suppose we grant that one has wasted his early years, has so misspent them as to bring great sorrow. Shall such despair? No, Jacobs life illustrates the better way. His youth was all gone when he came to Peniel. But there he learned how to redeem the remaining days.
I saw by a magazine to which I subscribe that in Albemarle and surrounding counties of Virginia there are many farms that were once regarded as worn out, and their owners questioned what they could do with them, when somebody suggested that they sow them to violets. The violets perfumed the air, enriched the owner, and recovered the land. It is not too late to turn to God!
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL NOTES.
Gen. 33:3. Bowed himself to the ground seven times.] He bowed himself after the Eastern fashion, bending the body so that the face nearly touches the ground. The text gives us to understand that these obeisances were not made on the same spot, but one after another as he approached Esau. (Alford.)
Gen. 33:5. Who are those with thee?] Heb. Who these to thee?pertaining to thee.
Gen. 33:11. My blessing.] Meaning my gratuity. In Scripture a gift is often called a blessing (1Sa. 25:27; 1Sa. 30:26; 2Ki. 5:15). I have enough. The expression is rendered in our version in the same way with that of Esau (Gen. 33:9), but they differ in the original. Esau says (Heb.), I have much, but Jacob (Heb.), I have all.
Gen. 33:14. According as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure.] Heb. According to the foot of the possessionsand according to the foot of the children. The meaning is, at the pace of the cattle, as fast as the business of travelling with cattle will permit.
Gen. 33:15. Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me.] Heb. I will place, station, set. He wished to leave part of his men as an escort or guard to Jacobs company.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Gen. 33:1-16
THE RECONCILIATION OF JACOB AND ESAU
I. It illustrates the difference between the characters of the two brothers.
1. Esau was generous and forgiving. He was generous in refusing Jacobs present (Gen. 33:9), and also in afterwards consenting to accept it (Gen. 33:11); because to decline a gift is a token of enmity among the Orientals. There must be some one to receive in order that others may have the blessedness of giving. He was generous also in offering an escort, and in that delicate feeling which led him not to press it upon his brother (Gen. 33:15). Esau was of a forgiving disposition. His passion soon cooled down, and there was a fund of good nature within him.
2. In Jacob there are traces of his old subtlety. His old life had left traces in his character of fear, distrust, and suspicion. He was a cool, calculating man, one who refused to commit himself to others, however encouraging the appearances. He did not ally himself too closely with Esaus band, lest the old enmity should break out. He would put off the more leisurely meeting with his brother till afterwards, proposing to pay an early visit to him at his residence. (Gen. 33:14.) We have no account of their meeting afterwards, until they met at their fathers funeral. (Ch. Gen. 35:29.) Jacob simply desires his brothers favour, and does not care to be too closely associated with him.
II. It illustrates the power of human forgivenessOne forgave, and the other received forgiveness. There is a forgiveness of man by man which is virtually Gods forgiveness. This grace at the hands of Esau was to Jacob as the face of God (Gen. 33:10). Therefore he comes in peace to the city (Gen. 33:18). He had sought forgiveness in the right way, by humility, by a sense of his sin. And he obtained it most fully (Gen. 33:4).
III. It illustrates the tyranny of old sins. The brothers separated, but not to meet again for many years. It would not have been expedient for them to live together. All was forgiven, but there was no longer any confidence. So the effects of past sins remain.
IV. It illustrates the power of Godliness.This is not an ordinary reconciliation of human enmities. It has a deep foundation, for it is based upon the reconciliation of Jacob with God. Jacob might have tried to overcome wrath with wrath. He once had hoped to overcome Esau by force, but now he tries the new and better way. Jacobs humility before his brother was but a sign of his humility before God. His satisfaction to Esau is a sign also of his reconciliation with God. The strength of his love and confidence comes from Gods grace. He could not mingle afterwards with Esau, for he had the consciousness within him of his high calling of God. Notwithstanding the many flaws in Jacobs character, he had that God-consciousness which was lacking in his brother.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen. 33:1. Jacob masters his fears, and makes use of the likeliest means. So Esther, when she had prayed, resolved to venture to the king whatever came of it. And our Saviour, though before fearful, yet, after He had prayed in the garden, goes forth and meets His enemies in the face, asking them, Whom seek ye? (Joh. 18:4). Great is the power of prayer to steel the heart against whatsoever amazements.(Trapp).
Gen. 33:2-3. Esau has the array of physical force. Jacob has only a weak band of women and children. Yet Jacob prevails.(Jacobus).
In the midst of all his fear Jacob displayed true courage. He placed himself at the front of the band. Like the Captain of our salvation, he was ready to bear the brunt of the battle.
Gen. 33:4. Esau is blunt and generous. Jacob had the guilty conscience, and therefore he does not touch upon the brotherly relation.
In Esaus tenderness towards his brother we are reminded of the gracious reception of another penitent (Luk. 15:20).
The dreaded time with Jacob was turned to joy and gladness. God is better to him than all his fears.
Gen. 33:5. Jacobs answer is worthy of Him. It savours of the fear of God which ruled in his heart, and taught him to acknowledge Him even in the ordinary concerns of life.(Fuller).
Gen. 33:6-7. Had this been done to Jacob, methinks he would have answered, God be gracious unto you, my children. But we must take Esau as he is, and rejoice that things are as they are. We have often occasion to be thankful for civilities, when we can find nothing like religion.(Fuller).
Gen. 33:8. We are taught the propriety of conceding all that we can to others for the sake of making or preserving peace. The Christians inheritance will leave him riches enough, and his prerogatives honour enough, after all the abatements that his generosity prompts him to make.(Bush).
Gen. 33:9. Whatever effect Jacobs present had upon him, he would not be thought to be influenced by anything of that kind; especially as he had great plenty of his own. Jacob, however, continued to urge it upon him, not as he thought he needed it, but as a token of good-will, and of his desire to be reconciled. He did not indeed make use of this term, nor of any other that might lead to the recollection of their former variance.(Fuller).
Gen. 33:10. The receiving of a present at anothers hand is, perhaps, one of the greatest proofs of reconciliation. Everyone is conscious that he could not receive a present at the hand of an enemy. And upon this principle no offerings of sinful creatures can be accepted of God, till they are reconciled to Him by faith in the atonement of His Son.(Fuller).
God Himself had appeared to Jacob as his combatant instead of Esau. Therefore Jacob sees in Esau the appearance of God again. And in this, case, as in that, the face, angry at first, changes into kindness to the believing man.(Baumgarten).
Already he had met Esau in the conflict with God, and had received encouragement of success in this meeting; and now he recognises the significance of that wrestling which ends in blessing. Seeing Esau now is like seeing the face of God, and that which was already signified to him by the angel must not fail. Here again Jacob displays his triumphant faith.(Jacobus).
In the forgiveness which comes from man we may see a reflection of Gods forgiveness.
Gen. 33:11. Esau had said, literally, I have much. Jacob says, I have all. The worlding may indeed have much; but he lacks one thing which is the vital thingwhich is everythingas the soul to the body, as the eye to the needle, as the blade of the knife. The Christian has all things, the world, life, death, things present, things to come!(Jacobus).
Jacob had all, because he had the God of all.(Trapp).
Gen. 33:12-15. Jacob was discreet in resolutely declining the offer of Esau. He would do better to pursue his journey alone. They might properly embrace for a few moments, but if they had attempted to sojourn together, the enmity so early planted between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent would in all likelihood have broken forth. Esau would once more have hated Jacob, or the spiritually man of God have been drawn from his allegiance by his more worldly-minded brother.(Bush).
Many evils arise from lack of that kind of prudence which Jacob showed.
It is not expedient for believers to form close compacts with the children of this world.
Jacob, in declining the offered escort, had other reasons than compassion for his children and cattle. But he did not feel bound to state them, for this would have given offence and produced greater evils.
Jacob had sufficient experience of the past to teach him to trust himself entirely to the guardianship of God.
Gen. 33:16. On his way unto Seir. Whither God had sent him before-hand to plant out of Jacobs way. He was grown rich, desired liberty, and saw that his wives were offensive to the old couple; therefore he removed his dwelling to Mount Seir, and left better room for Jacob.(Trapp).
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
2. Jacobs Reconciliation with Esau: The Biblical Account (Gen. 32:1 to Gen. 33:17)
1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And Jacob said when he saw them, This is Gods host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the field of Edom. 4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau: Thus saith thy servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now: 5 and I have oxen, and asses, and flocks, and men-servants, and maid-servants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in thy sight. 6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. 7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed: and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies; 8 and he said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the company which is left shall escape. 9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, who saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will do thee good: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the lovingkindnesses, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two companies. 11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he come and smite me, the mother with the children. 12 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.
13 And he lodged there that night, and took of that which he had with him a present for Esau his brother: 14 two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milch camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals. 16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. 17 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? 18 then thou shalt say, They are thy servant Jacobs; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, he also is behind us. 19 And he commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him; 20 and ye shall say, 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 me. 21 So the present passed over before him: and he himself lodged that night in the company.
22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven children, and passed over the ford of the Jabbok. 23 And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that which he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacobs thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 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. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31 And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Penuel, and he limped upon his thigh. 32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacobs thigh in the sinew of the hip.
1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau was coming, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. 2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. 3 And he himself passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. 5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are these with thee? And he said, The children whom God hath graciously given thy servant. 6 Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. 7 And Leah also and her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. 8 and he said, What meanest thou by all this company which I met? And he said, To find favor in the sight of my lord. 9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; let that which thou hast be thine. 10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found favor in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand; forasmuch as I have seen thy face as one seeth the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me, 11 Take, I pray thee, my gift that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it. 12 And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. 13 And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and that the flocks and herds with me have their young: and if they overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on gently, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. 15 And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find favor in the sight of my lord. 16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. 17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him a house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
(1) Jacobs experience at Mahanaim, Gen. 32:1-2. As Jacob went on his way from Gilead and Mizpah in a southerly direction, the angels of God, literally, messengers of Elohim (not chance travelers who informed him of Esaus presence in the vicinity, but angels) met him (cf. Heb. 1:7; Heb. 1:14; Psa. 104:4), not necessarily coming in an opposite direction, but simply falling in with him as he journeyed. Whether this was a waking vision or a midnight dream is uncertain, though the two former visions enjoyed by Jacob were at night (Gen. 28:12, Gen. 31:10) (PCG, 389). The elevated state and feeling of Jacob, after the departure of Laban, reveals itself in the vision of the hosts of God. Heaven is not merely connected with the saints on the earth (through the ladder); its hosts are warlike hosts, who invisibly guard the saints and defend them, even while upon the earth. Here is the very germ and source of the designation of God as the God of hosts, Zabaoth (Lange, 545). (Cf. Isa. 1:9, Rom. 9:29). The appearance of the invisible host may have been designed to celebrate Jacobs triumph over Laban, as after Christs victory over Satan in the wilderness angels came and ministered unto him (Mat. 4:11), or to remind him that he owed his deliverance to Divine interposition, but was probably intended to assure him of protection in his approaching interview with Esau, and perhaps also to give him welcome in returning home again to Canaan, if not in addition to suggest that his descendants would require to fight for their inheritance (PCG, 389. Met him, lit., came, drew near to him, not precisely that they came from an opposite direction. This vision does not relate primarily to the approaching meeting with Esau (Peniel relates to this), but to the dangerous meeting with Laban. As the Angel of God had disclosed to him in vision the divine assistance against his unjust sufferings in Mesopotamia, so now he enjoys a revelation of the protection which God had prepared for him upon Mount Gilead, through his angels (cf. 2Ki. 6:17). In this sense he well calls the angels Gods host, and the place in which they met him, double camp. By the side of the visible camp, which he, with Laban and his retainers, had made, God had prepared another, an invisible camp, for his protection. It served also to encourage him, in a general way, for the approaching meeting with Esau (Lange, 544).
Jacob was now receiving divine encouragement to meet the new dangers of the land he was entering. His eyes were opened to see a troop of angels, the host of God sent for his protection, and forming a second camp beside his own; and he called the name of the place Mahanaim (the two camps or hosts) (OTH, 102). How often we meet this mention of angels in the story of Jacobs life! Angels on the ladder in the vision at Bethel; the dream of an angel that told him to leave the country of Laban; angels now before him on his way; the memory of an angel at the last when he laid his hands upon the sons of Joseph, and said, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads (Gen. 48:16). There had been much earthliness and evil in Jacob, and certainly it was too bold a phrase to say that he had been redeemed from all of it. But the striking fact is the repeated association of angels with the name of this imperfect man. The one great characteristic which gradually refined him was his desirewhich from the beginning he possessedfor nearer knowledge of God. May it be therefore that the angels of God come, even though in invisible presence, to every man who has that saving eagerness? Not only in the case of Jacob, but in that of many another, those who look at the mans life and what is happening in it and around it may be able to say that as he went on his way the angels of God met him (IBG, 719).
It is not said whether this angelic manifestation was made in a vision by day, or a dream by night. It was most probably the formeran internal occurrence, a mental spectacle, analogous, as in many similar cases (cf. Gen. 15:1; Gen. 15:5; Gen. 15:12; Gen. 21:12-13; Gen. 21:17; Gen. 22:2-3), to the dream which he had on his journey to Mesopotamia. For there is an evident allusion to the appearance upon the ladder (Gen. 28:12); and this occurring to Jacob in his return to Canaan, was an encouraging pledge of the continued presence and protection of God: Psa. 34:7, Heb. 1:14 (Jamieson, 213). Mahanaim, that is, two hosts or camps. Two myriads is the number usually employed to denote an indefinite number; but here it must have reference to the two hosts, Gods host of angels and Jacobs own camp. The place was situated between Mount Gilead and the Jabbok, near the banks of that brook. A town afterwards rose upon the spot, on the border of the tribal territories of Gad and Manasseh, supposed by Porter to be identified in a ruin called Mahneh (Jamieson, ibid.). When Laban had taken his departure peaceably, Jacob pursued his journey to Canaan. He was then met by some angels of God; and he called the place where they appeared Mahanaim, i.e., double camp or double host, because the host of God joined his host as a safeguard. This appearance of angels necessarily reminded him of the vision of the ladder, on his flight from Canaan. Just as the angels ascending and descending had then represented to him the divine protection and assistance during his journey and sojourn in a foreign land, so now the angelic host was a signal of the help of God for the approaching conflict with Esau of which he was in fear, and a fresh pledge of the promise (ch. Gen. 28:15), I will bring thee back to the land, etc. Jacob saw it during his journey; in a waking condition, therefore, not internally, but out of or above himself: but whether with the eyes of the body or of the mind (cf. 2Ki. 6:17), cannot be determined. Mahanaim was afterwards a distinguished city, which is frequently mentioned, situated to the north of the Jabbok; and the name and remains are still preserved in the place called Mahneh (Robinson, Pal. Appendix, p. 166), the site of which, however, has not yet been minutely examined (K-D, 301). For other references to Mahanaim, see Jos. 13:26; Jos. 13:30; Jos. 21:38, 1Ch. 6:80; 2Sa. 2:8; 2Sa. 2:12; 2Sa. 4:5-8; 2Sa. 17:24; 2Sa. 17:27; 1Ki. 2:8; 1Ki. 4:14). Leupold writes: Though Mahanaim is repeatedly mentioned in the Scriptures, we cannot be sure of its exact location. It must have lain somewhere east of Jordan near the confluence of the Jordan and the Jabbok. The present site Machneh often mentioned in this connection seems too far to the north (EG, 862).
(2) Preparations for meeting Esau, Gen. 32:3-23. Having achieved reconciliation with Laban, Jacob now finds his old fears returningthose fears that sent him away from home in the first place. This long passage is a vivid picture of a man who could not get away from the consequences of an old wrong. Many years before, Jacob had defrauded Esau. He had got away to a safe distance and he had stayed there a long time. Doubtless he had tried to forget about Esau, or at any rate to act as if Esaus oath to be avenged could be forgotten. While in Labans country he could feel comfortable. But the time had come when he wanted to go back home; and though the thought of it drew him, it appalled him too. There was the nostalgia of early memories, but there was the nightmare of the later one, and it overshadowed all the rest. Esau was there; and what would Esau do? As a matter of fact, Esau would not do anything. If he had not forgotten what Jacob had done to him, he had stopped bothering about it. Hot-tempered and terrifying though he could be, he was too casual to carry a grudge. As ch. 33 tells, he would meet Jacob presently with the bluff generosity of the big man who lets bygones be bygones, But not only did Jacob not know that; what he supposed he knew was the exact opposite. Esau would confront him as a deadly threat (Bowie, IBG, 719). Thus conscience doth makes cowards of us all (Hamlets Soliloquy). Jacob had passed through a humiliating process. He had been thoroughly afraid, and this was the more galling because he thought of himself as somebody who ought not to have had to be afraid. In his possessions he was a person of consequence. He had tried to suggest that to Esau in his first messages. But none of his possessions fortified him when his conscience let him down. Even when Esau met him with such magnanimity, Jacob was not yet at ease. He still kept on his guard, with unhappy apprehension lest Esau might change his mind (see Gen. 33:12-17). Knowing that he had not deserved Esaus brotherliness, he could not believe that he could trust it. The barrier in the way of forgiveness may lie not in the unreadiness of the wronged to give, but in the inability of the one who has done wrong to receive. Jacob had to be humbled and chastened before he could be made clean. The wrestling by the Jabbok would be the beginning of that. He had to admit down deep that he did not deserve anything, and he had to get rid of the pride that thought he could work out his peace by his own wits. Only so could he ever feel that the relationship with Esau had really been restored. More importantly, it is only so that men can believe in and accept the forgiveness of the love of God (IBG, ibid.) (The expository matter in IBG is superb in the delineation of human character, its foibles, its strengths and its weaknesses. Although the exegesis of this set of books follows closely the speculations of the critics, nevertheless the set is well worth having in ones library for the expository treatment which deals graphically with what might be termed the human interest narratives of the Bible. From this point of view, the content of the book of Genesis is superbly presented.C.C.),
In this connection, we have some information of great value from Jewish sources, as follows: Laban has departednow Jacob can breathe freely. But he is far from happy contemplating Esaus natural and justifiable desire for vengeance. He now realizes the enormity of the wrong he has done his brother. That was twenty years ago: maybe Esaus anger had cooled a bit. He did not fear the angel, but he feared his brother because he had done him a great wrong. Why expect Esau to act differently? He, Jacob, had countered Labans deceit with deceit of his own. Why would not Esau do the same? Jacob was getting some of his own medicine. As the rabbis say: Before a man sins, everyone fears him; after he sins, he fears everyone. In prosperity we forget God. But when distress and danger confront us we turn to God. All earthly help seems futile. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble (Psa. 46:1). So Jacob prayed. But instead of relying on God to whom he prayed, he resorted to his old tricks, cunning plans for his defense. He trusted God only half way. If God will save me from this peril, well and good; but if not, I must spare no effort to save myself. Halfway faith is no faith at all. Then followed an anxious night. Redoubled preparations were made to meet Esau the next morning. Jacob sent his wives and children across the stream hoping their helplessness might touch Esaus heart. Jacob remained on this side of the stream. He would cross only at the last moment; possibly he would turn back and flee, without sheep and cattle, wives and children, to hinder his escape. But there was no place for him to go. Such was Jacobs guilt-laden mind (Morgenstern, JIBG). This episode is narrated to illustrate how God saved his servant and redeemed him from an enemy stronger than himself, by sending His angel and delivering him. We also learn that Jacob did not rely upon his righteousness, but took all measures to meet the situation. It contains the further lesson that whatever happened to the patriarchs happens to their offspring, and we should follow his example by making a threefold preparation in our fight against Esaus descendants, viz., prayer, gifts (appeasement) and war (Nachmanides) (SC, 195).
The matter of the next few verses occasions some differences of view on the part of Jewish commentators. As Isaac lived in the southern part of Canaan, Jacob had to pass through or by Edom. Realizing that he was now approaching Esaus domain, the land of Seir, the field of Edom, he took certain precautionary measures for protection. (The land of Seir was the region originally occupied by the Horites [Gen. 14:6; Gen. 36:21-30; Eze. 35:2 ff.], which was taken over later by Esau and his descendants [Deu. 2:1-29; Num. 20:14-21; Gen. 32:3; Gen. 36:8; Gen. 36:20 ff.; Num. 20:14-21; Jos. 24:4; 2Ch. 20:10, etc.], and then became known as Edom. This was the mountainous region lying south and east of the Dead Sea. The statement that Esau was already in the land of Seir [Gen. 32:4], or, as it is afterwards called, the field of Edom, is not at variance with chapter Gen. 36:6, and may be very naturally explained on the supposition, that with the increase of his family and possessions, he severed himself more and more from his fathers house, becoming increasingly convinced, as time went on, that he could hope for no change in the blessings pronounced by his father upon Jacob and himself, which excluded him from the inheritance of the promise, viz. the future possession of Canaan. Now, even if his malicious feelings toward Jacob had gradually softened down, he had probably never said anything to his parents on the subject, so that Rebekah had been unable to fulfil her promise [Gen. 27:45]) (K-D, 302). And what about Jacob? Rebekah had not communicated with him either, as she had promised to do as soon as his brothers anger had subsided. He had no indication that Esaus intentions were anything but hostile. What was he to do but make an effort to placate this brother whom he had not heard from for more than twenty years? Obviously, some sort of a delegation was in order, a delegation acknowledging Esau as one entitled to receive reports about one who is about to enter the land: such a delegation might produce a kindlier feeling on the part of the man thus honored. Jacobs first objective was to conciliate Esau, if possible. To this end he sent messengers ahead to make contact with him and to make known his return, in such a style of humility (my Lord Esau, thy servant Jacob) as was adapted to conciliate his brother. As a matter of fact Jacobs language was really that of great servility, dictated of course by his fear of his brothers vengeance. He makes no secret where he has been; he had been with Laban. He indicates further that his stay in the land of the east had been temporary: that he had stayed there only as a stranger or pilgrim; that indeed he had only sojourned with Laban (Gen. 32:4) and was now on his way back home. Nor, he made it clear, should Esau get the impression that Jacob was an impecunious beggar dependent on Esaus charity coming back as a suppliant: on the contrary, he was coming with oxen, and asses, and flocks, and men-servants and maidservants, etc. No wonder he was thrown into the greatest alarm and anxiety when the messengers returned to tell him that Esau was coming to meet him with a force of four hundred men. Note Gen. 32:6, the report of the messengers: We came to thy brother Esauaccording to Rashi, to him whom you regard as a brother, but he is Esau; he is advancing to attack you (SC, 196). Sforno agrees with Rashis preceding comment: he is coming with four hundred men to attack you. Rashbam interprets: you have found favor in his sight, and in your honour he is coming to meet you with a large retinue (SC, 196). The obvious reason for Esaus army seems to have been, rather, that he was just then engaged in subjugating the Horite people in Seir, a fact which would fully explain Gen. 36:6, and thus refute the critical assumption of different source materials. The simplest explanation of the fact that Esau should have had so many men about him as a standing army, is that given by Delitzsch; namely, that he had to subjugate the Horite population in Seir, for which purpose he might easily have formed such an army, partly from the Canaanitish and Ishmaelitish relatives of his wives, and partly from his own servants. His reason for going to meet Jacob with such a company may have been, either to show how mighty a prince he was, or with the intention of making his brother sensible of his superior power, and assuming a hostile attitude if the circumstances favored it, even though the lapse of years had so far mitigated his anger, that he no longer thought of executing the vengeance he had threatened twenty years before. For we are warranted in regarding Jacobs fear as no vain, subjective fancy, but as having an objective foundation, by the fact that God endowed him with courage and strength for his meeting with Esau, through the medium of the angelic host and the wrestling at the Jabbok; whilst, on the other hand, the brotherly affection and openness with which Esau met him, are to be attributed partly to Jacobs humble demeanor, and still more to the fact, that by the influence of God, the still remaining malice had been rooted out from his heart (K-D, 302). Here again, in the interest of tracing down sources more or less out of harmony with one another, critics assert that these verses (35) assume Isaacs death and Esaus occupation of the land which he in reality only took in hand somewhat later, according to Gen. 36:6, which is ascribed to P. Isaac, with his non-aggressive temperament, may have allowed the far more active Esau to take the disposition of matters in hand. So Jacob may well have been justified in dealing with Esau as master. This is all quite plausible even if Isaac had not died. Furthermore, in speaking of the land of Seir, the region of Edom, Jacob may only imply that Esau had begun to take possession of the land which was afterward to become his and of whose definite and final occupation Gen. 36:6 speaks. In any case, master, used in reference to Esau, only describes Jacobs conception of their new relation. Jacob did not enter into negotiations with Isaac, his father, in approaching the land. His welcome was assured at his fathers hand. But the previous misunderstanding called for an adjustment with Esau. At the same time our, explanation accounts for Esaus 400 men: they are an army that he has gathered while engaged upon his task of subduing Seir, the old domain of the Horites (cf. Gen. 14:6). Skinners further objection: how he was ready to strike so far north of his territory is a difficulty, is thus also disposed of (Leupold, EG, 863864).
A number of questions obtrude themselves at this point. E.g., Why was Esau in that territory in the first place? And why was he there in such force, if he was not engaged in dispossessing the occupants? Why would he be that far north, if conquest was not his design? How would he know that he would be meeting up with Jacob? Did Jacob expect to find him there, or somewhere back in the vicinity of Canaan? Had the angelic host (Gen. 32:2) informed him of Esaus nearness? Is there any evidence from any quarter that Jacob had received any news from home during the entire twenty years he had been in Paddan-aram? What did the messengers mean when they returned and said to Jacob, We came to thy brother Esau? Did they not mean that they had come upon Esau and his contingent unexpectedly, that is, sooner than they had thought to do so? Esau seems to have been about as uncertain in his own mind as to his plans and purposes as Jacob was in reference to these same plans and purposes? Certainly Esau must have been surprised when Jacobs messengers met him? And certainly the very uncertainties implicit in the report of Jacobs messengers made it all the more alarming to Jacob. In substance, the message which Jacobs emissaries took to Esau was nothing but an announcement of his arrival and his great wealth (Gen. 33:12 ff.). The shepherd, with all his success, is at the mercy of the fierce marauder who was to live by his sword, Gen. 27:40 (ICCG, 406). At the news brought back by his messengers fear overwhelmed Jacob, even though every crisis in the past had terminated in his advantage. But now he was at the point of no return, facing the must critical experience of all in the fact that the word brought back about Esau and his force of 400 men indicated the worst, Dividing all his possessions at the River Jabbok, so that if Esau should attack one part, the other might have a chance to get away, Jacob made ready for the anticipated confrontation in a threefold manner, first by prayer, then by gifts, and finally by actual combat if necessary.
The Prayer, Gen. 32:9-12. Jacob was naturally timid; but his conscience told him that there was much ground for apprehension; and his distress was all the more aggravated that he had to provide for the safety of a large and helpless family. In this great emergency he had recourse to prayer (CECG, 213). Mans extremity is Gods opportunity. (Unfortunately a great many people can pray like a bishop in a thunderstorm, who never think of God at any other time: in the lines of the well-known bit of satirical humor:
God and the doctor we alike adore,
Just on the brink of danger, not before;
The danger past, both are unrequited
God is forgotten, and the doctor slighted.)
Nevertheless, Jacob did the only thing he could do under the circumstanceshe prayed, to the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac, the living and true God. (Not even the slightest smack of idolatry or polytheism in this prayer!) This is the first recorded example of prayer in the Bible. It is short, earnest and bearing directly on the occasion. The appeal is made to God, as standing in a covenant relation to his family, just as we ought to put our hopes of acceptance with God in Christ; for Jacob uses here the name Jehovah, along with other titles, in the invocation, as he invokes it singly elsewhere (cf. Gen. 49:18). He pleads the special promise made to himself of a safe return; and after a most humble and affecting confession of unworthiness, breathes an earnest desire for deliverance from the impending danger. It was the prayer of a kind husband, an affectionate father, a firm believer in the promises (Jamieson, CECG, 213214). This prayer strikes a religious note surprising in this purely factual context (JB, 53). Jacobs prayer, consisting of an invocation (10), thanksgiving (11), petition (12), and appeal to the divine faithfulness (13) is a classical model of OT devotion (Skinner, ICCG, 406). Skinner adds: though the element of confession, so prominent in later supplications, is significantly absent. (Leupold discusses this last assertion as follows: It is hard to understand how men can claim that the element of confession is significantly absent in Jacobs prayer. True, a specific confession of sin is not made in these words. But what does, I am unworthy, imply? Why is he unworthy? There is only one thing that renders us unworthy of Gods mercies and that is our sin. Must this simple piece of insight be denied Jacob? It is so elementary in itself as to be among the rudiments of spiritual insight. Let men also remember that lengthy confessions of sin may be made where there is no sense of repentance whatsoever. And again, men may be most sincerely penitent and yet may say little about their sin, If ever a prayer implied a deep sense of guilt it is Jacobs. Behind the critics claim that confession is absent from this prayer lies the purpose to thrust an evolutionistic development into religious experiences, a development which is significantly absent. It was not first in later supplications that this element became so prominent. It was just that in this earlier age the experience of sin and guilt particularly impressed Gods saints as rendering them unworthy of Gods mercies (cf. also Gen. 18:27 in Abrahams case) (EG, 867). One. might well compare also the case of the publican (Luk. 18:13-14) or that of the prodigal son (Luk. 15:18-24). Did not Jesus commend both of these supplications? We see no reason for assuming that God must hear us call the roll of our sins, specifying each in its proper order, to have mercy on us? Cf. Jas. 2:10Sin is lawlessness, and a single instance of sin makes one guilty of it (cf. 1Jn. 3:4). (Cf. Joh. 1:29note the singular here, sin.). Surely the very profession of unworthiness is confession of sin. Human authority has established the custom of enumerating specific sinsin the priestly confessional, of course: whether such an enumeration ever gets as high as the Throne of Grace is indeed a moot question. Jacobs humble prayer in a crisis of his life, his own comparison of his former status with the present, harmonizes the inner religious theme of the story with the other theme of his experience. This man who understood the consequences of his actions (flight from his fathers house, danger of dependence, trouble with his children), is still a man whom the grace of God had found. So tradition dwells on his many trials of faith, while describing him as a man to whom the election of God came without full merit on his part (Cornfeld, AtD, 89. Note especially Gen. 32:10, this Jordan. Is the Jordan here, instead of the Jabbok, Gen. 32:22, a later elaboration? (as JB would have it, p. 53). The Jabbok was situated near, indeed is a tributary of the Jordan (PCG, 390). The mention of the Jordan here certainly had reference to Jacobs first crossing, that is, on his way to Paddan-aram: at that time he had only his staff; now he has abundant wealth in the form of sheep, goats, camels, and cows and bulls (Gen. 32:14-15). The measure of these gracious gifts at Gods hands is best illustrated by the contrast between what Jacob was when he first crossed the Jordan and what he now has upon his return to Jordan (EG, 867). Naturally he would think of the Jordan as the dividing line between his homeland and the country to which he had journeyed; on the first trek he was all alone, with nothing but his staff. With this staff, means, as Luther translates, with only this staff (cf. EG, ibid.).
Note that Jacob closed his petition with a specific request that the God of his fathers deliver him, as the mother with the children, from Esaus vengeance, a proverbial expression for unsparing cruelty, or complete extirpation, taken from the idea of destroying a bird while sitting upon its young (cf. Deu. 22:6, Hos. 10:14). He then pleads the Divine promises at Bethel (Gen. 28:13-15) and at Haran (Gen. 31:3), as an argument why Jehovah should now extend to him protection against Esau. Or, by killing the mother he will smite me, even if I personally escape (SC, 197). Some (e.g., Tuch) have criticized this aspect of the prayer as somewhat inaptly reminding God of His commands and promises, and calling upon Him to keep His word. But is not this precisely what God expects His people to do? (Cf. Isa. 43:26). According to Scripture the Divine promise is always the petitioners best warrant (PCG, 391). (Cf. thy seed as the sand of the sea with the dust of the earth, Gen. 13:16, the stars of heaven, Gen. 15:5, and as the sand upon the sea-shore, Gen. 22:17, which cannot be numbered for multitude.). Thus Jacob changes the imagery of the Abrahamic Promise, ch. Gen. 22:17. Such a destructive attack as now threatens him, would oppose and defeat the divine promise. Faith clings to the promise, and is thus developed (Lange, 549). The objection that it is unbecoming in Jacob to remind God of His promise, shows an utter misconception of true prayer, which presupposes the promise of God just as truly as it implies the consciousness of wants. Faith, which is the life of prayer, clings to the divine promises, and pleads them (Gosman, ibid., 549). Jacob, fearing the worst, divided his people and flocks into two camps, that if Esau smote the one, the other might escape. He then turned to the Great Helper in every time of need, and with an earnest prayer besought the God of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac, who had directed him to return, that, on the ground of the abundant mercies and truth (cf. Gen. 24:27) He had shown him thus far, He would deliver him out of the hand of his brother, and from the threatening destruction, and so fulfil His promises (K-D, 303). Jacobs prayer for deliverance was graciously answered, God granted His favor to an undeserving sinner who cast himself wholly upon His mercy. Notice, that Jacob acted in accord with the proposition that often we should work as though we had never prayed (HSB, 53). Hence the gifts (for appeasement) that followed, and preparations for conflict, if that should occur.
The Gifts, Gen. 32:14-22. Although hoping for safety and aid from the Lord alone, Jacob neglected no means of doing what might serve to appease his brother. Having taken up his quarters for the night in the place where he received the news of Esaus approach, he selected from his flocksof that which he had acquireda very respectable present of 550 head of cattle, and sent them in different detachments to meet Esau, as a present unto my lord Esau from thy servant Jacob, who was coming behind. The cattle were selected according to the proportions of male and female which were adopted from experience among the ancients (Varro, de re rustica 2, 3). V. 15-200 she-goats and twenty he-goats. Similarly, in the case of the other animals he sent as many males as were needed for the females (Rashi) (SC, 197). The selection was in harmony with the general possessions of nomads (cf. Job. 1:3; Job. 42:12). The division of this gift into separate droves which followed one another at certain intervals, was to serve the purpose of gradually mitigating the wrath of Esau (K-D), to appease the countenance, to raise anyones countenance, i.e., to receive him in a friendly manner. Jacob designs this gift to be the means of propitiating his brother before he appears in his presence. After dispatching this present, he himself remained the same night, the one referred to in Gen. 32:13, in the camp. Then and there one of the most fascinatingly and mysteriously sublime incidents recorded in the Old Testament occurred. (Preparations to meet anticipated violence: see infra). (Recall that Jacobs threefold preparation consisted of prayer, gifts, and probability of war.)
(3) Jacobs Wrestling with the Celestial Visitant, Gen. 32:22-32. The Jabbok is the present Wady es Zerka (i.e., the blue, which flows from the east towards the Jordan, and with its deep rocky valley formed at that time the boundary between the kingdoms of Sihon at Heshbon and Og of Bashan. . . . The ford by which Jacob crossed was hardly the one which he took on his outward journey, upon the Syrian caravan-road . . . but one much farther to the west . . . where there are still traces of walls and buildings to be seen, and other marks of civilization (K-D, 304). The same night (as indicated in Gen. 32:13) Jacob transported his family with all his possessions across the ford of the Jabbok, but he himself remained behind. The whole course of the Jabbok, counting its windings, is over sixty miles. It is shallow and always fordable, except where it breaks between steep rocks. Its valley is fertile, has always been a frontier and a line of traffic (UBD, s.v.) The deep Jabbok Valley supplied an impressive locale for Jacobs wrestling with an angel and for his reunion with the estranged Esau (Gen. 32:22 ff.). The Jabbok is always shallow enough to ford (Gen. 32:23). Portions of its slopes are wooded, and dotted with patches of orchard, vineyard, and vegetable cultivation. Wheat is cultivated in its upper reaches. Flocks are usually within sight of travelers (HBD, s.v.). The Jabbok flows into the Jordan about 25 miles north of the Dead Sea.
What was Jacobs purpose in this maneuver, especially his remaining on the north side of the Jabbok? There are differences of opinion about this. To prayer he adds prudence, and sends forward present after present that their reiteration might win his brothers heart. This done, he rested for the night: but rising up before the day, he sent forward his wives and children across the ford of the Jabbok, remaining for a while in solitude to prepare his mind for the trial of the day (OTH, 103). He rose up . . . and took, etc. Unable to sleep, he waded the ford in the night-time by himself; and having ascertained its safety, he returned to the north bank, and sent over his family and attendantsremaining behind, to seek anew, in solitary prayer, the Divine blessing on the means he had set in motion (Jamieson, CECG, 215). Another view, as we have noted above, is that Jacob sent his wives and children across the stream hoping their helplessness might touch Esaus heart; Jacob himself remained on this side of the stream; he would cross only at the last moment; possibly he would turn back and flee, without sheep and cattle, wives and children, to hinder his escape (Morgenstern). The present writer finds it difficult to think of Jacob as being so cowardly as to be willing to sacrifice his household and possessions to save his own hide. Jacob himself remained on the north side [of the stream] (Delitzsch, Keil, Kurtz, Murphy, Gerlach, Wordsworth, Alford), although, having once crossed the stream (Gen. 32:22), it is not perfectly apparent that he recrossed, which has led some to argue that the wrestling occurred on the south of the river (Knobel, Rosenmuller, Lange Kalisch) (PCG, 392). Rashbam would have it that he rose up that night, intending to flee by another way; for that reason he passed over the ford of the Jabbok. As for his household (Gen. 32:22), and his possessions that which he had (Gen. 32:23), according to Nachmanides, he led them all to the edge of the brook, then crossed over himself to see if the place was suitable, then returned and led them across all at the same time. Rashi would have it that having sent on all the others, Jacob himself after crossing, returned, because he had forgotten some small items (SC, 199).
Thus Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day, Gen. 32:24. The natural thing for the master of the establishment to do is to stay behind to check whether all have crossed or whether some stragglers of this great host still need directions. In the solitude of the night as Jacob is left alone, his thoughts naturally turn to prayer again, for he is a godly man. However, here the unusual statement of the case describes his prayer thus: a man wrestled with him until dawn arose. Rightly Luther says: Every man holds that this text is one of the most obscure in the Old Testament. There is no commentator who can so expound this experience as to clear up perfectly every difficulty involved. This much, however, is relatively clear: Jacob was praying; the terms used to describe the prayer make us aware of the fact that the prayer described involved a struggle of the entire man, body and soul; the struggle was not imaginary; Jacob must have sensed from the outset that his opponent was none other than God; this conviction became firmly established before his opponent finally departed. . . . The Biblical commentary on the passage is Hos. 12:4 : Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him. . . . Again, by way of commentary, wrestling is defined as he wept and made supplication unto Him. That certainly is a description of agonizing prayer. However, when Gen. 32:3 of Hosea 12 is compared, we learn that this struggle in Jacobs manhood was the culmination of the tendency displayed before birth, when by seizing his brothers heel he displayed how eager he was to obtain the spiritual blessings God was ready to bestow. This experience and this trend in Jacobs character is held up before his descendants of a later day that they may seek to emulate it (Leupold, EG, 875). There wrestled a man with him: to prevent him from fleeing, so that he might see how God kept the promise that he would not be harmed (Rashbam). Undoubtedly the angel was acting on Gods command, and thereby intimated that Jacob and his seed would be saved and blessed, this being the outcome of the wrestling (Sforno). He prevailed not, Gen. 32:26. Because Jacob cleaved so firmly to God in thought and speech (Sforno). Because an angel can do only what he has been commissioned and permitted to do; this one was permitted only to strain his thigh (Nachmanides) (SC, 199).
As Leupold states the case clearly, certain modern interpretations of this experience of Jacobs [are] instances of how far explanations may veer from the truth and become entirely misleading. It has been described as a nightmare (Roscher). Some have thought that Jacob engaged in conflict with the tutelary deity of the stream which Jacob was endeavoring to cross (Frazer), and so this might be regarded as a symbolical portrayal of the difficulties of the crossing. [e.g., In the most ancient form of the story, the angel of Jacob may have reflected a folk tale about a night river-demon who must disappear with the morning light. When Israel made this legend its own, it transformed the demon into a angel, a messenger of God (AtD, 88).] But the stream had already been crossed by this time. One interpreter considers the wrestling as a symbol of the victory of the invading Israelites over the inhabitants of North Gilead, (Steuernagel), but that is a misconstruction of history: the conquest began much later. Some call the experience a dream; others, an allegory. The most common device of our day is to regard it as a legend, originating, as some say, on a low level of religion. All such approaches are a slap in the face for the inspired word of Hosea who treats it as a historical event recording the highest development of Jacobs faith-life. For there can be no doubt about it that the motivating power behind Jacobs struggle is faith and the desire to receive Gods justifying grace; and the means employed is earnest prayer. Why it pleases the Lord to appear in human guise to elicit the most earnest endeavors on Jacobs part, that we cannot answer (EG, 876). (Cf. Gen. 18:1. See my Genesis, Vol. III, p. 297ff. See also our discussion of The Angel of Jehovah, my Genesis III, 216220, 496500. See also Hos. 12:2-6 : This is another proof of the hermeneutic principle that any Scripture passage must be interpreted in the light of the teaching of the entire Bible [see my Genesis, Vol. I, pp. 97100] in order to get at truth).
When Jacob was left alone on the northern side of the Jabbok, after sending all the rest across, there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. Gen. 32:26And when He [the unknown] saw that He did not overcome him, He touched his hip-socket; and his hip-socket was put out of joint, as He wrestled with Him. Still Jacob would not let Him go until He blessed him. He then said to Jacob, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel [Gods fighter]; for thou hast fought with God and with men, and hast prevailed. When Jacob asked Him His name, He declined giving any definite answer, and blessed him there. He did not tell him His name: not merely, as the angel stated to Manoah in reply to a similar question (Jdg. 13:18), because it was incomprehensible to mortal man, but still more to fill Jacobs soul with awe at the mysterious character of the whole event, and to lead him to take it to heart, What Jacob wanted to know, with regard to the person of the wonderful Wrestler, and the meaning and intention of the struggle, he must already have suspected, when he would not let Him go until He blessed him; and it was put before him still more plainly in the new name that was given to him with this explanation, Thou hast fought with Elohim and with men, and hast conquered. God had met him in the form of a man: God in the angel, according to Hos. 12:4-5, i.e., not in a created angel, but in the Angel of Jehovah, the visible manifestation of the invisible God. Our history does not speak of Jehovah, or the Angel of Jehovah, but of Elohim, for the purpose of bringing out the contrast between God and the creature (K-D, 304).
We are now ready to inquire: Who was this Wonderful Wrestler? Several identifications have been proposed; this writer, however, holds that there is one view, and one only, that is in accord with the teaching of the Bible as a whole (as we shall see infra). In the meantime, let us examine some of the proposed interpretations, some of which are far-fetched, to say the least. This story, the antiquity of which is obvious, is probably the basic legend in the O.T. Jacob prevailed over his supernatural opponent; cf. Hos. 12:3-4. . . . A point to be noted is the superhuman strength ascribed to Jacob; with this may be compared the implications of Gen. 28:18, according to which Jacob himself set up the pillar at Bethel, and of Gen. 29:10, where he alone and unaided moved a stone which normally could be moved only through the combined efforts of a number of men (cf. Gen. 29:8-10). All three passages seem to echo the representation of Jacob as a giant (IBG, 724). Concerning Gen. 32:26Let me go, for the dawn is breaking, Skinner writes: It is a survival of the widespread belief in spirits of the night which must vanish at dawn (cf. Hamlet, Act I, Scene 1), and as such, a proof of the extreme antiquity of the legend. This commentator goes on to say, with respect to the blessing imparted in the form of a new name conferred on Jacob in memory of this crowning struggle of his life: Such a name [Israel] is a true blessing as a pledge of victory and success to the nation which bears it. . . . This can hardly refer merely to the contests with Laban and Esau; it points rather to the existence of a fuller body of legend, in which Jacob figured as the hero of many combats, culminating in this successful struggle with deity. Again: In its fundamental conception the struggle at Peniel is not a dream or vision like that which came to Jacob at Bethel; nor is it an allegory of the spiritual life, symbolising the inward travail of a soul helpless before some overhanging crisis of its destiny. It is a real physical encounter which is described, in which Jacob measures his strength and skill against a divine antagonist, and prevails though at the cost of a bodily injury. No more boldly anthropomorphic narrative is found in Genesis; and unless we shut our eyes to some of its salient features, we must resign the attempt to translate it wholly into terms of religious experience. We have to do with a legend, originating at a low level of religion, in process of accommodation to the purer ideas of revealed religion. . . . In the present passage the god was probably not Yahwe originally, but a local deity, a night-spirit who fears the dawn and refuses to disclose his name. Dr. Frazer has pointed out that such stories as this are associated with water-spirits, and cites many primitive customs which seem to rest on the belief that a river resents being crossed, and drowns many who attempt it. He hazards the conjecture that the original deity of this passage was the spirit of the Jabbok. . . . Like many patriarchal theophanies, the narrative accounts for the foundation of a sanctuarythat of Peniel. . . . By J and E the story was incorporated in the national epos as part of the history of Jacob. The God who wrestles with the patriarch is Yahwe; and how far the wrestling was understood as a literal fact remains uncertain. To these writers the main interest lies in the origin of the name Israel, and the blessing bestowed on the nation in the person of its ancestor. A still more refined interpretation is found, it seems to me, in Hos. 12:4-5 : In the womb he overreached his brother, and in his prime he strove with God. He strove with the Angel and prevailed; he wept and made supplication to him. The substitution of the Angel of Yahwe for the divine Being Himself shows increasing sensitiveness to anthropomorphism; and the last line appears to mark an advance in the spiritualising of the incident, the subject being not the Angel (as Gunkel and others hold) but Jacob, whose prevailing thus becomes that of importunate prayer. We may note in a word Steuernagels ethnological interpretation. He considers the wrestling to symbolize a victory of the invading Israelites over the inhabitants of N. Gilead. The change of name reflects the fact that a new nation (Israel) arose from the fusion of the Jacob and Rachel tribes (ICCG, 411412).
A somewhat modified view of the incident under consideration here is that of JB (53, n.): This enigmatic story, probably Yahwistic, speaks of a physical struggle, a wrestling with God from which Jacob seems to emerge victor. Jacob recognizes the supernatural character of his adversary and extorts a blessing from him. The text, however, avoids using the name of Yahweh and the unknown antagonist will not give his name. The author has made use of an old story as a means of explaining the name Peniel (face of God) and the origin of the name Israel. At the same time he gives the story a religious significance; the patriarch holds fast to God and forces from him a blessing; henceforth all who bear Israels name will have a claim on God. It is not surprising that this dramatic scene later served as an image of the spiritual combat and of the value of persevering prayer (St. Jerome, Origen).
It should be noted, in this connection, that the assumptions which form the basis of the views presented in the foregoing excerpts are completely without benefit of any external (historical) evidence whatsoever. They simply echo the general conclusions which originated largely in the thinking of Sir James Frazer (18541941), the Scottish anthropologist, as set forth in his monumental work, The Golden Bough. (Incidentally, many of these conclusions have been quite generally abandoned). As a matter of fact, the general theory under consideration had its first beginnings in the early twentieth-century effort to apply the evolution yardstick to every phase of human history and life. On this view religion is explained as a progressive refinement of human thinking about the various aspects of the mystery of being, especially those of death and life, originating with primitive animism according to which practically everythingand especially every living thingwas supposed to have its own particular tutelary spirit (either benevolent or demonic); then advancing to polytheism, in which the numerous gods and goddesses became personifications of natural forces; then to henotheism, in which a particular deity emerged as the sovereign of the particular pantheon; this leading naturally, it was said, to monotheism. But, according to this view, monotheism (such as that of the Bible) is yet not the end product. That end is, and will be, pantheism, in which God becomes one with the totality of being, the sum total of all intelligences constituting the mind of God and the sum total of all material things becoming the body of God, so to speak. This, we are assured, the so-called religion of the intellectual, is bound to prevail universally. We are reminded of the man who once said that if he were a pantheist his first act of devotion on awakening each morning would be that of turning over and reverently kissing his pillow. It should be clearly seen that these various speculations as to the purpose of this account of Jacobs wrestling, and as to the identity of the mysterious Wrestler himself, ignore completely the claim which the Bible makes for itself on almost every page, viz., that of bearing the imprimatur of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth (Joh. 15:26-27; Joh. 16:13-15). Generally speaking, anthropologists and sociologists are in the same class with those disciples of John whom the Apostle Paul found at Ephesus (Act. 19:3) who declared that they did not even know that there is a Holy Spirit.
Of course, the identity of the Mysterious (Wonderful) Wrestler is inseparably linked with the divine purpose implicit in the whole incident. On this latter subject, Dr. Speiser writes as follows: On several occasions, Abraham was favored with an insight into the divine purpose: the Covenant [ch. 15], the Cities of the Plain [ch. 18], the Ordeal of Isaac [ch. 22]. The wonder is greater in the case of Jacob, who would not appear offhand to be marked as an agent of destiny. Yet Jacob is afforded a glimpse of a higher role through the medium of his vision at Bethel, on the eve of his long sojourn with Laban. Now that he is about to return to Canaan, he is given a forewarning at Mahanaim, and is later subjected to the supreme test at Penuel. The general purpose of the Penuel episode should be thus sufficiently clear. In the light of the instance just cited, such manifestations either serve as forecasts or as tests. Abrahams greatest trial came at Moriah (ch. 22). That the meaning of Mahanaim was similar in kind, though clearly not in degree, is indicated by the [Hebrew text]. The real test, however, was reserved for Penuela desperate noctural struggle with a nameless adversary whose true nature did not dawn on Jacob until the physical darkness had begun to lift. The reader, of course, should not try to spell out details that the author himself glimpsed as if through a haze. But there can surely be no doubt as to the far-reaching implications of the encounter. Its outcome is ascribed to the opponents lack of decisive superiority. Yet this explanation should not be pressed unduly. For one thing, Jacobs injury was grave enough to cost him the contest, if such a result had been desired. And for another thing, the description now embodies three distinct aetiologies: (1) The basis for the name Israel; the change of names is itself significant of an impending change in status (as with Abraham and Sarah: see Gen. 17:5; Gen. 17:15); (2) the origin of the name Penuel, for which a basis is laid in Gen. 32:21-22 by their fivefold use of the stem pny (von Rad); (3) the dietary taboo about the sciatic muscle. Any one of these motifs would suffice to color the whole account. One may conclude, accordingly, that the encounter at Penuel was understood as a test of Jacobs fitness for the larger tasks that lay ahead. The results were encouraging. Though he was left alone to wrestle through the night with a mysterious assailant, Jacob did not falter. The effort left its marka permanent injury to remind Jacob of what had taken place, and to serve perhaps as a portent of things to come. Significantly enough, Jacob is henceforth a changed person. The man who could be a party to a cruel hoax that was played on his father and brother, and who fought Labans treachery with crafty schemes of his own, will soon condemn the vengeful deed by Simeon and Levi (ch. 34) by invoking a higher concept of morality (ABG, 256).
The Heavenly Visitant: an unknown person, writes Jamieson, appeared suddenly to oppose his [Jacobs] entrance into Canaan. Jacob engaged in the encounter with all the mental energy, and grasped his opponent with all the physical tenacity he could exert; till the stranger, unable to shake him off or to vanquish him, touched the hollow of Jacobs thighthe socket of the femoral jointwhich was followed by an instant and total inability to continue the contest, This mysterious person is called an angel by Jacob himself (Gen. 48:15-16) and God (Gen. 32:28; Gen. 32:30; Hos. 12:3-4); and the opinion that is most supported . . . is, that he was the angel of the covenant, who, in a visible form, preluding the incarnation, as was frequently done, appeared to animate the mind, and sympathize with the distress, of his pious servant (CECG, 215). It should be noted here, as pointed out infra by C.H.M. (Mackintosh), that it was not Jacob wrestling with a man, but a man wrestling with Jacob. The Mysterious Wrestler sought to accomplish some special end in and for Jacob, not vice versa. Mackintosh continues: in Jacobs case, the divine object was to bring him to see what a poor, feeble, worthless creature he was, etc, We must not lose sight of this most important aspect of the whole incident. Jacob simply had to get away from (crucify) self, in order to steadily and happily walk with God. (Just as Christiansindeed the saints of all agesmust take up the yoke of self-crucifixion before they can truly company with Christ: cf. Mat. 11:29-30; Gal. 6:14).
Who was the man who wrestled with Jacob? Lange writes: Some have absurdly held that he was an assassin sent by Esau. Origen: The night-wrestler was an evil spirit (Eph. 6:12). Other fathers hold that he was a good angel. The correct view is that he was the constant revealer of God, the Angel of the Lord. Delitzsch holds that it was a manifestation of God, who through the angel was represented and visible as a man. The well-known refuge from the reception of the Angel of the Incarnation! In his view, earlier explained and refuted, Jacob could not be called the captain, prince of God, but merely the captain, prince of the Angel. No one writer in the Pentateuch, Knobel says, so represents God under the human form of things as this one. Jacob surely, with his prayers and tears, has brought God, or the Angel of the Lord, more completely into the human form and likeness than had ever occurred before. The man with whom he wrestles is obviously not only the angel, but the type also of the future incarnation of God. As the angel of his face, however, he marks the development of the form of the angel of revelation which is taken up and carried on in Exodus. The angel and type of the incarnation is at the same time an angel and type of atonement. When Kurtz says that God here meets Jacob as an enemy, that he makes an hostile attack, the expressions are too strong. There is an obvious distinction between a wrestler and one who attacks an enemy, leaving out of view the fact, that there is nothing said here as to which party made the assault. After the revelations which Jacob received at Bethel, Haran, and Mahanaim, a peculiar hostile relation to God is out of the question. So much, certainly, is true, that Jacob, to whom no mortal sins are imputed for which he must overcome the wrath of God (Kurtz, the divine wrath is not overcome, but atoned), must now be brought to feel that in all his sins against men he has striven and sinned against God, and that he must first of all be reconciled to him, for all the hitherto unrecognized sins of his life. The wrestling of Jacob has many points of resemblance to the restoration of Peter (John 21). As this history of Peter does not treat of the reconstituting of his general relation to Jesus, but rather of the perfecting of that relation, and with this of the restitution of his apostolic calling and office, so here the struggle of Jacob does not concern so much the question of his fundamental reconciliation with Jehovah, but the completion of that reconciliation and the assurance of his faith in his patriarchal calling. And if Christ then spake to Peter, when thou wast young thou girdedst thyself, etc., in order that he might know that henceforth an entire reliance upon the leading and protection of God must take the place of his sinful feeling of his own strength and his attachment to his own way, so, doubtless, the lameness of Jacobs thigh has the same significance, with this difference, that as Peter must be cured of the self-will of his rash, fiery temperament, so Jacob from his selfish prudence, tending to more cunning. A like relation holds between their old and new names. The name Simon, in the narrative of Peters restoration, points to his old nature, just as here the name Jacob to the old nature of Israel (CDHCG, 554555).
Let the following excerpt give the conclusion of the whole matter, the only conclusion that is in harmony with Biblical teaching as a whole: Vv. 2428. The Son of God in human form appeared to Jacob as if he intended to cast him down; but Jacob, enabled of God with bodily, and chiefly spiritual strength, in fervent prayer prevailed over what opposition Christ gave him. To render him sensible of his weakness, Christ disjointed his thigh, 2Co. 12:7; but after encouraging his supplications, he changed his name as a token of bettering his condition. Hence, when the church is represented as infirm, she is called Jacob, Amo. 7:2; Amo. 7:5; Amo. 7:8; Isa. 41:14; but when her valor and excellency are signified, she is called Israel, Gal. 6:16. Thus God gave Jacob strength to overcome, and also the reward and praise of the victory (SIBG, 266). (On The Angel of Jehovah, see again my Genesis, Vol. III, pp. 216220, 375377, 496500).
(4) The Change of Name, Gen. 32:26-29. Gen. 32:26The Mysterious Wrestler said to Jacob, Let me go, that is to say, literally, send me away; meaning that he yielded the victory to Jacob, assigning as his reason, for the day breaks, that is, the dawn is ascending; meaning, it is time for you to proceed to your other duties. Or, perhaps the heavenly Visitant was not willing that the vision which was meant for Jacob only should be seen by others, or perhaps that His own glory should be seen by Jacob, And Jacob replied, I will not let you go, except you bless me. And the Heavenly Wrestler said, What is your name? (not as if demanding to be informed, but to direct attention to it in view of the change about to be made in it). And the patriarch replied, Jacob. Said the Other, Your name shall be called no more, Jacob, that is, Heel-catcher or Supplanter (cf. Gen. 25:26), but Israel, prince of God, or perhaps wrestler with God. Instead of a supplanter, he has now become the holy wrestler with God, hence his name is no longer Jacob, but Israel. There is no trace in his after-history of the application of his wisdom to mere selfish and cunning purposes. But the new name confirms to him in a word the theocratic promise, as the name Abraham confirmed it to Abram (Gen. 35:10) (Lange). And hast prevailed: having overcome in his wrestling with God, he need have no fears concerning his approaching meeting with Esau. The question about Jacobs name is rhetorical. The object is to contrast the old name with the new and thereby mark the change in Jacobs status (Speiser). The name [Israel] is best explained etymologically as May El persevere. But both Jacob and Israel are treated here symbolically, to indicate the transformation of a man once devious (Jacob) into a forthright and resolute fighter (Speiser, 255). Just as God changed Abrams name to Abraham, He now changes Jacobs name to Israel, by which the Hebrews are henceforth to be known. It is a name for the people and for an individual. The normative use of Israel in the Bible denotes the people just as American denotes a citizen of the United States (HSB, 54, n.). It shall no more be said that you attained the blessings by supplanting (root akab), but through superiority (root sar). God will appear to you at Bethel, change your name and bless you; I will be there too and admit your right to the blessings (Rashi) (SC, 200). In Scripture the name indicates the nature of the office; here the change of a name denoted the exaltation of person and of dignity. Jacob was raised to be a prince, and a prince with God! A royal priesthood was conferred upon him; the privilege of admission into the Divine presence, and the right of presenting petitions, and of having them granted. And all this was granted to him, not as an individual merely, but as a public personagethe head and representative of those who in after-times should possess like faith and a similar spirit of prayer. Nothing could be more dissimilar than Israels real dignity and his outward conditionan exile and a suppliant, scarcely escaped from the hands of Laban, and seemingly about to perish by the revenge of his brotheryet possessing an invisible power that secured the success of his undertakings. By prayer he could prevail with God; and through Him who overrules all the thoughts of the heart, he could prevail with men also, though they are harder to be entreated than the King of kings. . . . The word men is in the plural, as indicating that he had not only prevailed over Isaac and over Laban, who presented obstacles to the fulfilment of the Divine promise, but that he would prevail in overcoming the wrath of his vindictive brother, and giving him a pledge that, wherever he might go, he would be an object of the Divine care and protection (Jamieson, 216). Man is a child of two worlds, Gen. 2:7. His body is of the dust, but his spirit is the Breath of God, inbreathed by God Himself, For twenty years these two natures had striven with each other [in Jacob]. This struggle is typical. There is no assurance that good will triumph of itself; it must be supported by strength of will and determination for the right, which endure for all time and under all circumstances. Men become changed, blessed by the very evil powers with which they have striven, No longer the old Jacob, but now the new Israel, Yet man never remains unscathed. Victory over evil is never gained in the darkness of the night. So with the dawn Jacob became a new man, with an appropriate new name, Champion of God. Then he crossed the river (Morgenstern).
A like relation holds, writes Lange, between the old and new names of Jacob and Peter. The name Simon, in the narrative of Peters restoration (John 21), points to his old nature, just as here the name Jacob to the old nature of Israel. Simons nature, however, was not purely evil, but tainted with evil. This is true also of Jacob. He must be purified and freed from his sinful cunning, but not from his prudence and constant perseverance. Into these latter features of his character he was consecrated as Israel. The name Abram passes over into the name Abraham, and is ever included in it; the name Isaac has in itself a two-fold significance, which intimates the laughter of doubt, and that of a joyful faith; but the name Jacob goes along with that of Israel, not merely because the latter was preeminently the name of the people, nor because in the new-birth the old life continues side by side, and only gradually disappears, but also because it designates an element of lasting worth, and still further, because Israel must be continually reminded of the contrast between its merely natural and its sacred destination. The sacred and honored name of the Israelitish people, descends from this night-wrestling of Israel, just as the name Christian comes from the birth and name of Christ. The peculiar destination of the Old-Testament children of the covenant is that they should be warriors, princes of God, men of prayer, who carry on the conflicts of faith to victory. Hence the name Israelites attains completeness in that of Christians, those who are divinely blessed, the anointed of God. The name Jews, in its derivation from Judah, in their Messianic destination, forms the transition between these names. They are those who are praised, who are a praise and glory to God. But the contrast between the cunning, running into deceit, which characterized the old nature of Jacob, and the persevering struggle of faith and prayer of Israel, pervades the whole history of the Jewish people, and hence Hosea (ch. Hos. 12:1 ff.) applies it to the Jewish people. . . . The force of this contrast lies in this, that in the true Israelite there is no guile, since he is purified from guile (Joh. 1:47), and that Christ, the king of Israel (Joh. 1:44), is without guile, while the deceit of the Jacob nature reaches its most terrible and atrocious perfection in the kiss of Judas (CDHCG, 555).
Gen. 32:29Jacob now requests the Mysterious Wrestler to reveal His name. The actual meaning of this request was obviously equivalent to asking the latter to reveal His identity. The reply is in part the same as that of the Angel who was asked the same question by Manoah (Jdg. 13:18), only here the continuation of the answer is omittedseeing it is wonderful. Several reasons for the somewhat evasive reply may be discerned. The one that presents itself first is that the question in reply practically means: Why ask to know My identity, seeing you already know it? Add to this the fact that, as Luther indicates, the failure to reply leaves the name as well as the whole experience shrouded in mystery, and mysteries invite further reflection. In spiritual experiences there is and must be the challenge of the mysterious. In spiritual experiences there is and must be the challenge of the mysterious. A spiritual experience so lucid that a man sees through and is able to analyze every part of it must be rather shallow. And lastly, the blessing about to be imparted is a further revelation of His name and being, that carries Jacob as far as he needs to be brought. . . . The blessing spoken of is an added blessing. The substance of this added blessing we do not know. Luthers supposition is as much to the point as any when he remarks that it may have been the great patriarchal blessing concerning the coming Messiah through whom as Jacobs seed all the families of the earth were to be blessed (EG, 280281).
(5) Peniel, Gen. 32:30. The remembrance of the mysterious struggle with the celestial Wrestler Jacob now perpetuated in the name which he gave to the place where it had occurred. He named the place Peniel: for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. The significance of this statement is the fact that he had seen God face to face, and yet lived (cf. Exo. 33:11, Deu. 34:10, Isa. 6:5); cf. especially Exo. 33:20. Peniel, also called Penuel, meant face of God. This was one of the two towns east of the Jordan which was destroyed by Gideon because it had refused to aid him in his pursuit of the Midianites (Jdg. 8:8 ff., esp. Jdg. 8:17, also 1Ki. 12:25). The common belief in ancient Israel was that no mortal could see Gods face and live, Exo. 33:20 (Morgenstern).
The reason for the name is assigned in the sentence, I have seen God face to face, etc. Divine manifestations deserve to be commemorated in every possible way. Jacob marks this one for himself and for his descendants by giving a distinctive name to the place where it occurred. Though Peniel like Mahanaim has not been definitely located, it may still be a used ford of the Jabbok near Jordan and is mentioned in Judges 8 and 1Ki. 12:25. This name should not be said to be derived from an incidental feature of the experience. That would be the equivalent of saying: Jacob was unhappy in his choice of a name for this memorable spot. Of course, his experience was a purifying one that was to break self-trust and cast him wholly upon Gods mercy. But this experience centered in a personal encounter with God, a direct meeting of God, a seeing of Him, though not with the eye of the body. Does not the whole experience, then, sum itself up as a seeing of God and living to tell of it, though sinful nature should perish at so holy a contact? The name touches upon the essence of Jacobs experience. For Peniel means face of God. The explanation really says more than my life, or soul, was spared. For natsal means delivered or preserved. God did more than let no harm come to Jacob; He again restored him who otherwise would surely have perished. . . . With an adequate and historically accurate account of the origin of the name Peniel before us, we may well wonder at those who under such circumstances gor far afield and try to account for its origin by comparing the Phoenician promontory of which Strabo speaks, which was called theou prosopon (face of God). Those who have lost their respect for Gods Word no longer hear what it says and make fools of themselves in their wisdom by inventing fanciful explanations for that which has been supplied with an authentic explanation (EG, 881882). (Cf. 1Co. 2:14; 1Co. 1:18-30).
Penielthe face of God. The reason of this name is assigned in the sentence, I have seen God face to face. He is at first called a man. Hosea terms him the angel (Gen. 12:4-5 (3, 4). And here Jacob names him God. Hence some men, deeply penetrated with the ineffable grandeur of the divine nature, are disposed to resolve the first act at least into an impression on the imagination. We do not pretend to define with undue nicety the mode of this wrestling. And we are far from saying that every sentence of Scripture is to be understood in a literal sense. But until some cogent reason be assigned, we do not feel at liberty to depart from the literal sense in this instance. The whole theory of a revelation from God to man is founded upon the principle that God can adapt himself to the apprehension of the being whom he has made in his own image. This principle we accept, and we dare not limit its application further than the demonstrative laws of reason and conscience demand. If God walk in the garden with Adam, expostulate with Cain, give a specification of the ark to Noah, partake of the hospitality of Abraham, take Lot by the hand to deliver him from Sodom, we cannot affirm that he may not, for a worthy end, enter into a bodily conflict with Jacob. These various manifestations of God to man differ only in degree. If we admit any one, we are bound by parity of reason to accept all the others (Murphy, MG, 414).
Gen. 32:31-32 : The sun rose upon Jacob as he passed over Penuel, and he limped upon his thigh. The run rose upon him: there was sunshine within and sunshine without. When Judas went forth on his dark design, we read, It was night, Joh. 13:30. He halted on his thigh: thus carrying with him a memorial of his conflict, as Paul afterwards bore about with him a stake in his flesh (2Co. 12:7) A new day of light and of hope was dawning for Jacob after the night of gloom and despair. Note the phrases, the hollow of Jacobs thigh and in the sinew of the hip. With the rising of the sun after the night of his conflict, the night of anguish and fear also passed away from Jacobs mind, so that he was able to leave Penuel in comfort, and go forward on his journey. The dislocation of the thigh alone remained. For this reason the children of Israel are accustomed to avoid eating the nervus ischiadicus, the principal nerve in the neighborhood of the hip, which is easily injured by any violent strain in wrestling. Upon this day: the remark is applicable still (K-D, 307). There is no mention of this ancient food-law elsewhere in the Bible (JB, 55). God did not demand this ritual observance in the Mosaic law, but the descendants of Israel of their own accord instituted the practice because they recognized how extremely important this experience of Jacob was for him and for themselves. Some interpret this gidh hannasheh to be the sciatic nerve. Delitzsch tells us that Jewish practice defines it as the inner vein on the hindquarter together with the outer vein plus the ramifications of both (EG, 883). The author explains the custom of the Israelites, in not eating of the sinew of the thigh, by a reference to this touch of the hip of their ancestor by God. Through this divine touch, this sinew, like the blood (ch. Gen. 9:4) was consecrated and sanctified to God, This custom is not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament; the Talmudists, however (Tract, Cholin, Mischna, 7), regard it as a law, whose transgression was to be punished with several stripes (Knobel) (Lange, 550).
Hebrew, nervus ischiaticus, the nerve or tendon that extends from the top of the thigh down the whole leg to the ankles. . . . Josephus (Antiquities, Bk. I, ch. 20, sec. 2) renders it more correctly the broad sinew. Jacob himself, continues that historian, abstained from eating that sinew ever afterwards; and for his sake it is still not eaten by us. The practice of the Jews in abstaining from eating this in the flesh of animals is not founded on the law of Moses, but is merely a traditional usage. The sinew is carefully extracted; and where there are no persons skilled enough for that operation, they do not make use of the hind legs at all. Abstinence from this particular article of animal food is universally practised by the Jews. and is so peculiar a custom in their daily observance, that as the readers of The Jews in China will remember, the worship of that people is designated by the name of the Teaou-kin-keaou, or Pluck-sinew-religion. This remarkable incident formed a turning-point in the life of Jacoba point at which he was raised above the deceit and the worldliness of his past life into higher and more spiritual relations with God. Those who regard it as a vision, an ecstasy during which all the powers of his nature were intensely excited, so that, in fact, he was above and out of himself, consider the impression made upon his limb as the effect of a mental struggle, involving a strain so severe, not on the moral only, but also on the physical being of the terrified man, that the muscles of his body bore the mark ever after. Such results of wild emotion are not of infrequent occurrence in persons of enthusiastic temperament, as is exemplified by the proceedings of the dancing dervishes of our own time. But that it was not merely a vision or internal agony of the soulthat it was a real transactionappears not only from a new designation given to Jacob himself, which was always in memory of some remarkable event, and from the significant name which he bestowed upon the scene of this occurrence, but from the fact of the wound he received being in a part of his body so situated that Jacob must have been assured no mere man could have so touched it as to effect a dislocation. No objection can be urged against the appearance of the Divine Being on this occasion in the form of humanity that will not equally militate against the reality of similar manifestations already regarded as being made in the experience of the patriarchs. There was a special propriety in the appearance of the angel of the Lord as a man on this occasion, and in his assuming the attitude of a foe, to convince Jacob that, in order to overcome his formidable brother, he must first overcome God, not by the carnal weapons with which he had heretofore obtained his advantages over men, but by the spiritual influence of faith and prayer. Hence, when the contest was at first carried on as between man and man, Jacob appeared more athletic and powerful. But his antagonist having wounded him in such a manner as could only have been done by a being of a superior nature, his eyes were opened: he found himself unconsciously striving with God, and his self-confidence utterly failed, so that forthwith he desisted from the struggle, and had recourse to supplication and tears (Hos. 12:4). In short, this wrestling was a symbolic act, designed to show Jacob that he had no hope of conquering his powerful foe by stratagem, reliance on his own strengthas his lameness indeed provedor by any other means than a firm, unwavering trust in the word of that covenant God who had promised (ch. Gen. 28:13-15), and would establish him in, the possession of Canaan as an inheritance to his posterity. Hosea clearly teaches that Jacob merely completed, by his wrestling with God, what he had already been engaged in from his mothers wombviz., his striving for the birthright; in other words, for the possession of the covenant promise and the covenant blessing (Delitzsch) (Jamieson, CECG, 216, 217).
(6) Reconciliation with Esau (Gen. 33:1-17). All preparations as recorded in chapter 32 having been completed, at daybreak Jacob had just crossed the stream when he looked ahead and behold, Esau was coming, and one glance was sufficient to show that the brother was accompanied by his contingent of four hundred men. Jacob then took certain other precautionary measures. He arranged his wives and his children in climactic order so that the most beloved came last and hence were in the proper position to be spared if none else, were. The maids with their children were in the front, Leah with hers were in the middle, and Rachel with Joseph were at the rear of the procession. Jacob then put himself in the forefront, thus to be first in the way of danger should any develop. As he proceeded toward his brother he bowed himself seven times. The manner of doing this is by looking towards a superior and bowing with the upper part of the body brought parallel to the ground, then advancing a few steps and bowing again, and repeating this obeisance till, at the seventh time, the suppliant stands in the immediate presence of his superior. This seems to mean that Jacob, on approaching his brother, stopped at intervals and bowed, and then advanced and bowed again, until the seventh bow brought him near to his brother. This was a mark of profound respect, nor need we suppose there was any simulation of humility in it, for it was, and is, customary for elder brothers to be treated by the younger with great respect in the East (SIBG, 267). The sevenfold prostration is a widespread custom attested also in the Amarna letters and those of Ugarit (AtD, 91). Jacob approaches his brother with the reverence befitting a sovereign; the sevenfold prostration is a favorite formula of homage in the Tel Amarna tablets: At the feet of my Lord, my Sun, I fall down seven and seven times. It does not follow, however, that Jacob acknowledged himself Esaus vassal (ICCG, 413). Other commentators differ somewhat: e.g., By this manifestation of deep reverence (not complete prostrastion, but a deep Oriental bow, in which the head approaches the ground, but does not touch it), Jacob hoped to win his brothers heart. He humbled himself before him as the elder, with the feeling that he had formerly sinned against him. Esau, on the other hand, had a comparatively better, but not so tender a conscience. At the sight of Jacob he was carried away by the natural feelings of brotherly affection, and running up to him, embraced him, fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they both wept. . . . Even if there was still some malice in Esaus heart, it was overcome by the humility with which his brother met him, so that he allowed free course to the generous emotions of his heart; all the more, because the roving life which suited his nature had procured him such wealth and power, that he was quite equal to his brother in earthly possessions (K-D, 307, 308). Commentators differ in their interpretation of the emotions of the two brothers in this confrontation. It is difficult to characterize, writes Skinner, the spirit in which the main incident is conceived. Was Esaus purpose friendly from the first, or was he turned from thoughts of vengeance by Jacobs submissive and flattering demeanor? Does the writer regard the reconciliation as equally honorable to both parties, or does he only admire the skill and knowledge of human nature with which Jacob tames his brothers ferocity? The truth probably lies between two extremes. That Esaus intention was hostile, and that Jacob gained a diplomatic victory over him, cannot reasonably be doubted. On the other hand, the narrator must be acquitted of a desire to humiliate Esau. If he was vanquished by generosity, the noblest qualities of manhood were released in him; and he displays a chivalrous magnanimity which no appreciative audience could ever have held in contempt, So far as any national feeling is reflected, it is one of genuine respect and goodwill towards the Edomites (ICCG, 412). Only God working in the heart of Esau explains the change in him as he greets Jacob in a friendly, not in a hostile, manner (HSB, 55). Speiser seems to present the most sensible view: The meeting between the two brothers turned out to be an affectionate reunion. Jacobs apprehensions had proved unfounded and his elaborate precautions altogether unnecessary. While the intervening twenty years could not erase Jacobs sense of guilt, Esaus resentment had long since vanished (ABG, 260). Esau ran . . . fell on his neck and kissed him. What a sudden and surprising change! Whether the sight of the princely present and the profound homage of Jacob had produced this effect, or it had proceeded from the impulsive character of Esau, the cherished enmity of twenty years in a moment disappeared; the weapons of war were laid aside, and the warmest tokens of mutual affection reciprocated between the brothers. But doubtless the efficient cause was the secret, subduing influence of grace (Pro. 21:1) which converted Esau from an enemy into a friend. This is an exact description of a meeting between relatives in the East, especially to a member of the family who has returned home after a long absence. They place their hands on his neck, kiss each cheek, and then lean their heads for some seconds, during their fond embrace, on each others shoulders. It is their customary mode of testifying affection, and though it might not have been expected from Esau to Jacob, his receiving his brother with such a cordial greeting was in accordance with the natural kindness and generosity of his character (Jamieson, 217). (Cf. Luk. 15:20). So it comes about that in this chapter, as in some of the earlier ones, Esau seems at first the better of the two brothers. Jacob is full of inhibitions; Esau has none, and lets himself go wherever the flood of his emotion turns. Jacob makes his elaborate plans to placate what he thinks will be Esaus long-cherished wrath. Esau has dismissed that long ago, and the instinct uppermost in him is just the old one of kinship. So he ran to meet Jacob, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. He is unconcerned with all the presents Jacob tries to urge upon him; he does not want them. And note the difference in the way each of the two speaks to the other. Jacob, fearful and anxious, says of the presents he is offering, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. But Esau waves them aside, because he has enough, and because Jacob is my brother. How strange are the mingled elements in human characters! Esau was to be reckoned as the profane man; and in the end, of the two he was the failure. Yet in immediate ways he seemed often so much more attractive: for he was vigorous, warmhearted, and too essentially good-natured to carry a grudge. One can see men like him in every generationimpulsive, friendly men who seem to like everybody, and whom it is easy for everybody to like. Yet their fatal weakness may be, as with Esau, that they are too easygoing to care greatly about the values of life that matter most. Consider, on the other hand, Jacob. Even yet he was not finished with the consequences of old wrongs. He is distrustful of Esau because he knows that he has not deserved kindness at his hands. That is always one of the possible penalties of wrongdoing. A man projects into the imagined feelings of others the condemnation he inwardly visits upon himself. He dares not assume their good will, or even take the risk of believing in it when it is made plain. So Jacob not only tried anxiously to buy Esaus favor, but when Esau showed that he had it without any price, Jacob was still incredulous; and the one thing he wanted to do was to separate from Esau as soon as he plausibly could (Gen. 32:12-15). And yet, and yetthis Jacob is the one who at Peniel had prevailed, had seen God face to face, and who would prevail. The reason was in the fact which the earlier chapters already had prefigured, that this man in spite of his faults never lost the consciousness that his life must try to relate itself to God (IBG, 730, 731). We must conclude that in this closing scene in the lives of these two brothers, Esau was still being Esau. After all, the only charge against him is that he was profane: he lived his life outside the temple of God, out in this present evil world. And Jacob, in spite of the fact of his growth in his spiritual life, was still, to some extent; Jacob. And as Jacob he would before much time had elapsed suffer the loss of his beloved Rachel and in his later years experience a more terrible deception, one that would involve profound tragedy leading to what was equivalent to exile from the Land of Promise and subsequent galling bondage for his posterity.
Gen. 32:5-7 : We read that Esaus eyes fell on the women and children who were following Jacob, and naturally he inquired as to who they were. Jacob replied, The children with whom Elohim has graciously favored me. Whereupon the mothers and their children approached in order, also making reverential obeisance. Gen. 32:8-11 : Esau then inquired about the company (A.V., drove) that had met him, that is, the presents of cattle that were sent to meet him, and, assuring Jacob that he had enough of this worlds goods, at first refused to accept this gift; on Jacobs insistence however, he was finally persuaded to do so. Note Gen. 32:10 especially: The thought is this: In thy countenance I have been met with divine (heavenly) friendliness (cf. 1Sa. 29:9, 2Sa. 14:17). Jacob might say this without cringing, since he must have discerned the work of God in the unexpected change in his brothers disposition toward him, and in his brothers friendliness a reflection of the divine. Gen. 32:11I have enough, literally, all. Not all kinds of things; but viz., as the heir of the Divine Promise.
Gen. 32:12-15. Esau proposes to accompany Jacob on his way. The latter, however, declines. Some commentators persist in thinking that Jacob was still suspicious of Esaus intentions. This hardly seems possible. We prefer the explanation which Jacob himself made: it has the ring of truth. Lastly, Esau proposed to accompany Jacob on his journey. But Jacob politely declined not only his own company, but also the escort, which Esau afterwards offered him, of a portion of his attendants; the latter as being unnecessary, the former as likely to be injurious to his flocks. This did not spring from any feeling of distrust; and the ground assigned was no mere pretext. He needed no military guard, for he knew he was defended by the hosts of God; his refusal was dictated by the exigencies of his household and his animals: a caravan, with small children and cattle that required care, could not possibly keep pace with Esau and his horsemen, without suffering harm. And Jacob could hardly expect his brother to accommodate himself to the pace at which he was traveling. For this reason he wished Esau to go on first, explaining that he would drive gently behind, according to the pace at which the cattle and the children could go (Luther). Gen. 32:14until I come unto my lord unto Seir. These words are not to be understood as meaning that he, Jacob, intended to go direct to Seir; consequently they were not a wilful deception for the purpose of getting rid of Esau. Jacobs destination was Canaan, and in Canaan probably Hebron, where his father Isaac still lived. From thence he may have thought of paying a visit to Esau in Seir. Whether he carried out this intention or not, we cannot tell; for we have not a record of all that Jacob did, but only of the principal events of his life. We afterwards find them both meeting together as friends at their fathers funeral (Gen. 35:29). Again, the attitude of inferiority which Jacob assumed in his conversation with Esau, addressing him as lord, and speaking of himself as servant, was simply an act of courtesy suited to the circumstances, in which he paid to Esau the respect due to the head of a powerful band; since he could not conscientiously have maintained the attitude of a brother, when inwardly and spiritually, in spite of Esaus friendly meeting, they were so completely separated, the one from the other (K-D, 308309). (We cannot agree that there was any fawning, any cringing demeanor, on Jacobs part, in these various exchanges with Esau; that in fact there was anything more involved than the conventional courtesies which have always been given such strict observance among the heads of different clans or tribes of the Near East.)
Here, in chapter 33, the long and fascinating story of the relationship of Esau and Jacob comes to its end. Esau, we are told, sets out on his way unto Seir (not the prospective Mount Seir or the Edom which was the equivalent of Mount Seir, which Esau and his people occupied after Isaacs death, Gen. 35:27-29, Gen. 36:1-8, but the Land of Seir, the Field of Edom, south and east of Beersheba, over which Esau first extended his occupancy, Gen. 32:3). And Jacob and his retinue pushed on to Shechem (Gen. 33:18) and finally to Hebron (Gen. 35:27).
Jacob journeyed first to Succoth, Gen. 32:17 (that is, booths). Succoth is now usually identified with Tell Deir-Alla, a short distance east of the Jordan and north of the Jabbok, i.e., near the point of confluence of the two rivers. The fact that he built a house indicates a residence there of several years, as also does the fact that when Dinah came to Shechem (ch. 34) she was already mature. Jacob erected at this stage his (moveable) house or tent for his family while the booths were for his cattle, The flocks in the East being generally allowed to remain in the open fields by night and day during winter and summer, and seldom put under cover, the erection of booths by Jacob is recorded as an unusual circumstance; and perhaps the almost tropical climate of the Jordan valley may have rendered some shelter necessary. Succoth, which is mentioned here by a prolepsis, was the name given to the first station at which Jacob halted on his arrival in Canaan. His posterity, when dwelling in houses of stone, built a city there and called it Succoth, to commemorate the fact of their ancestor having made it a halting-place (Jamieson, 218). The town itself stood, if its position is rightly indicated on the maps, south of the Jabbok, in the angle formed by this stream and the Jordan, and almost equidistant from both. The name Succoth was derived from the peculiar type of hut or booth built for sheltering cattle. These booths, reported by travelers as being still occupied by Bedouins of the Jordan valley, are described as rude huts of reeds, sometimes covered with long grass, and sometimes with a piece of tent (Whitelaw, PCG, 401). Evidently Succoth was the other town east of the Jordan that was destroyed by Gideon (Judg., ch. 8). The reference to the name and its meaning, booths, seems to indicate that this was a singular circumstance. Jacobs motive here does not appear, but it was, and is, unusual in the East to put the flocks and herds under cover. They remain night and day, winter and summer, in the open air (SIBG, 267).
Some commentators hold that Jacob was still distrustful of Esau, even at the time of their parting, it would seem, amicably. E.g., the following comment on Gen. 32:14Jacob was still distrustful of Esau. He had himself practised cunning and deception, and now he was harassed by the fear of others, when in reality there was no cause. His words to Esau must have left the impression that he would follow him to Seir at such a pace as the cattle and children could bear; but the moment Esau and his formidable escort set out southward, Jacob turned westward and crossed the Jordan (SIBG, 267). How long Jacob remained in Succoth we cannot determine from the text. We may conclude that he stayed there some years, from the circumstance, that by erecting a house and huts he prepared for a lengthened stay. The motives which induced him to remain there are also unknown to us. But when Knobel adduces the fact, that Jacob came to Canaan for the purpose of visiting Isaac (Gen. 31:18), as a reason why it is improbable that he continued long at Succoth, he forgets that Jacob could visit his father from Succoth just as well as from Shechem, and that, with the number of people and cattle that he had about him, it was impossible that he should join and subordinate himself to Isaacs household, after having attained through his past life and the promises of God a position of patriarchal independence (K-D, 310). (According to Jos. 13:27, Succoth was in the Jordan valley and was allotted to the tribe of Gad as a part of the district of the Jordan, on the other side of Jordan eastward, and this is confirmed in Jdg. 8:4-5.)
(Parenthetically, we call attention to the word cattle as it is used in the translation of these patriarchal narratives. The student may find the word confusing, because it is used with varying degrees of ambiguity. When the children of Israel arrived in Egypt, they were assigned to the land of Goshen, with its pastoral facilities, where they became herdsmen and shepherds to Pharaoh. The Egyptian economy was that of a feudal system: the land was owned by the Pharaoh.) In the Old Testament, the word mikneh, translated cattle, signifies possessions. The specific words for animals of the bovine species, and for sheep and goats, are occasionally rendered cattle, as is also the word behemah, which means beast in general. Cattle, therefore, in the Old Testament, include varieties of oxen, bullocks, heifers, goats, sheep, and even asses, camels, and horses. (Cf. Gen. 13:2, Exo. 34:19, Lev. 1:2, Num. 32:1-5, 1Ki. 1:19, Psa. 50:10, etc.).
3. Jacob at Shechem, Gen. 32:18-20
18 And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram; and encamped before the city. 19 And he bought the parcel of ground, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechems father, for a hundred pieces of money. 20 And he erected there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
From Succoth, after an indeterminable length of time, Jacob crossed a ford of the Jordan and came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan. He came in peace: lit. whole in body, having been healed of his limping; whole financially and in his learning, having forgotten nothing of it in Labans house (Rashi) (SC, 204). What Jacob had asked for in his vow at Bethel (Gen. 28:21), prior to his departure from Canaan, was now fulfilled. He had returned in safety to the land of Canaan. Succoth, therefore, did not belong to the land of Canaan, but must have been on the eastern side of the Jordan (K-D, 311).
Jacob came to the city of Shechem: so called from Shechem, the son of the Hivite prince Hamor, Gen. 32:19; Gen. 34:2 ff (K-D). But most writers, following the Septuagint, take Shalem as a proper namea city of (prince) Shechem (cf. ch. 34, Jdg. 9:28) (Jamieson). (Cf. marginal rendering, A.S.V., to Shalem, a city). There seems very good reason, however, for the view that the original word was adjectival (not a proper name meaning to Shalem) signifying, safe, peaceful, hence enforcing the twofold reference to Jacobs return in peace (Gen. 32:18. cf. Gen. 28:21). Gen. 12:6 seems to indicate that the city of Shechem was not known in Abrahams time; we may conclude that Hamor founded it and called it by the name of his son. In the allocation of the land to the twelve tribes, Shechem fell to Ephraim (Jos. 20:7), but was assigned to the Levites and became a city of refuge (Jos. 21:20-21). It was the scene of the promulgation of the law, when its blessings were announced from Gerizim and its curses from Ebal (Deu. 27:11 ff., Jos. 8:33-35). It was here that Joshua assembled the people just before his death and delivered his farewell address (Jos. 24:1-25). The later history of the site is closely associated with the Samaritans and their sacred mount, Gerizim. The memory of Jacobs abode there is preserved by Jacobs Well at Sychar (Joh. 4:1-26): the ruins of Shechem itself have been unearthed by archeologists, at the east end of the pass between Ebal and Gerizim. Sychar is called Shechem in the old Syriac Gospels. (See UBD, HBD).
Jacob pitched his tent before the town, that is, to the east of it. The population of Canaan apparently had risen greatly in numbers, as in the social scale, from the time Abraham had fed his flocks on the free, unoccupied pasture land (or place of Shechem, Gen. 12:6). In Jacobs day a city had been built on the spot, and the adjoining grounds was private property, a segment of which he had to purchase for the site of his encampment. He bought this piece of ground from the sons of Hamor for 100 Kesitaa coin stamped with the figure of a lamb; it has been supposed from Gen. 23:15-16, that the kesitah was equivalent to four shekels. It is uncertain, however, whether this was its actual value in Canaan in Jacobs time. (The transliteration here is kesitah; the translation is piece of money; cf. Job. 42:11). In all likelihood it was an ingot of precious metal of recognized value. The LXX of Gen. 33:19 renders it lamb. In the ancient Middle East precious metals carved in animal shapes were used in various sizes for standard weights and as currency (HBD, s.v.). The circulation of coined money, however, is another proof of the early progress of the Canaanites in social and cultural advancement. This purchase undoubtedly shows us that Jacob, relying on Gods promise, regarded Canaan as his own home and as the home of his seed. Was it not in this field that he afterward sank a well (cf. Joh. 4:6)? This piece of field, which fell to the lot of the sons of Joseph, and where Josephs bones were buried (Jos. 24:32), was, according to tradition, the plain which stretches out at the southeastern opening of the valley of Shechem, where Jacobs well is still pointed out (Joh. 4:6), also Josephs grave, a Mahometan wely (grave) two or three hundred paces to the north (K-D, 311). (It is interesting to note the over-all correspondence between Abrahams purchase of a field and cave from the children of Heth and Jacobs purchase of a field from the children of Hamor: Gen. 23:16; Gen. 33:19). (The student will find the echoes of this narrative of Jacob at Shechem in Gen. 49:5-7, especially with respect to the deeds of Simeon and Levi, as reported in ch. 34). (Note also the reference in this story to Hamor as a Hivite; cf. Gen. 10:17. Probably, however, we should read with the Greek Horite, one of an enclave of nonsemitic, uncircumcised groups from the north, Deu. 2:12 ff. (JB, 55). These names, Horites, Philistines, Amorites, Arameans, Canaanites, etc., are used with considerable license throughout the Pentateuch.)
Finally, we read that Jacob erected there (i.e., on his field in the vicinity of Shechem) an altar (as Abraham had done previously after his entrance into Canaan Gen. 12:7), and called it El-Elohe-Israel (God, the mighty, is the God of Israel). That is, he named it with this name or he dedicated it to El-Elohe-Israel. Delitzsch views this title as a kind of superscription. But Jacobs consecration means more than that his God is not a mere imaginary deity; it means, further, that he has proved himself actually to be God (God is the God of Israel); God in the clear, definite form El, the Mighty, is the God of Israel, the wrestler with God. Israel had experienced both, in the almighty protection which his God had shown him from Bethel throughout his journeyings, and in the wrestlings with him, and learned his might. In the Mosaic period the expression, Jehovah, the God of Israel, takes its place (Exo. 34:23). The chosen name of God in the book of Joshua (Delitzsch) (Lange, 560). The name of the altar embraces, and stamps upon the memory of the world, the result of the past of Jacobs life, and the experiences through which Jacob had become Israel (Gosman, in Lange, 560).
The purchase of the ground is referred to in Jos. 24:32 in the story of Josephs burial. It is significant that Israels claim to the grave of Joseph is based on purchase, just as its right to that of Abraham, ch. 23, writes Skinner (ICCG, 416): in this statement, of course, Israel is used as the name of the nation. This tendency on the part of the earlier critics to identify these names of the patriarchs as being in reality the names of the various peoples or tribes which the patriarchs sired, has been pretty generally exploded by present-day archaeological discoveries; the same is true of the critical presupposition that in all cases in which an altar is said to have been erected by one of the patriarchs, it was in reality a stone pillar (matstsebah) that was set up and regarded as the abode of a tutelary deity. The fact is that the patriarchal altars were preeminently places of sacrifice, hence used for the worship of the living and true God of Hebrew revelation (Gen. 12:8, Gen. 13:18, Gen. 22:9, etc.) The patriarchal altar was the place of communion with God who, in the sacrifice, was approached with a gift. These altars in several instances took on the nature of memorials. Though probably made of earth originally, the law of Moses allowed, as an alternative, the use of unhewn stone (Exo. 20:24-25).
El-elohe-Israel. This does not mean that the altar was called the God of Israel, but that he gave it a name which commemorated the fact that the miracles were wrought for him by Israels (Jacobs) God. Similarly, we find Moses calling an altar Adonai-nissi (the Lord is my banner, Exo. 17:15), which likewise does not mean that the altar bore that name, but it testified that the Lord is my (Moses) banner, in praise of Him (Rashi). Nachmanides cites Rashi with approval, and draws attention to such names as Zuriel, Zurishaddai, which also honor God, as they signify, God is my Rock, The Almighty is my Rock. Sforno explains that, in his prayer, Jacob called Him His God, employing his changed name, Israel (SC, 204).
After the example of Abraham (Gen. 12:8) as he entered the land, Jacob also builds an altar unto the Lord. The name of the altar embodies the sum of Jacobs spiritual experience, which he sought to transfer to coming generations. So he gives the altar a name which is in itself a statement to the effect that the God of Israel is an el, i.e., a Strong One, i.e., a mighty God. Jacob is remembering Gods promise, and God has in an outstanding way proved Himself a God well able to keep His promises. The common name for God, el, covers this thought. By the use of his own name, Israel, Jacob indicates that the restored, new man within him was the one that understood this newly acquired truth concerning God. We believe those to be in the wrong who assume that while Jacob was in Paddan-aram he lapsed into the idolatrous ways of men like Laban and so practically forsook the God of his fathers. Nothing points in that direction. The meager evidence available rather points to a fidelity on Jacobs part, which, though it was not of the strong ethical fibre as was that of Abraham, yet kept him from apostasy. Since it stood in need also of some measure of purification, God took Jacob in hand, especially at Peniel, and raised his faith-life to a higher level (Leupold, EG, 895).
Abraham had, on his landing on the same spot in Canaan, erected an altar; and now Jacob, on his arrival from Paddan-aram, imitates the example of his grandfather from special reasons of his own (cf. Gen. 27:21, last clause, with Gen. 27:28-29). Whether, on its erection, it was dedicated with the formal bestowment of a name which, according to patriarchal usage, would perpetuate the purpose of the monument, or it was furnished with an inscription, we are not informed. The Septuagint omits the name. But it was a beautiful proof of his personal piety, a most suitable conclusion to his journey, and a lasting memorial of a distinguished favour, to raise an altar to God, the God of Israel. Wherever we pitch a tent, God should have an altar (Jamieson, CECG, 219; italics mineCC).
FOR MEDITATION AND SERMONIZING
Jacobs Wrestlings
The following comments by Morgenstern (JIBG) are excellent: Then follows an anxious night. Redoubled preparations were made to meet Esau in the morning. Jacob sent his wives and children across the stream hoping their helplessness might touch Esaus heart. Jacob remained on this side of the stream. He would cross only at the last moment. Possibly he would turn back and flee, without sheep and cattle, wives and children, to hinder his escape. But there was no place for him to go. Such was Jacobs guilt-laden mind. . . . Someone wrestled with him all night long. The Bible calls it a man. Tradition has come to call it an angel (Hos. 12:5). . . . Was it Jacobs other self: his wicked, selfish earthly nature, with which he strove all night long? . . . Man is still a child of two worlds, Gen. 2:7. His body is of dust, but his spirit is the Breath of God, inbreathed by God Himself. For twenty years these two natures had striven with each other. This struggle is typical. . . . There is no assurance that good will triumph of itself. It must be supported by strength of will and determination for the right, which endure for all time and under all circumstances. Men become changed, blessed by the very evil powers with which they have striven. No longer the old Jacob, but now the new Israel. Yet man never remains unscathed. . . . Victory over evil is never gained in the darkness of the night. So with the dawn Jacob became a new man, with an appropriate new name, The Champion of God. Then he crossed the river.
To prayer he [Jacob] adds prudence, and sends forward present after present that their reiteration might win his brothers heart. This done, he rested for the night; but rising up before the day, he sent forward his wives and children across the ford of the Jabbok, remaining for a while in solitude to prepare his mind for the trial of the day. It was then that a man appeared and wrestled with him till the morning rose. This man was the Angel Jehovah, and the conflict was a repetition in act of the prayer which we have already seen Jacob offering in words. This is clearly stated by the prophet Hosea: By his strength he had power with God: yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him (Hos. 12:3-4). Though taught his own weakness by the dislocation of his thigh at the angels touch, he gained the victory by his importunityI will not let thee go except thou bless meand he received the new name of ISRAEL (he who strives with God, and prevails), as a sign that he had prevailed with God, and should therefore prevail with man (Gen. 32:28). Well knowing with whom he had dealt he called the place Peniel (the face of God). for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. The memory of his lameness, which he seems to have carried with him to his grave (Gen. 32:31), was preserved by the custom of the Israelites not to eat of the sinew in the hollow of the thigh. Its moral significance is beautifully expressed by Wesley:
Contented now, upon my thigh
I halt till lifes short journey end;
All helplessness, all weaknesses, I
On Thee alone for strength depend;
Nor have I power from Thee to move,
Thy nature and thy name is Love.
(OTH, 103).
Dividing all his possessions at the River Jabbok in preparation for meeting Esau, he [Jacob] turned to God in prayer. He humbly acknowledged that he was unworthy of all the blessings that God had bestowed upon him. But in the face of danger he pleaded for deliverance. During the loneliness of the night he wrestled with a man. In this strange experience, which he recognized as a divine encounter, his name was changed from Jacob to Israel. Thereafter Jacob was not the deceiver; instead he was subjected to deception and grief by his own sons (OTS, 37).
This remarkable occurrence is not to be regarded as a dream or an internal vision, but fell within the sphere of sensuous perception. At the same time, it was not a natural or corporeal wrestling, but a real conflict of both mind and body, a work of the spirit with intense effort of the body (Delitzsch), in which Jacob was lifted up into a highly elevated condition of body and mind resembling that of ecstasy, through the medium of the manifestation of God, In a merely outward conflict, it is impossible to conquer through prayer and tears. As the idea of a dream or vision has no point of contact in the history; so the notion, that the outward conflict of bodily wrestling, and the spiritual conflict with prayer and tears, are two features opposed to one another and spiritually distinct, is evidently at variance with the meaning of the narrative and the interpretation of the prophet Hosea, Since Jacob still continued his resistance, even after his hip had been put out of joint, and would not let Him go till He had blessed him, it cannot be said that it was not till all hope of maintaining the conflict by bodily strength was taken from him, that he had recourse to the weapon of prayer. And when Hosea (Hos. 12:4-5) points his contemporaries to their wrestling forefather as an example for their imitation, in these words, He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his human strength he fought with God; and he fought with the Angel and prevailed; he wept and made supplication unto Him, the turn by which the explanatory periphrasis of Jacobs words, I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me, is linked on to the previous clause . . . without a copula or vav consec., is a proof that the prophet did not regard the weeping and supplication as occurring after the wrestling, or as only a second element, which was subsequently added to the corporeal struggle. Hosea evidently looked upon the weeping and supplication as the distinguishing feature in the conflict, without thereby excluding the corporeal wrestling. At the same time, by connecting this event with what took place at the birth of the twins (Gen. 25:26), the prophet teaches that Jacob merely completed, by his wrestling with God, what he had already been engaged in even from his mothers womb, viz. his striving for the birthright; in other words, for the possession of the covenant promise and the covenant blessing. This meaning is also indicated by the circumstances under which the event took place. Jacob had wrested the blessing of the birthright from his brother Esau; but it was by cunning and deceit, and he had been obliged to flee from his wrath in consequence. And now that he desired to return to the land of promise and his fathers house, and to enter upon the inheritance promised him in his fathers blessing, Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men which filled him with great alarm. As he felt too weak to enter upon a conflict with him, he prayed to the covenant God for deliverance from the hand of his brother, and the fulfilment of the covenant promises. The answer of God to this prayer was the present wrestling with God, in which he was victorious indeed, but not without carrying the marks of it all his life long in the dislocation of his thigh. Jacobs great fear of Esaus wrath and vengeance, which he could not suppress notwithstanding the divine revelations at Bethel and Mahanaim, had its foundation in his willful and treacherous appropriation of a blessing of the firstborn. To save him from the hand of his brother, it was necessary that God should first meet him as an enemy, and show him that his real opponent was God Himself, and that he must first of all overcome Him before he could hope to overcome his brother. And Jacob overcame God; not with power of the flesh however, with which he had hitherto wrestled for God against man (God convinced him of that by touching his hip, so that it was put out of joint), but by the power of faith and prayer, reaching by firm hold of God even to the point of being blessed, by which he proved himself to be a true wrestler of God, who fought with God and with men, i.e., who by his wrestling with God overcame men as well. And whilst by the dislocation of his hip the carnal nature of his previous wrestling was declared to be powerless and wrong, he received in the new name of Israel the prize of victory, and at the same time directions from God how he was henceforth to strive for the cause of the Lord.By his wrestling with God, Jacob entered upon a new stage in his life. As a sign of this, he received a new name, which indicated, as the result of this conflict, the nature of his new relation to God. But whilst Abram and Sarai, from the time when God changed their names (Gen. 17:5; Gen. 17:15), are always called by their new names; in the history of Jacob we find the old name used interchangeably with the new. For the former two names denoted a change into a new and permanent position, effected and intended by the will and promise of God; consequently the old names were entirely abolished. But the name Israel denoted a spiritual state determined by faith; and in Jacobs life the natural state, determined by flesh and blood, still continued to stand side by side with this. Jacobs new name was transmitted to his descendants, however, who were called Israel as the covenant nation. For as the blessing of their forefathers conflict came down to them as a spiritual inheritance, so did they also enter upon the duty of preserving this inheritance by continuing in a similar conflict.
Gen. 32:31. The remembrance of this wonderful conflict Jacob perpetuated in the name which he gave to the place where it had occurred, viz. Pniel or Pnuel . . . because there he had seen Elohim face to face, and his soul had been delivered (from death, Gen. 16:13).
Gen 32:32, 33. With the rising of the sun after the night of his conflict, the night of anguish and fear also passed away from Jacobs mind, so that he was able to leave Pnuel in comfort, and go forward on his journey. The dislocation of the thigh alone remained. For this reason the children of Israel are accustomed to avoid eating the nervus ischiadicus, the principal nerve in the neighborhood of the hip, which is easily injured by any violent strain in wrestling. Unto this day: the remark is applicable still (K-D, 305307).
Jacob seems to have gone through the principles or foundations of faith in God and repentance towards him, which gave a character to the history of his grandfather and father, and to have entered upon the stage of spontaneous action. He had that inward feeling of spiritual power which prompted the apostle to say, I can do all things. Hence we find him dealing with Esau for the birthright, plotting with his mother for the blessing, erecting a pillar and vowing a vow at Bethel, overcoming Laban with his own weapons, and even now taking the most prudent measures for securing a welcome from Esau on his return. He relied indeed on God, as was demonstrated in many of his words and deeds; but the prominent feature of his character was a strong and firm reliance on himself. But this practical self-reliance, though naturally springing up in the new man and highly commendable in itself, was not yet in Jacob duly subordinated to that absolute reliance which ought to be placed in the Author of our being and our salvation. Hence he had been betrayed into intrusive, dubious, and even sinister courses, which in the retributive providence of God had brought, and were yet to bring him, into many troubles and perplexities, The hazard of his present situation arose chiefly from his former unjustifiable practices towards his brother, He is now to learn the lesson of unreserved reliance on God.
A man appeared to him in his loneliness; one having the bodily form and substance of a man. Wrestled with him,encountered him in the very point in which he was strong, He had been a taker by the heel from his very birth (Gen. 25:26), and his subsequent life had been a constant and successful struggle with adversaries. And when he, the stranger, saw that he prevailed not over him: Jacob, true to his character, struggles while life remains, with this new combatant. He touched the socket of his thigh, so that it was wrenched out of joint. The thigh is the pillar of a mans strength, and its joint with the hip the seat of physical force for the wrestler. Let the thigh bone be thrown out of joint, and the man is utterly disabled. Jacob now finds that this mysterious wrestler has wrested from him, by one touch, all his might, and he can no longer stand alone. Without any support whatever from himself, he hangs upon the conqueror, and in that condition learns by experience the practice of sole reliance on one mightier than himself. This is the turning-point in this strange drama. Henceforth Jacob now feels himself strong, not in himself, but in the Lord, and in the power of his might. What follows is merely the explication and the consequence of this bodily conflict.
And he, the Mighty Stranger, said, Let me go, for the dawn ariseth. The time for other avocations is come: let me go. He does not shake off the clinging grasp of the now disabled Jacob, but only calls upon him to relax his grasp. And he, Jacob, said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. Despairing now of his own strength, he is Jacob still: he declares his determination to cling on until his conqueror bless him. He now knows he is in the hand of a higher power, who can disable and again enable, who can curse and also bless. He knows himself also to be now utterly helpless without the healing, quickening, protecting power of his victor, and, though he die in the effort, he will not let him go without receiving this blessing. Jacobs sense of his total debility and utter defeat is now the secret of his power with his friendly vanquisher. He can overthrow all the prowess of the self-reliant, but he cannot resist the earnest entreaty of the helpless.
Gen. 32:28-30. What is thy name? He reminds him of his former self, Jacob, the supplanter, the self-reliant, self-seeking. But now he is disabled, dependent on another, and seeking a blessing from another, and for all others as well as himself. No more Jacob shall thy name be called, but Israel,a prince of God, in God, with God. In a personal conflict, depending on thyself, thou wert no match for God. But in prayer, depending on another, thou hast prevailed with God and with men. The new name is indicative of the new nature which has now come to its perfection of development in Jacob. Unlike Abraham, who received his new name once for all, and was never afterwards called by the former one, Jacob will hence be called now by the one and now by the other, as the occasion may serve. For he was called from the womb (Gen. 25:23), and both names have a spiritual significance for two different aspects of the child of God, according to the apostles paradox, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Php. 2:12-13). Tell now thy name. Disclose to me thy nature. This mysterious Being intimates by his reply that Jacob was to learn his nature, so far as he yet required to know it, from the event that had just occurred; and he was well acquainted with his name. And he blessed him there. He had the power of disabling the self-sufficient creature, of upholding that creature when unable to stand, of answering prayer, of conferring a new name, with a new phase of spiritual life, and of blessing with a bodily renovation, and with spiritual capacity for being a blessing to mankind. After all this, Jacob could not any longer doubt who he was. There are, then, three acts in this dramatic scene: first, Jacob wrestling with the Omnipresent in the form of a man, in which he is signally defeated; second, Jacob importunately supplicating Jehovah, in which he prevails as a prince of God; third, Jacob receiving the blessing of a new name, a new development of spiritual life, and a new capacity for bodily action.
We have also already noted the divine method of dealing with man. He proceeds from the known to the unknown, from the simple to the complex, from the material to the spiritual, from the sensible to the super-sensible. So must he do, until he have to deal with a world of philosophers. And even then, and only then, will his method of teaching and dealing with men be clearly and fully understood. The more we advance in the philosophy of spiritual things, the more delight will we feel in discerning the marvellous analogy and intimate nearness of the outward to the inward, and the material to the spiritual world. We have only to bear in mind that in man there is a spirit as well as a body; and in this outward wrestling of man with man we have a token of the inward wrestling of spirit with spirit, and therefore an experimental instance of that great conflict of the Infinite Being with the finite self, which grace has introduced into our fallen world, recorded here for the spiritual edification of the church on earth.
My life is preserved. The feeling of conscience is, that no sinner can see the infinitely holy God and live. And he halted upon his thigh. The wrenching of the tendons and muscles was mercifully healed, yet so as to leave a permanent monument, in Jacobs halting gait, that God had overcome his self-will (Murphy, MG, 412415).
Gen. 32:24-25. The Struggle in the Dark.Who was the antagonist coming out of the darkness to seize Jacob for a struggle that would last until the breaking of the day? Not Esau, as in the first fearful moment of surprise Jacob might have imagined. Not any human foe, however terrible. Not a river-god. No; but the Almighty God of Righteousness, forcing him to make his reckoning. The O.T. story is dramatizing here the consequence that comes to every soul that has tried too long to evade the truth about itself. Thus far Jacobs life had seemed successful. By one stratagem and another he had outwitted Esau, Isaac, and Laban. Coming home prosperous, all the outward circumstances might have made him boastful. But his conscience saw something else. He saw his world shadowed by his guilt. Old memories awakened, old fears rose up from the past in which he had tried to bury them. He had to face these memories and submit to their bruising recollection. Now that he was to meet Esau, he knew that he was not the masterful person he had liked to imagine he was. He had made his smooth way ahead among people who had not known him; now he had to encounter people who had known him, and would remember him as a liar and a coward. He was brought up short to a reckoning with himself, which was a reckoning with God. He could ignore the prospect of that in the busy daytime, but now it was night, and he was alone; and when a man is alone, then least of all can he get away from God. When the mysterious antagonist touched the hollow of Jacobs thigh, and the hollow of Jacobs thigh was out of joint, it was a symbol of the fact that Jacob was in the grip of a power which his self-assurance could not match. Jacob knew that henceforth he could never walk in lofty arrogance again.
Gen. 32:26, Holding On.Another strange mingling of elements is in the picture here. The exclamation of the unnamed wrestler, Let me go, for the day breaketh seems to have its origin in the dim old belief that spirits could walk the earth only during the darkness, and that when the day began to break they had to go back to the place of shadows from which they had come. But the timeless meaning is in the words of Jacob, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. In the good and evil that made up Jacob there were two factors of nobility that saved him. The first was his awareness that life has a divine meaning above its material factthe awareness that made him seek the birthright and made possible his vision at Bethel. The second quality, revealed here in his wrestling, was his determination. He had struggled all night until he was lame and agonized; but when his antagonist wished to separate himself, Jacob desperately held on. When a man is forced to wrestle with moral reality and its consequences, he may try to get rid of them as quickly as he can. But Jacobs quality was otherwise, Caught in the grip of judgment, his prevailing desire was not for escape. He would hold on until something decisive happened. In punishment and in prosperity, he would not let the experience go until he had wrung a blessing from it. The shallow man may ignore his sins; the cowardly man may try to evade their consequences; but Jacob now was neither one. Hurt and humiliated though he was, and needing to repent, he still dared believe that his great desire could prevail. In Charles Wesleys hymn one can hear his cry:
Yield to me now, for I am weak,
But confident in self-despair;
Speak to my heart, in blessing speak;
Be conquered by my instant prayer.
Frederick W. Robertson has given a further interpretation to Jacobs answer to the demand of his antagonist, Let me go: Jacob held Him more convulsively fast, as if aware that the daylight was likely to rob him of his anticipated blessing: in which there seems concealed a very deep truth. God is approached more nearly in that which is indefinite than in that which is definite and distinct. He is felt in awe, and wonder and worship, rather than in clear conceptions. There is a sense in which darkness has more of God than light has. . . . In sorrow, haunted by uncertain presentiments, we feel the infinite around us. The gloom disperses, the worlds joy comes again, and it seems as if God were gonethe Being who had touched us with a withering hand, and wrestled with us, yet whose presence, even when most terrible, was more blessed than His absence. . . . Yes, in solitary, silent, vague darkness, the Awful One is near (Bowie, IBG, 723724). (The quotation is from Robertson, Sermons on Bible Subjects, 17, 18). (Recall in this connection Gen. 28:16-17).
When the messengers brought back to Jacob the news that Esau was approaching with a force of four hundred men, Jacobs first thought was, as always, a plan, and in this we have a true picture of the poor human heart. True, he turns to God after he makes his plan, and cries to Him for deliverance; but no sooner does he cease praying than he resumes the planning. Now, praying and planning will never do together. If I plan, I am leaning more or less on my plan; but when I pray, I should lean exclusively upon God. Hence, the two things are perfectly incompatiblethey virtually destroy each other. When my eye is filled with my own management of things, I am not prepared to see God acting for me; and, in that case, prayer is not the utterance of my need, but the mere superstitious performance of something which I think ought to be done, or it may be, asking God to sanctify my plans. This will never do. It is not asking God to sanctify and bless my means, but it is asking Him to do it all Himself, (No doubt, when faith allows God to act, He will use His own agency; but this is a totally different thing from His owning and blessing the plans and arrangements of unbelief and impatience. This distinction is not sufficiently understood.)
Though Jacob asked God to deliver him from his brother Esau, he evidently was not satisfied with that, and therefore he tried to appease him with a present. Thus his confidence was in the present, and not entirely in God. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. It is often hard to detect what is the real ground of the hearts confidence. We imagine, or would fain persuade ourselves, that we are leaning upon God, when we are, in reality, leaning upon some scheme of our own devising. Who, after hearkening to Jacobs prayer, wherein he says, Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brotherfrom the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children, could imagine him saying, I will appease him with a present. Had he forgotten his prayer? Was he making a god of this present? Did he place more confidence in few cattle than in Jehovah, to whom he had just been committing himself? These are questions which naturally arise out of Jacobs actions in reference to Esau, and we can readily answer them by looking into the glass of our own hearts. There we learn, as well as on the page of Jacobs history, how much more apt we are to lean on our own management than on God; but it will not do; we must be brought to see the end of our management, that it is perfect folly, and that the true path of wisdom is to repose in full confidence upon God.
Nor will it do to make our prayers part of our management. We often feel very well satisfied with ourselves when we add prayer to our arrangement, or when we have used all lawful means, and called upon God to bless them. When this is the case, our prayers are worth about as much as our plans, inasmuch as we are leaning upon them instead of upon God. We must really be brought to the end of everything with which self has aught to do; for until then, God cannot show Himself. But we can never get to the end of our plans until we have been brought to the end of ourselves. We must see that all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field (Isa. 40:6). [Cf. also Psa. 90:5-6; Jas. 1:9-11].
Thus it is in this interesting chapter: when Jacob had made all his prudent arrangements, we read, And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. This is the turning-point in the history of this very remarkable man, To be left alone with God is the only true way of arriving at a just knowledge of ourselves and our ways. We can never get a true estimate of nature and all its actings until we have weighed them in the balance of the sanctuary, and there we ascertain their real worth. No matter what we may think about ourselves, nor yet what men may think about us; the great question is, What does God think about us? and the answer to this question can only be heard when we are left alone. Away from the world; away from self; away from all the thoughts, reasonings, imaginations, and emotions of mere nature, and alone with God; thus, and thus alone, can we get a correct judgment about ourselves.
Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him. Mark, it was not Jacob wrestling with a man, but a man wrestling with Jacob. This scene is very commonly referred to as an instance of Jacobs power in prayer. That it is not this is evident from the simple wording of the passage. My wrestling with a man, and a man wrestling with me, present two totally different ideas to the mind. In the former case, I want to gain some object from him; in the latter, he wants to gain some object from me, Now, in Jacobs case, the divine object was to bring him to see what a poor, feeble, worthless creature he was; and when Jacob pertinaciously held out against the divine dealing with him, He touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacobs thigh was out of joint as He wrestled with him. The sentence of death must be written on the fleshthe power of the cross must be entered into before we can steadily and happily walk with God. We have followed Jacob so far, amid all the windings and workings of his extraordinary characterwe have seen him planning and managing during his twenty years sojourning with Laban; but not until he was left alone did he get a true idea of what a perfectly helpless thing he was in himself. Then, the seat of his strength being touched, he learnt to say, I will not let Thee go.
Other refuge have I none;
Clings my helpless soul to Thee.
This was a new era in the history of the supplanting, planning Jacob. Up to this point he had held fast to his own ways and means; but now he is brought to say, I will not let Thee go. Now, let my reader remark, that Jacob did not express himself thus until the hollow of his thigh was touched. This simple fact is quite sufficient to settle the true interpretation of the whole scene. God was wrestling with Jacob to bring him to this point. We have already seen that, as to Jacobs power in prayer, he had no sooner uttered a few words to God than he let out the real secret of his souls dependence, by saying, I will appease him (Esau) with a present. Would he have said this if he had really entered into the meaning of prayer, or true dependence on God? Assuredly not. If he had been looking to God alone to appease Esau, could he have said, I will appease him with a present? Impossible. God and the creature must be kept distinct, and will be kept so in every soul that knows much of the sacred reality of a life of faith.
But, alas! here is where we fail (if one may speak for another). Under the plausible and apparently pious formula of using means, we really cloke the positive infidelity of our poor deceitful hearts; we think we are looking to God to bless our means, while, in reality, we are shutting Him out by leaning on the means instead of leaning on Him. Oh! may our hearts be taught the evil of thus acting. May we learn to cling more simply to God alone, that so our history may be more characterized by that holy elevation above the circumstances through which we are passing. It is not, by any means, any easy matter so to get to the end of the creature, in every shape and form, so as to be able to say, I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me. To say this from the heart, and to abide in the power of it, is the secret of all true strength. Jacob said it when the power of his thigh was touched; but not till then. He struggled long, ere he gave way, because his confidence in the flesh was strong. But God can bring down to the dust the stoutest character. He knows how to touch the spring of natures strength, and write the sentence of death thoroughly upon it; and until this is done, there can be no real power with God or man. We must be weak ere we can be strong. The power of Christ can only rest on us in connection with the knowledge of our infirmities. Christ cannot put the seal of His approval upon natures strength, its wisdom, or its glory: all these must sink that He may rise. Nature can never form, in any one way, a pedestal on which to display the grace or power of Christ; for if it could, then might flesh glory in His presence; but this, we know, can never be.
And inasmuch as the display of Gods glory and Gods name or character is connected with the entire setting aside of nature, so, until this latter is set aside, the soul can never enjoy the disclosure of the former. Hence, though Jacob is called to tell out his nameto own that his name is Jacob, or a supplanter, he yet receives no revelation of the name of Him who had been wrestling with him, and bringing him down into the dust. He received for himself the name of Israel, or prince, which was a great step in advance; but when he says, Tell me, I pray, Thy name, he received the reply, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after My name? The Lord refuses to tell His name, though He had elicited from Jacob the truth as to himself, and He blesses him accordingly. How often is this the case in the annals of Gods family! There is the disclosure of self in all its moral deformity; but we fail to get hold practically of what God is, though He has come so very close to us, and blessed us, too, in connection with the discovery of ourselves. Jacob received the new name of Israel when the hollow of his thigh had been touchedhe became a mighty prince when he had been brought to know himself as a weak man; but still the Lord had to say, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after My name? There is no disclosure of the name of Him who, nevertheless, had brought the real name and condition of Jacob.
From all this we learn that it is one thing to be blessed by the Lord, and quite another thing to have the revelation of His character, by the Spirit, to our hearts. He blessed him there, but He did not tell His name. There is blessing in being brought, in any measure, to know ourselves; for therein we are lead into a path in which we are able more clearly to discern what God is to us in detail. Thus it was with Jacob. When the hollow of his thigh was touched, he found himself in a condition in which it was either God or nothing. A poor halting man could do little, it therefore behooved him to cling to one who was almighty.
I would remark . . . that the book of Job is, in a certain sense, a detailed commentary on this scene in Jacobs history. Throughout the first thirty-one chapters, Job grapples with his friends, and maintains his point against all their arguments; but in chapter 32, God, by the instrumentality of Elihu, begins to wrestle with him; and in chapter 38, He comes down upon him directly with all the majesty of His power, overwhelms him by the display of His greatness and glory, and elicits from him the well-known words, I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes (ch. Gen. 42:5-6). This was really touching the hollow of his thigh. And mark the expression, Mine eye seeth Thee. He does not say, I see myself merely; no; but Thee. Nothing but a view of what God is can really lead to repentance and self-loathing. Thus it will be with the people of Israel, whose history is very analogous with that of Job. When they shall look upon Him whom they have pierced, they will mourn, and then there will be full restoration and blessing. Their latter end, like Jobs, will be better than their beginning. They will learn the full meaning of that word, 0 Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is thine help (Hos. 13:9) (C.H.M., NG, 297304).
We must not pass from these scenes in Jacobs history without noticing the admirable tact with which he appeased his justly-offended brother. He sends an embassy to him from a long distance. This itself was a compliment, and, no doubt, the ambassadors were the most respectable he could command. Then the terms of the message were the best possible to flatter and conciliate an Oriental. He calls Esau his lord, himself his servantor slave, as it might be rendered; and he thus tacitly, and without alluding to the old trick by which he cheated him of his birthright, acknowledges him to be the elder brother, and his superior. At the same time, by the large presents, and the exhibition of great wealth, Esau is led to infer that he is not returning a needy adventurer to claim a double portion of the paternal estate; and it would not be unoriental if there was intended to be conveyed by all this a sly intimation that Jacob was neither to be despised nor lightly meddled with. There was subtle flattery mingled with profound humility, but backed all the while by the quiet allusion to the substantial position of one whom God had greaty blessed and prospered. All this, however, failed, and the enraged brother set out to meet him with an army. Jacob was terribly alarmed; but, with his usual skill and presence of mind, he made another effort to appease Esau. The presents were well selected, admirably arranged, and sent forward one after another; and the drivers were directed to address Esau in the most respectful and humble terms: They be thy servant Jacobs, a present unto my lord Esau; and be sure to say, 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. Jacob did not miscalculate the influence of his princely offerings, and I verily believe there is not an emeer or sheikh in all Gilead at this day who would not be appeased by such presents; and, from my personal knowledge of Orientals, I should say that Jacob need not have been in such great terror, following in their rear. Far less will now make room, as Solomon says, for any offender, however atrocious, and bring him before great men with acceptance.
Esau was mollified, and when near enough to see the lowly prostrations of his trembling brother, forgot everything but that he was Jacob, the son of his mother, the companion of his childhood. He ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept. All this is beautiful, natural, Oriental; and so is their subsequent discourse. . . . It was obviously the purpose of God to bring his chosen servant into these terrible trials, in order to work the deeper conviction of his former sin, and the more thorough repentance and reformation. And here it is that Jacob appears as a guide and model to all mankind. In his utmost distress and alarm, he holds fast his hope and trust in God, wrestles with Him in mighty supplication, and as a prince prevails: I will not let thee go except thou bless me. And he said, 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 (Gen. 32:24; Gen. 32:27-28) (Thomson, LB, 371372).
REVIEW QUESTIONS ON PART FORTY-TWO
1.
What conditions prompted Jacob to take to flight from Paddan-aram?
2.
What attitude did his wives take toward their father? What accusations did they bring against him?
3.
Of what did Jacobs entire retinue (household) consist?
4.
What route did he take from Paddan-aram? What and where was Gilead?
5.
In consulting his wives about his proposed flight, what charges did he bring against Laban?
6.
What was the dream he reported to have experienced himself?
7.
Would you agree with the view that this dream was the product of an excited imagination? Explain your answer.
8.
Would you agree with the interpretation of Delitzsch, or with that of Kurtz, of Jacobs reported dream? Explain your answer.
9.
Is there any Scripture support for the notion that increase of material goods is an unfailing concomitant of religious stedfastness? Explain your answer.
10.
Does God guarantee the obedient believer, in Scripture, any material good beyond bread to eat and raiment to put on (Gen. 28:20)? Justify your answer.
11.
What was (or were) the teraphim which Rachel stole on leaving her father?
12.
What are some of the suggestions offered to explain why Rachel stole the teraphim? State which seems the most reasonable to you and why.
13.
For what purposes were such objects used as indicated elsewhere in the Old Testament?
14.
In what respect did the teraphim probably have legal significance for Laban?
15.
Would you agree that Rachel stole the teraphim? Explain your answer.
16.
Are we justified in thinking that Laban had lapsed into a more corrupt form of religion and that his daughters had not escaped the infection?
17.
Is there any ground on which we can excuse or justify Rachels sin?
18.
What other evidence do we have that Abrahams kinsmen in the region of Haran had drifted into idolatry?
19.
What information regarding such objects do we obtain from the Nuzi records?
20.
Do we find intimations that Jacob himself was not immunized against this form of idolatry? Explain your answer.
21.
What device did Rachel use to prevent Labans finding the teraphim in her tent?
22.
What special support did Jacob give Laban in authorizing the latter to search the tents occupied by members of his own household?
23.
What evidence do we have that Jacob did not know about Rachels theft of the teraphim?
24.
What restrictions did God put upon Laban on the latters way to catch up with Jacob?
25.
Who were the Arameans? What was their origin and what territories did they occupy in the Near East?
26.
Trace briefly their relations with the Israelites as recorded in the Old Testament.
27.
How did Laban address Jacob on catching up with him? Why do we pronounce his approach hypocritical?
28.
What was the substance of Jacobs angry reply? Of what illegal practices did he accuse Laban? How long had he served Laban faithfully?
29.
What hardships of his twenty years of service to Laban did Jacob recall? What attempts by Laban to defraud him of his hire did he specify?
30.
In what way or ways, probably, had his wages been changed ten times?
31.
What specific law in the Code of Hammurabi bears upon this particular case?
32.
Explain what Jacob meant by The Fear of Isaac.
33.
What was Labans reply to Jacobs outburst of anger? Did he avoid the issues? Was he merely bluffing or trying to put on a front? Or was he making an effort to save face?
34.
Are we justified in saying that Laban was more concerned about the teraphim than anything else? Why should he have been so concerned about the stolen teraphim?
35.
How did Hurrian law bear upon the relation between the teraphim and Jacobs status in Labans household?
36.
What did Laban mean by his proposal to cut a covenant?
37.
What proposals did Jacob make in return?
38.
Explain the cairn of witness. What particular witness did Jacob set up? Distinguish between the pillar and the cairn.
39.
What two names were given to the memorials set up between Jacobs and Labans territories? What was the meaning of each?
40.
What were the twofold provisions of the treaty between the two? How was Hurrian law related to the stipulation against Jacobs taking other wives?
41.
What fallacy is involved in the traditional churchly use of what is called the Mizpah Benediction?
42.
By what deities did Laban and Jacob respectively swear fidelity to their covenant?
43.
Explain what is meant by the statement in Gen. 31:50, no man is with us.
44.
What factors in this story indicate that Laban was a polytheist?
45.
What phrase in this story indicates that Laban swore by the God of Abraham, Nahor, and Terah?
46.
What ceremonies concluded the covenant of reconciliation between Jacob and Laban?
47.
For what different special purposes were stones used in Old Testament times?
48.
List the circumstances of the transactions between Jacob and Laban which reflect details of Hurrian law.
49.
With what acts did Laban leave the members of Jacobs household to proceed on his journey homeward?
50.
In what various incidents did angels appear in the course of Jacobs life?
51.
What was Jacobs experience at Manahaim? Why the name and what did it signify? What was the location?
52.
Who made up the two camps or hosts on this occasion?
53.
What probably were Jacobs feelings as he approached his confrontation with Esau?
54.
What preliminary steps did Jacob take looking toward reconciliation with Esau? What information about himself and his household, etc., did he communicate to Esau through the messengers he sent forward to meet him?
55.
What report about Esau did Jacobs messengers bring back to him?
56.
What probably was Esau doing in Seir at that time with what was equivalent to a military force? How many men did Esau have with him? How reconcile Gen. 32:3; Gen. 36:6-8?
57.
How did Jacob acquire the information in the first place as to Esaus whereabouts?
58.
What threefold preparation did Jacob resort to, for the purpose of placating his brother?
59.
Explain the double phrase, the land of Seir, the field of Edom, Gen. 32:3.
60.
Why was it the natural and proper thing to do to resort to prayer? What were the chief characteristics of Jacobs prayer?
61.
Did this prayer include the element of confession? Explain your answer.
62.
Explain the last phrase of Gen. 32:11, the mother with the children.
63.
Are Jacobs closing words of his prayer designed to remind God of His promises and to call on Him to keep His word? Explain your answer.
64.
What was the present which Jacob dispatched to Esau to propitiate him? How, and for what purpose, were these gifts staggered, so to speak?
65.
What preparation did Jacob make for battle in case Esau should be belligerent?
66.
What explanations are given for Jacobs sending his wives and children across the ford of the Jabbok while remaining himself on the north side? What do you consider the most plausible explanation?
67.
What was the stream over which the crossing was made? What is the meaning of the phrase, this Jordan, Gen. 32:10, in relation to the final crossing?
68.
What marvelously sublime event occurred to Jacob on that intervening night?
69.
Where was the river Jabbok in relation to the Jordan?
70.
What probably was Jacobs purpose in remaining on the north side of the Jabbok?
71.
What are some of the views of his motives in so doing? With whom do you agree?
72.
What are some of the fantastic theories of this event? What are our reasons for rejecting them?
73.
Why do we reject the folklorish interpretation of Old Testament events generally?
74.
Whom does the Bible itself claim to be the Source of its content? Can we, therefore, treat the Bible like any other book?
75.
How long did Jacobs wrestling with the mysterious Visitant continue?
76.
How does the text itself describe (identify) this Visitant? How does the prophet Hosea speak of Him?
77.
What are some of the anthropological explanations of this incident? How does Sir James Frazer explain it? What are the objections to these views?
78.
What is the anthropological theory of the evolution of religious belief and practice?
79.
What significance is in the fact that this is not said to be the story of Jacob wrestling with the Other but that of the Visitant wrestling with Jacob?
80.
What is the traditional Christian interpretation of the identity of this Visitant? Show how this interpretation is in harmony with Biblical teaching as a whole.
81.
Does this story have any relation to the idea of importunity in prayer?
82.
What was the Visitants purpose in asking Jacob what his name was?
83.
What new name did the Visitant confer on Jacob and what did it mean?
84.
Do you consider that this incident, and especially this new name, changed Jacobs life in any way? Explain.
85.
What significance is in the fact that this new name became the historical name of the people who sprang from the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
86.
Explain: In spiritual experience there is and must be the challenge of the mysterious. Distinguish between the mysterious and the mystical.
87.
What name did Jacob give to the place of this Visitation, and why?
88.
What physical defect did the Celestial Visitant impose on Jacob and what spiritual significance did it have?
89.
What profound spiritual truths did this experience impress upon Jacob? Did it produce any change in his outlook and his life, and if so, to what extent?
90.
In what order did Jacob organize his retinue for the meeting with Esau, and for what purposes?
91.
Why did Jacob do obeisance to Esau seven times on approaching him? How was this done?
92.
Was this a form of flattery or was it simply the prevailing custom or convention? Explain your answer.
93.
How would you describe the emotions of each of the two brothers when they faced each other at this meeting?
94.
After reading the views of the various commentators on this subject, with whom do you agree, and why?
95.
How did the brothers openly greet each other when they met?
96.
Do you believe that Jacob was still distrustful of Esau? If so, on what do you base your opinion?
97.
Why did Jacob reject Esaus offer to accompany him on his way? What reason did Jacob give for rejecting also the offer of an escort? Do you think he was sincere? Explain your answer.
98.
Where did Jacob first stop on his journey to Canaan? What reasons have we for thinking that he stayed there for several years?
99.
What did the word Succoth mean? How did it get this name?
100.
What are the various meanings of the word cattle in the Old Testament?
101.
Where did Jacob first settle after crossing the Jordan?
102.
Show how all that Jacob asked for in his vow at Bethel was now fulfilled.
103.
What was the probable location of Shechem? From whom did it get its name? What was the name of the king of Shechem at the time Jacob settled there? What was his sons name?
104.
Why did Jacob purchase a parcel of ground near Shechem? What did he pay for it?
105.
Explain the correspondence between Gen. 23:17-20; Gen. 33:18-20.
106.
What preparation for worship did Jacob make on settling on this piece of ground?
107.
To whom did he dedicate this place of worship? What is the meaning of the name of deity whom he invoked at this time?
108.
What do these acts indicate regarding Jacobs spiritual life and growth?
109.
What was the relation between Shechem and the later history of the Samaritans and Mount Gerizim?
110.
Explain the relation between the story of Jacobs well, as found in the fourth chapter of John, and the Old Testament story of Jacobs sojourn at Shechem. How does Shechem figure throughout Old Testament history?
For further research:
111.
What significance is there in the fact that Israel and Israeli are the names adopted in our day for the new nation of the Jews and its citizens?
112.
What is, to this writer, perhaps the most intriguing phase of the incident of Jacobs wrestling with the Mysterious Visitant is the fact that the latter, on being asked what His name was, ignored the question (Gen. 32:29). What reasons are we justified in assigning to this silence? Instead the Heavenly Visitant blessed Jacob then and there (Gen. 32:29). What may we rightly assume to have been indicated by, or included in, this divine blessing?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
THE TLDTH ISAAC (Gen. 25:19 to Gen. 35:29).
THE BIRTH OF ISAACS SONS.
Abraham begat IsaacThe Tldth in its original form gave probably a complete genealogy of Isaac, tracing up his descent to Shem, and showing thereby that the right of primogeniture belonged to him; but the inspired historian uses only so much of this as is necessary for tracing the development of the Divine plan of human redemption.
The Syrian.Really, the Aramean, or descendant of Aram. (See Gen. 10:22-23.) The name of the district also correctly is Paddan-Ararn, and so far from being identical with Aram-Naharaim, in Gen. 24:10, it is strictly the designation of the region immediately in the neighbourhood of Charran. The assertion of Gesenius that it meant Mesopotamia, with the desert to the west of the Euphrates, in opposition to the mountainous district towards the Mediterranean, is devoid of proof. (See Chwolsohn, Die Ssabier, 1, p. 304.) In Syriac, the language of Charran, padana means a plough (1Sa. 13:20), or a yoke of oxen ( 1Sa. 11:7); and this also suggests that it was the cultivated district close to the town. In Hos. 12:12 it is said that Jacob fled to the field of Aram; but this is a very general description of the country in which he found refuge, and affords no basis for the assertion that Padan-aram was the level region. Finally, the assertion that it is an ancient name used by the Jehovist is an assertion only. It is the name of a special district, and the knowledge of it was the result of Jacobs long-continued stay there. Chwolsohn says that traces of the name still remain in Faddn and Tel Faddn, two places close to Charran, mentioned by Yacut, the Arabian geographer, who flourished in the thirteenth century.
Isaac intreated the Lord.This barrenness lasted twenty years (Gen. 25:26), and must have greatly troubled Isaac; but it would also compel him to dwell much in thought upon the purpose for which he had been given to Abraham, and afterwards rescued from death upon the mount Jehovah-Jireh. And when offspring came, in answer to his earnest pleading of the promise, the delay would serve to impress upon both parents the religious significance of their existence as a separate race and family, and the necessity of training their children worthily. The derivation of the verb to intreat, from a noun signifying incense, is uncertain, but rendered probable by the natural connection of the idea of the ascending fragrance, and that of the prayer mounting heavenward (Rev. 5:8; Rev. 8:4).
The children struggled together.Two dissimilar nations sprang from Abraham, but from mothers totally unlike; so, too, from the peaceful Isaac two distinct races of men were to take their origin, but from the same mother, and the contest began while they were yet unborn. And Rebekah, apparently unaware that she was pregnant with twins, but harassed with the pain of strange jostlings and thrusts, grew despondent, and exclaimed
If it be so, why am I thus?Literally, If so, why am I this? Some explain this as meaning Why do I still live? but more probably she meant, If I have thus conceived, in answer to my husbands prayers, why do I suffer in this strange manner? It thus prepares for what follows, namely, that Rebekah wished to have her condition explained to her, and therefore went to inquire of Jehovah.
She went to enquire of the Lord.Not to Shem, nor Melchizedek, as many think, nor even to Abraham, who was still alive, but, as Theodoret suggests, to the family altar. Isaac had several homes, but probably the altar at Bethel, erected when Abraham first took possession of the Promised Land (Gen. 12:7), and therefore especially holy, was the place signified; and if Abraham were there, he would doubtless join his prayers to those of Rebekah.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Ten Genealogies (Calling) – The Genealogies of Righteous Men and their Divine Callings (To Be Fruitful and Multiply) – The ten genealogies found within the book of Genesis are structured in a way that traces the seed of righteousness from Adam to Noah to Shem to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob and the seventy souls that followed him down into Egypt. The book of Genesis closes with the story of the preservation of these seventy souls, leading us into the book of Exodus where we see the creation of the nation of Israel while in Egyptian bondage, which nation of righteousness God will use to be a witness to all nations on earth in His plan of redemption. Thus, we see how the book of Genesis concludes with the origin of the nation of Israel while its first eleven chapters reveal that the God of Israel is in fact that God of all nations and all creation.
The genealogies of the six righteous men in Genesis (Adam, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) are the emphasis in this first book of the Old Testament, with each of their narrative stories opening with a divine commission from God to these men, and closing with the fulfillment of prophetic words concerning the divine commissions. This structure suggests that the author of the book of Genesis wrote under the office of the prophet in that a prophecy is given and fulfilled within each of the genealogies of these six primary patriarchs. Furthermore, all the books of the Old Testament were written by men of God who moved in the office of the prophet, which includes the book of Genesis. We find a reference to the fulfillment of these divine commissions by the patriarchs in Heb 11:1-40. The underlying theme of the Holy Scriptures is God’s plan of redemption for mankind. Thus, the book of Genesis places emphasis upon these men of righteousness because of the role that they play in this divine plan as they fulfilled their divine commissions. This explains why the genealogies of Ishmael (Gen 25:12-18) and of Esau (Gen 36:1-43) are relatively brief, because God does not discuss the destinies of these two men in the book of Genesis. These two men were not men of righteousness, for they missed their destinies because of sin. Ishmael persecuted Isaac and Esau sold his birthright. However, it helps us to understand that God has blessed Ishmael and Esau because of Abraham although the seed of the Messiah and our redemption does not pass through their lineage. Prophecies were given to Ishmael and Esau by their fathers, and their genealogies testify to the fulfillment of these prophecies. There were six righteous men did fulfill their destinies in order to preserve a righteous seed so that God could create a righteous nation from the fruit of their loins. Illustration As a young schoolchild learning to read, I would check out biographies of famous men from the library, take them home and read them as a part of class assignments. The lives of these men stirred me up and placed a desire within me to accomplish something great for mankind as did these men. In like manner, the patriarchs of the genealogies in Genesis are designed to stir up our faith in God and encourage us to walk in their footsteps in obedience to God.
The first five genealogies in the book of Genesis bring redemptive history to the place of identifying seventy nations listed in the Table of Nations. The next five genealogies focus upon the origin of the nation of Israel and its patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
There is much more history and events that took place surrounding these individuals emphasized in the book of Genesis, which can be found in other ancient Jewish writings, such as The Book of Jubilees. However, the Holy Scriptures and the book of Genesis focus upon the particular events that shaped God’s plan of redemption through the procreation of men of righteousness. Thus, it was unnecessary to include many of these historical events that were irrelevant to God’s plan of redemption.
In addition, if we see that the ten genealogies contained within the book of Genesis show to us the seed of righteousness that God has preserved in order to fulfill His promise that the “seed of woman” would bruise the serpent’s head in Gen 3:15, then we must understand that each of these men of righteousness had a particular calling, destiny, and purpose for their lives. We can find within each of these genealogies the destiny of each of these men of God, for each one of them fulfilled their destiny. These individual destinies are mentioned at the beginning of each of their genealogies.
It is important for us to search these passages of Scripture and learn how each of these men fulfilled their destiny in order that we can better understand that God has a destiny and a purpose for each of His children as He continues to work out His divine plan of redemption among the children of men. This means that He has a destiny for you and me. Thus, these stories will show us how other men fulfilled their destinies and help us learn how to fulfill our destiny. The fact that there are ten callings in the book of Genesis, and since the number “10” represents the concept of countless, many, or numerous, we should understand that God calls out men in each subsequent generation until God’s plan of redemption is complete.
We can even examine the meanings of each of their names in order to determine their destiny, which was determined for them from a child. Adam’s name means “ruddy, i.e. a human being” ( Strong), for it was his destiny to begin the human race. Noah’s name means, “rest” ( Strong). His destiny was to build the ark and save a remnant of mankind so that God could restore peace and rest to the fallen human race. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning, “father of a multitude” ( Strong), because his destiny was to live in the land of Canaan and believe God for a son of promise so that his seed would become fruitful and multiply and take dominion over the earth. Isaac’s name means, “laughter” ( Strong) because he was the child of promise. His destiny was to father two nations, believing that the elder would serve the younger. Isaac overcame the obstacles that hindered the possession of the land, such as barrenness and the threat of his enemies in order to father two nations, Israel and Esau. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, which means “he will rule as God” ( Strong), because of his ability to prevail over his brother Esau and receive his father’s blessings, and because he prevailed over the angel in order to preserve his posterity, which was the procreation of twelve sons who later multiplied into the twelve tribes of Israel. Thus, his ability to prevail against all odds and father twelve righteous seeds earned him his name as one who prevailed with God’s plan of being fruitful and multiplying seeds of righteousness.
In order for God’s plan to be fulfilled in each of the lives of these patriarchs, they were commanded to be fruitful and multiply. It was God’s plan that the fruit of each man was to be a godly seed, a seed of righteousness. It was because of the Fall that unrighteous seed was produced. This ungodly offspring was not then nor is it today God’s plan for mankind.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. The Generation of the Heavens and the Earth Gen 2:4 to Gen 4:26
a) The Creation of Man Gen 2:4-25
b) The Fall Gen 3:1-24
c) Cain and Abel Gen 4:1-26
2. The Generation of Adam Gen 5:1 to Gen 6:8
3. The Generation of Noah Gen 6:9 to Gen 9:29
4. The Generation of the Sons of Noah Gen 10:1 to Gen 11:9
5. The Generation of Shem Gen 11:10-26
6. The Generation of Terah (& Abraham) Gen 11:27 to Gen 25:11
7. The Generation Ishmael Gen 25:12-18
8. The Generation of Isaac Gen 25:19 to Gen 35:29
9. The Generation of Esau Gen 36:1-43
10. The Generation of Jacob Gen 37:1 to Gen 50:26
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Calling of the Patriarchs of Israel We can find two major divisions within the book of Genesis that reveal God’s foreknowledge in designing a plan of redemption to establish a righteous people upon earth. Paul reveals this four-fold plan in Rom 8:29-30: predestination, calling, justification, and glorification.
Rom 8:29-30, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”
The book of Genesis will reflect the first two phase of redemption, which are predestination and calling. We find in the first division in Gen 1:1 to Gen 2:3 emphasizing predestination. The Creation Story gives us God’s predestined plan for mankind, which is to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth with righteous offspring. The second major division is found in Gen 2:4 to Gen 50:25, which gives us ten genealogies, in which God calls men of righteousness to play a role in His divine plan of redemption.
The foundational theme of Gen 2:4 to Gen 11:26 is the divine calling for mankind to be fruitful and multiply, which commission was given to Adam prior to the Flood (Gen 1:28-29), and to Noah after the Flood (Gen 9:1). The establishment of the seventy nations prepares us for the calling out of Abraham and his sons, which story fills the rest of the book of Genesis. Thus, God’s calling through His divine foreknowledge (Gen 11:27 to Gen 50:26) will focus the calling of Abraham and his descendants to establish the nation of Israel. God will call the patriarchs to fulfill the original purpose and intent of creation, which is to multiply into a righteous nation, for which mankind was originally predestined to fulfill.
The generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob take up a large portion of the book of Genesis. These genealogies have a common structure in that they all begin with God revealing Himself to a patriarch and giving him a divine commission, and they close with God fulfilling His promise to each of them because of their faith in His promise. God promised Abraham a son through Sarah his wife that would multiply into a nation, and Abraham demonstrated his faith in this promise on Mount Moriah. God promised Isaac two sons, with the younger receiving the first-born blessing, and this was fulfilled when Jacob deceived his father and received the blessing above his brother Esau. Jacob’s son Joseph received two dreams of ruling over his brothers, and Jacob testified to his faith in this promise by following Joseph into the land of Egypt. Thus, these three genealogies emphasize God’s call and commission to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their response of faith in seeing God fulfill His word to each of them.
1. The Generations of Terah (& Abraham) Gen 11:27 to Gen 25:11
2. The Generations Ishmael Gen 25:12-18
3. The Generations of Isaac Gen 25:19 to Gen 35:29
4. The Generations of Esau Gen 36:1-43
5. The Generations of Jacob Gen 37:1 to Gen 50:26
The Origin of the Nation of Israel After Gen 1:1 to Gen 9:29 takes us through the origin of the heavens and the earth as we know them today, and Gen 10:1 to Gen 11:26 explains the origin of the seventy nations (Gen 10:1 to Gen 11:26), we see that the rest of the book of Genesis focuses upon the origin of the nation of Israel (Gen 11:27 to Gen 50:26). Thus, each of these major divisions serves as a foundation upon which the next division is built.
Paul the apostle reveals the four phases of God the Father’s plan of redemption for mankind through His divine foreknowledge of all things in Rom 8:29-30, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Predestination – Gen 1:1 to Gen 11:26 emphasizes the theme of God the Father’s predestined purpose of the earth, which was to serve mankind, and of mankind, which was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with righteousness. Calling – Gen 11:27 to Gen 50:26 will place emphasis upon the second phase of God’s plan of redemption for mankind, which is His divine calling to fulfill His purpose of multiplying and filling the earth with righteousness. (The additional two phases of Justification and Glorification will unfold within the rest of the books of the Pentateuch.) This second section of Genesis can be divided into five genealogies. The three genealogies of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob begin with a divine calling to a patriarch. The two shorter genealogies of Ishmael and Esau are given simply because they inherit a measure of divine blessings as descendants of Abraham, but they will not play a central role in God’s redemptive plan for mankind. God will implement phase two of His divine plan of redemption by calling one man named Abraham to depart unto the Promised Land (Gen 12:1-3), and this calling was fulfilled by the patriarch. Isaac’s calling can also be found at the beginning of his genealogy, where God commands him to dwell in the Promised Land (Gen 26:1-6), and this calling was fulfilled by the patriarch Isaac. Jacob’s calling was fulfilled as he bore twelve sons and took them into Egypt where they multiplied into a nation. The opening passage of Jacob’s genealogy reveals that his destiny would be fulfilled through the dream of his son Joseph (Gen 37:1-11), which took place in the land of Egypt. Perhaps Jacob did not receive such a clear calling as Abraham and Isaac because his early life was one of deceit, rather than of righteousness obedience to God; so the Lord had to reveal His plan for Jacob through his righteous son Joseph. In a similar way, God spoke to righteous kings of Israel, and was silent to those who did not serve Him. Thus, the three patriarchs of Israel received a divine calling, which they fulfilled in order for the nation of Israel to become established in the land of Egypt. Perhaps the reason the Lord sent the Jacob and the seventy souls into Egypt to multiply rather than leaving them in the Promised Land is that the Israelites would have intermarried the cultic nations around them and failed to produce a nation of righteousness. God’s ways are always perfect.
1. The Generations of Terah (& Abraham) Gen 11:27 to Gen 25:11
2. The Generations Ishmael Gen 25:12-18
3. The Generations of Isaac Gen 25:19 to Gen 35:29
4. The Generations of Esau Gen 36:1-43
5. The Generations of Jacob Gen 37:1 to Gen 50:26
Divine Miracles It is important to note that up until now the Scriptures record no miracles in the lives of men. Thus, we will observe that divine miracles begin with Abraham and the children of Israel. Testimonies reveal today that the Jews are still recipients of God’s miracles as He divinely intervenes in this nation to fulfill His purpose and plan for His people. Yes, God is working miracles through His New Testament Church, but miracles had their beginning with the nation of Israel.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Genealogy of Isaac The genealogies of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have a common structure in that they open with God speaking to a patriarch and giving him a commission and a promise in which to believe. In each of these genealogies, the patriarch’s calling is to believe God’s promise, while this passage of Scripture serves as a witness to God’s faithfulness in fulfilling each promise. Only then does the genealogy come to a close.
We find in Gen 25:19 to Gen 35:29 the genealogy of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Heb 11:20 reveals the central message in this genealogy that stirs our faith in God when Isaac gave his sons redemptive prophecies, saying, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.” As Abraham’s genealogy begins with a divine commission when God told him to leave Ur and to go Canaan (Gen 12:1), so does Isaac’s genealogy begin with a divine commission predicting him as the father of two nations, with the elder serving the younger (Gen 25:23), with both nations playing roles in redemptive history, Jacob playing the major role. The first event in Isaac’s genealogy has to do with a God speaking to his wife regarding the two sons in her womb, saying that these two sons would multiply into two nations. Since his wife Rebekah was barren, Isaac interceded to God and the Lord granted his request. The Lord then told Rebekah that two nations were in her womb, and the younger would prevail over the elder (Gen 25:21-23). Isaac, whose name means laughter (Gen 21:6), was called to establish himself in the land of Canaan after his father Abraham, and to believe in God’s promise regarding his son Jacob. During the course of his life, Isaac’s genealogy testifies of how he overcame obstacles and the enemy that resisted God’s plan for him. Thus, we see Isaac’s destiny was to be faithful and dwell in the land and father two nations. God’s promise to Isaac, that the elder will serve the younger, is fulfilled when Jacob deceives his father and receives the blessings of the first-born. The fact that Isaac died in a ripe old age testifies that he fulfilled his destiny as did Abraham his father. Rom 9:10-13 reflects the theme of Isaac’s genealogy in that it discusses the election of Jacob over Isaac. We read in Heb 11:20 how Isaac expressed his faith in God’s promise of two nations being born through Rebekah because he blessed his sons regarding these future promises.
Gen 12:1, “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:”
Gen 21:6, “And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.”
Gen 25:23, “And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”
Gen 25:19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac:
Gen 25:20 Gen 25:20
Gen 25:21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
Gen 25:22 Gen 25:22
Hos 12:3, “He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:”
1. At his natural birth in the womb with his brother:
Gen 25:26, “And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.”
2. At his “spiritual” birth with an angel:
Gen 32:24, “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.”
Gen 25:22 Comments – Any mother who has given birth to children understands the importance of the child’s continual kicks within her womb. Although painful at times, these kicks serve to assure the mother that the baby is alive and healthy. When these kicks cease for a few days a mother naturally becomes worried, but in the case of Rebekah the very opposite was true. There was too much kicking to the point that she besought the Lord in prayer. It was her beseeching God rather than her husband because a pregnant mother is much more focused upon these issues.
Gen 25:22 Comments – Why did Jacob and Esau struggle within their mother’s womb? One pastor suggests that they were struggling for the birthright by becoming the firstborn, which struggle was played out during the course of their lives.
Gen 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
Gen 25:23
In the same sense, the prophecy in Mal 1:2-3 is not so much about the two individual sons of Jacob as it is a prophecy of two nations. In other words, God loved the nation of Israel and hated the nation of Edom.
Mal 1:2-3, “I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.”
Bruce goes on to explain that the Hebrew thought and speech is making an extreme contrast of love and hate in these passages for the sake of emphasis. He uses Luk 14:26 to illustrate this Hebrew way of saying that someone must love God far more than his earthly family. [227]
[227] F. F. Bruce, The Books and the Parchments (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1963), 46-47.
Luk 14:26, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”
This is exactly what the parallel passage in Mat 10:37 says when Jesus tells us that we must love Him more than our parents or children.
Mat 10:37, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
Thus, God was saying that He loved Jacob far more than He loved Jacob’s closest blood kin. This statement is meant to place emphasis upon the immeasurable love that God has for His people.
Gen 25:23 Comments The genealogy of Isaac begins with a divine commission promising Isaac that he would father two nations, one mightier than the other, and both playing important roles in redemptive history. Gen 25:23 records this divine commission to Isaac and Rebecca, which is the first recorded event of the Lord speaking to Isaac or his wife.
Gen 25:23 Old Testament Quotes in the New Testament – Note that the phrase “and the elder shall serve the younger” is quoted in the New Testament.
Rom 9:11-13, “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger . As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”
Gen 25:23 Scripture References – Note a reference to Jacob’s favour over Esau in Mal 1:1-3.
Mal 1:1-3, “The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.”
Gen 25:24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
Gen 25:25 Gen 25:25
1Sa 16:17, “And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.”
1Sa 17:42, “And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.”
Gen 25:25 Word Study on “Esau” Strong says the Hebrew name “Esau” (H6215) means “hairy.”
Gen 25:25 Comments – Esau was a hairy man, while Jacob was not (Gen 27:11).
Gen 27:11, “And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:”
Gen 25:26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
Gen 25:26
One pastor suggests that Jacob’s name means “hand upon the heel” because this is what his parents saw when he was born. He uses the Hebrew word “yod” ( ) as a symbol of a hand, with the root word ( ) meaning “heel.”
Gen 25:26 Comments – We know that Jacob and Esau struggled together in the womb. Why did Jacob grab his brother’s heel? One pastor suggests that he was trying to stop Esau from crushing his head. He refers to Gen 3:15 as the prophecy to explain this suggestion. The seed of woman was going to crush the head of Satan. We know that according to Jewish tradition Cain, who was of the evil one, struck Abel on the head and killed him. So it appears that Satan was trying to reverse this prophecy by crushing the head of the woman’s seed. Perhaps Esau was trying to crush the head of Jacob while in the womb.
Gen 25:27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
Gen 25:27
Gen 25:27 Comments – There will eventually arise between Esau and Jacob a similar competition that took place between Cain and Abel. Esau did eventually attempt to kill Jacob, but was protected by divine providence.
Gen 25:28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Jacob’s meeting with Esau
v. 1. And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. v. 2. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. v. 3. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, v. 4. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept. v. 5. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children, and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. v. 6. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
v. 7. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves; and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. EXPOSITION
Gen 33:1, Gen 33:2
And Jacob, having the day before dispatched his conciliatory gift to Esau, turned his back upon the Jabbok, having crossed to the south bank, if the previous night had been spent upon its north side, passed over the rising ground of Peniel, and advanced to meet his brother, richly laden with the heavenly blessing he had won in his mysterious conflict with Elohim, and to all appearance free from those paralyzing fears which, previous to the midnight struggle, the prospect of meeting Esau had inspired. Having already prevailed with God, he had an inward assurance, begotten by the words of his celestial antagonist, that he would likewise prevail with man, and so he lifted up his eyes (vide on Gen 13:10), and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men (vide Gen 32:6). And he (i.e. Jacob) divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids, Bilhah and Zilpah, thus omitting no wise precaution to insure safety for at least a portion of his household, in case Esau should be still incensed and resolved on a hostile attack. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost, as being most beloved (Kalisch, Murphy, Lange, and others) or most beautiful (Bush).
Gen 33:3, Gen 33:4
And he (the introduction of the pronoun giving emphasis to the statement) passed over before them (i.e. passed on in front of them, thus chivalrously putting himself in the place of danger), and bowed himself to the groundnot completely prostrating the body, as Abraham did in Gen 19:1, but bending forward till the upper part of it became parallel with the ground, a mode of expressing deep reverence and respect, which may be seen to life in Oriental countries at the p, resent dayseven times (not in immediate succession, but bowing and advancing), until he came near to his brother. The conduct of Jacob was dictated neither by artful hypocrisy nor by unmanly timidity; but by true politeness and a sincere desire to conciliate. And as such it was accepted by Esau, who ran to meet him, and, his better feelings kindling at the sight of his long-absent brother, embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed himas Joseph afterwards did to Benjamin (Gen 45:14, Gen 45:15), though the puncta extraordinaria of the Masorites over the word “kissed” seem to indicate either that in their judgment Esau was incapable of such fraternal affection (Delitzsch, Kalisch), or that the word was suspicious, Origen appearing not to have found it in his codices (Rosenmller, Keil), unless indeed the conjecture be correct that the word was marked to draw attention to the power of God’s grace in changing Esau’s heart (Ainsworth). And they weptthe LXX. adding both. “All this is beautiful, natural, Oriental”.
Gen 33:5
And he (i.e. Esau) lifted up his eyes,corresponding to the act of Jacob (Gen 33:1), and expressive of surpriseand saw the women and the children; and said, Who art those with thee? (literally, to thee, i.e. whom thou hast). And he (Jacob) said, The children which God (Elohim; vide infra on Gen 33:10) hath graciously giventhe verb being construed with a double accusative, as in Jdg 21:22; Psa 19:1-14 :29thy servant.
Gen 33:6, Gen 33:7
Then (literally, and) the handmaidens came near, they and their children (since they occupied the front rank in the procession which followed Jacob), and they bowed themselves (after his example). And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. The remark of Lange, that the six-year old lad who comes before his mother seems to break through all the cumbrous ceremonial, and to rush confidently into the arms of his uncle, is as fanciful and far-fetched as that of Jarchi, that Joseph took precedence of his mother because he feared lest Esau, who was a homo profanus, should be fascinated by his mother’s beauty, and seek to do her wrong; in which case he would try to hinder him.
Gen 33:8
And he said, What meanest thou by all this droveliterally, What to thee all this camp (Mahaneh)which I met?i.e. yesterday, referring to the droves which had been sent on by Jacob as a present to my lord Esau (Gen 32:16). And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord (vide Gen 32:5).
Gen 33:9
And Esau said, I have enough (literally, Here is to me abundance), my brother (it is impossible not to admire the generous and affectionate disposition of Esau); keep that thou hast unto thyself (literally, let be to thee what is to thee, i.e. what belongs to thee).
Gen 33:10, Gen 33:11
And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore, because (Gesenius, Rosenmller, Quarry), or, for this purpose (Keil, Kalisch, Hengetenberg, Lange, Ewald. Vide Gen 18:5; Gen 19:8; Gen 38:26)I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God,literally, as a vision of the face of Elohim, in which language Jacob neither uses adulation towards his brother (Tostatius), nor calls him a god in the sense in which heathen potentates are styled deities (Vatablus, Arabic, Chaldee), nor simply uses a superlative expression to indicate the majesty (Menochius) or benevolence (Ainsworth) of Esau’s countenance, contended with him at the Jabbok (Bush); but either that he had received from Esau the same friendly welcome that one coming into God’s presence would receive from him (Rosenmller, Keil, Murphy, ‘Speaker’s Commentary’), or that he had come into Esau’s presence with the same feelings of penitence as if he had been coming before God (Kalisch), or that, as he had already seen the face of God and his life was preserved, so now he had seen the face of Esau, and the anticipated destruction had not been inflicted on him (Quarry), either of which accords with the words that followand thou wast pleased with meliterally, thou hast graciously received me, the unexpressed thought being, as already I have been favorably accepted by Elohim. Hence Jacob with greater urgency renews his entreaty that Esau would not decline his proffered gift, saying, Take, I pray thee, my blessing (i.e. my present, the word signifying, as in 1Sa 25:27; 1Sa 30:26; 2Ki 5:15, a gift by which one seeks to express good will) that is brought to thee;or, which has been caused to come to thee, adding, as a special reason to induce him to acceptbecause God hath dealt graciously with me,Elohim, it has been thought, is used here and in Gen 33:5 by Jacob instead of Jehovah, either “to avoid reminding Esau of the blessing of Jehovah which had occasioned his absence” (Delitzsch, Keil), or, ” because Jehovah was exalted far above the level of Esau’s superficial religion” Hengstenberg); but it is just possible that by its employment Jacob only wished to acknowledge the Divine hand in the remarkable prosperity which had attended him in Haranand because I have enoughliterally, there is to me all, i.e. everything I can wish (Murphy), all things as the heir of the promise (Keil). The expression is stronger than that used by Esau (Gen 33:9), and is regarded by some (Ainsworth) as indicating a more contented spirit than that evinced by Esau. And he urged him. In Eastern countries the acceptance of a gift is equivalent to the striking of a covenant of friendship. If your present be received by your superior yon may rely on his friendship; if it be declined you have everything to fear. It was on this ground that Jacob was so urgent in pressing Esau to accept his present (cf. A. Clarke in loco). And he took it, and so gave Jacob an assurance of his complete reconciliation.
Gen 33:12
And he (i.e. Esau) said (in further token of his amity), Let us take our journey, and let us go,but whether he intended to accompany Jacob on his way (Keil, Kalisch, et alii) or invited Jacob to go with him to Mount Seir (Ainsworth, Clericus) is uncertain. On the first hypothesis it is difficult to explain how Esau came to be traveling in the same direction as his brother, while the adoption of the second will serve in some measure to elucidate Jacob’s language in Gen 33:2. But whichever way the words of Esau are understood, they amounted to an offer to be an escort to Jacob through the desert regions with which his excursions had made him familiar, since he added, and I will go before theei.e. to lead the way.
Gen 33:13
And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender (Joseph at this time being little over six years of age), and the flocks and herds with young (literally, giving milk; , from , to give suck) are with me,literally, upon me, i.e. are an object of my special care, because of their condition (Rosenmller, Keil)and if men should over-drive them literally, and they (sc. the shepherds) will over-drive them, i.e. in order to keep pace with Esau’s armed followers they must do so, and in that case, if they were to do so for onlyone day, all the flock (literally, and all the flock) will die. Thomson says that Oriental shepherds gently lead along the mothers when in the condition spoken of by Jacob, knowing well that even one day’s over-driving would be fatal to them, and, from the fact that Jacob’s ewes were giving milk, infers that it was winter time, since then alone the flocks are in that conditionan inference which he further confirms by observing that at Succoth Jacob constructed booths for their protection.
Gen 33:14
Let my lord, I pray thee,it is perhaps too much to explain Jacob’s obsequious and deferential address to his brother (my lord) as the sign of a guilty conscience (Kalisch, Alford), when possibly politeness and humility will sufficepass overnot cross the Jordan (Afford), since Esau was not journeying to Canaan; but simply pass on, as in Gen 33:3before his servant: and I will lead on softly (literally, I will go on at my slow pace), according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure,literally, according to the foot, i.e. the pace, of the property (here, cattle), and according to the foot of the children; i.e. as fast as flocks and children can be made with safety to traveluntil I come unto my lord unto Seir. It is apparent that Jacob at first intended to accept Esau’s invitation to visit him at Seir, either immediately (Clericus, Kalisch), or, as is more probable, afterwards (Keil, Murphy, ‘Speaker’s Commentary’), though, if afterwards, the historian has preserved no record of any such journey, while, if presently such was his intention, he must have been providentially led, from some cause not mentioned, to alter his determination (Bush, Inglis, Clarke), unless we either think that he really went to Seir, though it is not here stated (Patrick), or entertain the, in the circumstances, almost incredible hypothesis that Jacob practiced a deception on his generous brother in order to get rid of him, by promising what he never meant to fulfill, viz; to visit him at Mount Seir (Calvin), or leave it doubtful whether it is the old Jacob or the new Israel who speaks (Lange).
Gen 33:15
And Esau said, Let me now leave (literally, set, or place) with thee (as an escort or guard) some of the folki.e. armed followers (vide Gen 33:1)that are with me. But of even this proposal Jacob appears to have been apprehensive. And he said, What needeth it! (literally, For what, or wherefore, this?) let me find grace in the sight of my lordmeaning either, I am satisfied, since thou art gracious to me (Vatablus), }ron xa&rin e)nanti&on sou ku&rie (LXX.); hoc uno tantum indigeo, ut inveniam gratiam in conspectu tuo (Vulgate),or, be gracious to me in this also, and leave none of thy followers (Ainsworth, Patrick), though the two clauses might perhaps be connected thus: “Wherefore do I thus find grace in the eyes of my lord?” (Kalisch).
Gen 33:16, Gen 33:17
So (literally, and, complying with his brother’s request) Esau returned that day on his way unto Seirfrom which he had come to meet Jacob (vide Gen 32:3). And Jacob journeyed to Succoth. Succoth, so called here by anticipation, and afterwards belonging to the tribe of Gad, was situated in the valley of the Jordan, on the east side of the river, and to the south of the Jabbok (Jos 13:27; Jdg 8:4, Jdg 8:5), and consequently is not to be identified with Sakut, on the western side of the Jordan, ten miles north of the Jabbok, and opposite the Wady Yabis; but is to be sought for at the ford opposite the Wady-el-Fariah, “down which the little stream from Shechem drains into the Jordan”. And built him an house. This was an indication that Jacob purposed some considerable stay at Succoth; and, indeed, if a period of repose was not now demanded by the state of Jacob’s health after his long servitude with Laban, his exhausting conflict with the angel, and his exciting interview with Esau (Lange), an interval of some years appears to be imperatively required by the exigencies of the ensuing narrative concerning Dinah, who could not at this time have been much over six years of age (Murphy, Afford, Gosman, et alii). And made booths for his cattle. Porter states that he has frequently men such booths (Succoth, from saccac, to entwine) occupied by the Bedawin of the Jordan valley, and describes them as rude huts of reeds, sometimes covered with long grass, and sometimes with a piece of tent (vide Kitto’s ‘Cyclop.,’ ut supra). Therefore the name of the place is called (literally, he called the name of the place) Succothi.e. booths.
Gen 33:18
And Jacob (leaving Succoth) came to Shalemthe word , rendered by some expositors as here (LXX; Vulgate, Syriac, Luther, Calvin, Poole, Wordsworth), is better taken as an adverb signifying in peace or in safety (Onkelos, Saadias, Rashi, Dathius, Rosenmller, Gesenius, Keil, Kalisch, et alii), meaning that Jacob Was now sound in his limb (Jarehi) and safe in his person, being no more endangered by Esau (Gerundensis in Drusius), or that he had hitherto met with no misfortune, though soon to encounter one in the instance of Dinah (Patrick), or that the expectations of Jacob expressed in Gen 28:21 (to which there is an obvious allusion) were now fulfilled (Keil)a city of Shechem,if Shalem be the name of the town, then probably Shechem is the name of the person referred to in Gen 34:2, viz; the son of Hamor the Hivite (Drusius, Poole); but if Shalem mean incolumis, then the present clause must be rendered “to the city of Shechem,” the city being already built and namedwhich is in the land of Canaan,Bush thinks that Jacob had originally contemplated entering Canaan from the south after rounding the Dead Sea, probably with a view to reach Beersheba, but that, after his interview with Esau, he suddenly altered his route, and entered Canaan directly by crossing the Jordan and driving up his flocks and herds to Shechem, the first halting-place of Abraham (vide Gen 12:6), which may perhaps lend additional interest to, if they do not explain, the words that followwhen he came from Padan-aram (as Abraham previously had done); and (he) pitched his tent before the citybecause he did not wish to come in contact with the inhabitants (Lyre), or because his flocks and herds could not find accommodation within the city walls (Murphy), or perhaps simply for convenience of pasturage (Patrick).
Gen 33:19
And he bought a parcel of a field,literally, the portion (from a root signifying to divide) of the fieldwhere he had spread his tent,and in which he afterwards sank a well (cf. Joh 4:6)at the hand of the children of Homer, Shechem’s father (after whom the town was named, ut supra), for an hundred pieces of moneyor kesitahs, the etymology of which is uncertain (Kalisch), though connected by some philologists (Gesenius, Furst) with kasat, to weigh; translated lambs (Onkelos, LXX; Vulgate), but believed to have been a certain weight now unknown, or a piece of money of a definite value, perhaps the price of a lamb (Murphy), which, like the shekel, was used for purposes of commercial exchange by the patriarchs (Gesenius)probably a coin stamped with the figure of a lamb (Bochart, Munter); but coined money does not appear to have been of so great antiquity (Rosenmller, Wordsworth, Alford).
Gen 33:20
And he erected there an altar,as Abram his ancestor had done (Gen 12:7)and called itnot invoked upon it, invocavit super illud (Vulgate), (LXX.), but named it (Dathe, Rosenmller, Keil, &c.)El-elohe-Israeli.e. God, the God of Israel; meaning, he called it the altar of God, the God of Israel (Rosenmller), or, reading el as a preposition, “To the God of Israel”.
HOMILETICS
Gen 33:1-20
Jacob and Esau, or the brothers reconciled.
I. THE MEETING OF THE BROTHERS.
1. The approach of Esau.
(1) Conscious of his greatness, being attended by 400 armed followers;
(2) thirsting for revenge, remembering the wrongs he had endured at Jacob’s hands;
(3) longing to see his brother, from whom he had been parted now for upwards of twenty years. It is probable that all three emotionspride, anger, affectionswelled within the breast of my lord Esau, struggling to obtain the mastery. Which of them should conquer another moment would decide.
2. The advance of Jacob.
(1) With commendable caution, dividing his company into three several groupsfirst the handmaids and their boys, next Leah and her children, and last Rachel and Joseph;
(2) with rare chivalry, placing himself in front of the foremost, which may be placed to his account as a set-off against his supposed partiality to Rachel and Joseph;
(3) with profound respect, bowing and advancing seven times, with true Oriental politeness, until he came to Esau.
3. The reconciliation of both. The conflict of emotions in the breast of Esau was brought to a decision by the sight of Jacob, which at once cast the balance on the side of fraternal affection. Old memories of boyhood and home revived in the bosom of the stalwart hunter as he looked on his twin-brother, and, under the impulse of generous and noble feeling, he ran and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him. Nor was the heart of Jacob less susceptible of such tender emotion. Reciprocating his manly brother’s embrace, he too yielded to a rush of kindly sentiment, and they both wept. What a study for a painter! Cf. Jonathan and David (1Sa 20:41), and the prodigal and his father (Luk 15:20).
II. THE CONVERSE OF THE BROTHERS.
1. Esau’s inquiries and Jacob’s answers.
(1) Esau asks about the women and the children in Jacob’s train; and Jacob, piously acknowledging the Divine hand that had surrounded him with so many precious objects of affection, instructs them to do obeisance to their kinsman, which with beautiful politeness, following his own courteous example, they do. It bespeaks a devout heart when domestic as well as other blessings are traced to the all-bountiful Giver, a well-ordered home when its inmates imitate the good conduct of its head, and a fine sensibility when the claims of relatives to courtesy and kindness are recognized and honored.
(2) Esau requests to be informed about the droves which he had met, and Jacob explains that he had sent them as a present to conciliate his favor. At first declining with a praiseworthy magnanimity to deprive his brother of any of his hard-earned wealth, Esau is afterwards constrained to accept the proffered gift, on learning that Jacob would not otherwise be sure of his forgiveness and friendship. It is beautiful when brothers emulate each other in noble acts.
2. Esau‘s invitations and, Jacob’s promise. It appears most satisfactory to understand Esau as soliciting his brother to accompany him to Seir, where for the time he was residing, and Jacob as engaging to drive on slowly after the roving chieftain, according as the tender age of his children and the condition of his flocks and herds would admit, with the view of ultimately paying him a visit in his mountain home; but whether he fulfilled that promise now or afterwards, or at all, cannot be ascertained. If he did not, we may rest satisfied that he had good reasons for breaking his word, which, alas, promise-breakers seldom have.
3. Esau‘s offer and Jacob‘s declinature. Esau anxiously desires to leave a convoy of his troopers to assist his brother in the further prosecution of his journey; but Jacob with respectful firmness refused to accept of his kindnessperhaps because, being a man of peace, he did not care for the society of soldiers, but chiefly, we apprehend, because, having Jehovah as a guide, he did not need the help of roving buccaneers (cf. Ezr 8:22).
III. THE PARTING OF THE BROTHERS.
1. Esau returned unto Mount Seir.
(1) Immediately, that day; but
(2) not as yet finally, since his ultimate withdrawal from the land of Canaan appears to have taken place at a subsequent period.
2. Jacob journeyed to Succoth, where he built himself a house, constructed booths for his cattle, and remained a considerable time, afterwards moving up to Shechem, where he
(1) pitched his tent outside the city, for convenience or for safety;
(2) purchased a field from the chief man of the place, honestly paying for his purchase, as became a just man; and
(3) erected an altar, which he named El-elohe-Israel.
See here
1. The strength of fraternal affection.
2. The beauty of forgiveness and reconciliation.
3. The possibility of combining politeness and piety.
4. The power of kindness in disarming enmity and opposition.
5. The advantage of conference for promoting good understanding and exciting kindly feeling.
6. The tender care which the strong should exercise towards the weak.
7. The sad partings which Providence effects between friends.
8. The propriety of taking God with us on all our journeys.
9. The duty of affectionately remembering God’s mercies.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
Gen 33:1-20
The fruits of prayer.
The “prince“ who has been lifted by the grace of God out of the humiliation of his fear and shame to the height of his favor at the throne of the Most High now reveals his princely power. He takes captive Esau’s heart; he blesses him in the name of God, he bestows his gifts upon him. Notice the fruits of Divine discipline in the patriarch.
I. THE THEOCRATIC FEELING IS ALIVE IN JACOB‘S HEART. He puts the handmaids first, Leah next, Rachel and Joseph hindermost. He placed them in the order of his own affection; but it represented also the Divine order, for it was in Joseph that the kingdom of God was about to be especially manifested. “I have seen thy face,” he said to Esau, “as though I had seen the face of God.” He saw the favor of God going on before him, and like the sunshine it rested on the face of the enemy, and cast out the darkness and turned it into light.
II. Jacob’s entire STEADFASTNESS AS A SERVANT OF GOD and believer in the covenant. Seen in his refusal to mingle his family and people with those of Esau.
III. SPECIAL GRACE MEETS THE TRUE SERVANT. “ Succoth“ is better than “Seir;” and it is on the way to “Shalom, peace. There it is that the patriarch finds rest, and builds an altar, calling it “ El-elohe-Israel.” Not merely an altar to God, but to him who had revealed himself as the faithful God, the God of Israel, the God of his people.R.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
Gen 33:12
Worldly companionship.
“And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.” The offer probably made with kindly intention. No sign of bitterness in Esau’s feelings; but ignorance of the necessities of Jacob’s march. Jacob knew it was not possible with safety (cf. Psa 137:4; 1Pe 4:4). Reminds us of the attitude of many worldly persons towards Christians. “The carnal mind is enmity against God.” Yet worldly men may have sincere regard for Christian men; bear unconscious testimony to excellence of Christianity. And here a danger to Christians. Let us journey together. I like you; you are unselfish, trustworthy. And why not? Because in journeying with Esau he must be leader, or he would cease to be Esau. The world’s good-will does not mean a changed heart. Without any pronounced dislike to higher aims, it shares them not, and knows not anything more real than earth. There is a journey we all take in company: in the thousand ways in which men are dependent on each other; in the courtesies and good offices of life; in what belongs to our position as citizens or family men. But in what constitutes the road of lifeits stamp and direction, its motives and aimsno union. We have another Leader (Heb 12:2). The pillar of fire led Israelites not according to Roman judgment.
I. THIS DOES NOT IMPLY KEEPING ALOOF FROM MEN, OR FROM HUMAN INTERESTS. We are called to be the salt of the earth. It is an error to shrink from contact with the world as dangerous to us. This of old led to monasticism. But there may be a spiritual solitude even when living in the throng of a city. In secular matters refusing to take an interest in what occupies others (cf. Luk 6:31), as if God had nothing to do with these; or in spiritual things avoiding Christian intercourse with those who do not in all points agree with us; or being engrossed with our own spiritual welfare, and turning away from all concern for the welfare of others (cf. 1Co 9:20-22).
II. IT DOES IMPLY A REAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF BEING REDEEMED, set free, bought with a price; OF HAYING A DEFINITE WORK TO DO FOR GOD, WITH WHICH NOTHING MUST INTERFERE; a real way to walk in, from which nothing must make us turn aside. And in order to this, watchfulness over self, that in seeking to help others we ourselves are not ensnared.
III. SOME WAYS IN WHICH THE WORLD IN ITS FRIENDSHIP TEMPTS CHRISTIANS.
1. By the plea, there is no harm in this or that. We must not think that all actions can be brought to an absolute standard of fight and wrong. This is the spirit of legality, the spirit of bondage, and leads to partial service instead of entire dedication (cf. Luk 15:29). Loyalty to Christ must direct the Christian’s life; desire not merely to avoid direct disobedience, but to use our time and powers for him who loved us and gave himself for us.
2. By the display of good feelings as the equivalent of Christian graces. Esau’s kindliness and frankness are very attractive. Yet he was a “profane person;” not because of his anger or any sinful act, but because he thought little of God’s blessing.
3. By making Christians familiar with worldly aims and maxims, and thus insensibly blunting their spiritual aspirations. The way of safety is through prayer for the Holy Spirit’s help, to maintain the consciousness of Christ’s presence.M.
Gen 33:1. And Jacob lifted up, &c. It is not said how long time after the event recorded at the end of the former chapter it was that this interview happened: Esau’s behaviour is extremely affecting and tender; and the tears of love which flowed from both the brothers’ eyes do credit to their feelings. Esau’s refusal of the present shewed his freedom from covetousness; I have enough, said he, Gen 33:9. I have enough, answered Jacob, Gen 33:11 all things needful for me, Happy they whose desires are thus limited, who can say, I have enough!
FIFTH SECTION
Jacobs return. His fear of Esau. His night wrestlings with God. Peniel. The name Israel. Meeting and reconciliation with Esau.
Gen 32:3 to Gen 33:16
3And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned [have been a stranger] with Laban, and stayed there until now: 5And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and men-servants, and women-servants: and I have sent [and now I must send, the paragogic] to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
6And 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. 7Then Jacob was greatly afraid, and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and 8herds, and the camels into two bands: And said [thought], If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
9And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst [art saying] unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred [birth- place], and I will deal well with thee: 10I am not worthy [too little for] of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant: for with my staff 11[alone] I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands [camps]. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest Hebrews 12 will come and smite me, and the mother with [upon, over] the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make [establish] thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
13And he lodged there that same night,1 and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; 14Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals. 16And 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. 17And 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 [what he drives before him]. 18Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacobs: it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and behold, also, he is behind us. 19And 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. 20And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said [thought], I will appease2 him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept [make cheerful my face] of me. 21So went the present over before him; and himself lodged that night in the company. 22And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two women-servants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. 23And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and [then] sent over that he had [his herds].
24And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled3 a man with him, until the breaking of the day. 25And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh [hip-joint or socket]: and the hollow of Jacobs thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh: and he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27And he said unto him, What is thy name? 28And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel [Yisrael]: for as a prince hast thou power [thou hast contested] with God, and with men, and hast prevailed. 29And 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. 30And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [face of God]: for I have seen God face to face, and my life [soul] is preserved. 31And as he passed over Penuel [Peniel], the sun rose upon him, and he halted [was lame] upon his thigh. 32Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew [sciatic nerve], which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he touched the hollow of Jacobs thigh in the sinew that shrank.
Gen 33:1. And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. 2And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost [at the last], 3And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. 5And he lifted up his eyes, and saw [now] the women and the children, and said, Who are those with thee4 [whom hast thou there]? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. 6Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. 7And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves; and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. 8And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove [camp] which I me?5 And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. 9And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. 10And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore [now] I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. 11Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough: and he urged him, and he took it. 12And he said, Let us 13take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. And [But] he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young6 are with me, and if men should over-drive them one day, all the flock will die. 14Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according7 as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure; until 1 come unto my lord unto Seir. 15And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me: And he said, What needeth it? Let me find grace in the sight of my lord.
16So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
Knobel supposes here an artificial mingling of heterogeneous and even contradictory parts, taken from different sources, a supposition resting, as is often the case, upon a want of insight as to the connection, which is the great law in that kind of criticism. The sending of messengers by Jacob to Esau, is regarded as a proof that he was not afraid of his brother, while the Jehovist represents him as being in terror of him, etc. (p. 256). All parts of this section turn upon Jacobs relation to Esau: 1. The sending of messengers (Gen 32:3-6); 2. the fear of Jacob, and his preliminary division of the train into two bands (Gen 32:7-8); 3. Jacobs prayer (Gen 32:9-12); 4. the delegation of new messengers with his presents (Gen 32:13-21); 5. the night passage of the train over Jabbok, and Jacobs wrestling; Peniel (Gen 32:21-32); 6. Esaus approach, the new arrangements of the train, and the greetings (Gen 33:1-11); 7. Esaus offer and return (Gen 32:12-16).
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. The sending of the messengers (Gen 32:3-6).Sent messengers before him.The measure was precautionary, to inspect what the danger was, and to conciliate his brother.Unto the land of Seir.The natural taste for hunting and the thirst for power, must have led Esau, even during the lifetime of Isaac, to think of a location more suitable to him, since the thickly settled region of Hebron was not favorable either for hunting or for the establishment of a strong power. The region of Seir, or the mountians of Edom (see Bible Dictionaries and geographies, and books of travels) seemed more favorable in both respects. We thus see that Esau had already made a decided progress in his occupation of the new land, without having completely transferred his residence from Hebron to Seir, which followed afterwards (see Gen 36:6). The same distinction between the chief residence, and an out-station or colony, meets us in the life of Isaac. Keil says he severed the relations which bound him to his fathers house and possessions, because he was more and more thoroughly convinced that the blessing pronounced by his father upon Jacob, and which excluded him from the inheritance of the promise, the future possession of Canaan, could not be changed. But this would ascribe too much to Jacobs obedience of faith to Esau. The fact takes place, doubtless, upon natural grounds. Esaus power did not lie in his faith, but in his strong hand. This man of might had gathered his sons, servants, and confederates, and already partially completed the conquest of the Horites. He deems the momentary possession of power of greater value than the promise of a religious dominion, the actual possession of which lay in the dim future. He entertains, no doubt, therefore, that he has already surpassed his brother, and this may, first of all, have predisposed him to peaceful thoughts towards him, especially after Jacobs humble message, whose prominent thought was that he now cheerfully conceded to him the external honors of the first-born. In his present state of mind Esau is satisfied to leave his brother to struggle a little longer with his fear, and to harass and distress him with a pompous show of his forces. The messengers return without bringing back any friendly counter-greeting. He comes as a princely sheik of the desert, with his retainers. This is the preliminary answer. The text here presupposes that Jacob had received some notice of Esaus operations at Seir. [There is no contradiction between this text and Gen 36:6. It is not said here that Esau had any fixed abode or dwelling in Seir. The fact that he appears with his armed band shows that he was out upon a warlike expedition, and probably with the design of driving the Horites from Seir. It was not his home. His family and possessions were still in Canaan, and were first removed to Seir (Gen 36:6) when it had been freed from his enemies, and thus made a safe abode for his wives and children.A. G.]
2. The fear of Jacob, and his preliminary division of the train into two bands (Gen 32:7-8). Was greatly afraid.Jacobs fear was not groundless. Rebekah had not called him back. Esau has not intimated that he was reconciled or would be easily appeased. The messengers had not brought back any counter-greeting. Esau was coming with his four hundred men. The promise at Bethel, too, relates definitely only to the journey and the return, and the vision at Mahanaim was a disclosure as to his deliverance from the hand of Laban, but not accompanied with new promises. The main thing, however, was this, he is ill at ease in his conscience, with regard to his offence against Esau. His fear, therefore, as well as his prudence, appears in the division of his train into two bands. This measure precedes his prayer, as the last act of his overhasty and impatient cunning, which does not appear to have been exercised after his prayer and struggle. The measure itself has little to do with the name Mahanaim, to which Knobel refers it. It may serve to explain the fact that the Bedouins usually march in divisions.
3. The prayer of Jacob (Gen 32:9-12). Jacob is conscious now that all his cunning cannot give his heart rest.Which saidst unto me.Here begins the third link in the chain; God of Abraham and God of Isaac. He appeals to the repeated promise of the covenant God of his fathers, given to him in the divine intimation and warning to return.I will deal Well with thee.He strives to draw from this vague expression a promise of protection against Esau. On the other hand, he cannot appeal with any confidence to the blessing of his father Isaac, which he had stolen.I am not worthy of the least.Literally, am less than. Humiliation and gratitude underlie the joyful confidence in asking for deliverance.This Jordan.We must conceive of the ford of Jabbok, as lying in the neighborhood of the Jordan.The mother with the children.Literally, upon the children, since she protects the children against the raging foe. Used proverbially (see Deu 22:6; Hos 10:14). Knobel, Keil, Delitzsch, reject the rendering, upon the children.As the sand of the Sea.This is the import of the promise Gen 28:14, as the dust of the earth; and thus he increases the imagery of the Abrahamic promise, Gen 22:17. Such a destructive attack as now threatens him, would oppose and defeat the divine promise. Faith clings to the promise, and is thus developed. [The objection that it is unbecoming in Jacob to remind God of his promise, shows an utter misconception of true prayer, which presupposes the promise of God just as truly as it implies the consciousness of wants. Faith, which is the life of prayer, clings to the divine promises, and pleads them.A. G.]
4. The delegation of new messengers with his presents (Gen 32:13-21).And took of that, etc.His prayer led him to better means of help than the division of his train in fear, and for a flight near at hand. He passes from the defensive to the offensive. He will not flee from Esau, but go to meet him, and overcome him with deeds of love. Delitzsch thinks he did not select the present until the next morning. Keil, however, says, correctly, that the prayer, the delegation with the present, the transfer across the Jabbok, and Jacobs struggle, all took place on the same night (Gen 32:14). Delitzsch, indeed, admits that the crossing of the Jabbok, and Jacobs struggle, occur in the same night. The present which Jacob chose for an immediate departure during the night, was a great propitiatory sacrifice to the injured brother, and an humble homage to the mighty prince of the desert, consisting of five hundred and fifty head of cattle. And thus, while making an atonement to Esau, he actually atones also for his cunning course towards Laban. The selections corresponded with the possession of the Nomadic chiefs, as to the kinds of animals (comp. Job 1:3; Job 42:12), and as to the proportion between the males and females to the rule of Varro, De re rustica. Keil. The present is broken up into divisions with intervening spaces [lit., breathing places.A. G.], and thus approaches Esau, that by the regular appearance of these different droves, he might, by one degree after another, soften the fierce disposition of his brother. Observe: 1. The climax; goats, sheep, camels, cattle, asses. 2. The spaces between the droves. Each impression must be made, and its force felt by Esau, before the next comes on. 3. The ever repeated form of homage: Thy servant, Jacob. A present. My lord Esau. 4. The final aim: friendly treatment: Thy servant, Jacob himself, is behind us. Knobel supposes that he finds here even, a difference between the interpretation of the Jehovist, and the design of his predecessor to describe the procession according to oriental custom (p. 230).For he said.We meet here, for the first time, the later important (comp. xx.16). Esaus face is to be covered by atoning presents, so that he should not see, any more, the offence which Jacob had committed against him. Jacob had, in an ideal sense, deprived him of princely honor; he now recognizes, in a true and real sense (and one entirely suited to Esaus thought and disposition), his princely honor, and thus atones, in fact, for his fault, since Esau cared nothing for the ideal element in and by itself. here, at its first occurrence, refers to the reconciling of one who is angry, and to the atonement for guilt. Since the offence is covered for Esaus face, so even Esaus face is covered as to the offence. It is very remarkable, moreover, that the word face here occurs three times. Esaus face is covered towards Jacobs obligation and guilt. Then Jacob beholds the face of Esau, and is comforted, and Esau lifts up Jacobs face, i. e., cheers, enlightens it, since he receives him kindly.
5. The night-crossing of the train over Jabbok, and Jacobs wrestling (Gen 32:21-32).And he rose up that night.The confidence of Jacob, rising out of his prayer and the sending of his present, is so strong that he does not defer the crossing of his train over the ford of Jabbok until the morning. Jabbok is now called the Zerka, i. e., the blue, from its deep-blue mountain water. It rises near the caravan route at Castell Zerka; its deep mountain valley then forms the boundary between Moered on the north and Belka on the south. It empties into the Jordan about midway between the Sea of Tiberias and the Dead Sea, and about an hour and a half from the point at which it breaks through the mountain. Von Raumer: Palestine, p. 74. The Jabbok comes from the east nearly opposite to Sichem. It was at one time the boundary between the tribes of Gad and Manasseh. For further details, see the Bible Dictionaries.Although it is quite customary in the East to travel during the night (see Knobel, p. 258), yet still the crossing of his train over a rapid mountain stream would be difficult. The ford which Jacob used was not that upon its upper course, near the route of the Syrian caravans, at Klat Zerka, but the one farther to the west, through which Buckingham, Burkhardt (Syria, p. 597), and Seetzen (Travels, I. p. 392) passed, between Jebel Adschlun and Jebel Jelaad, and at which are still to be seen traces of walls, buildings, and the signs of an older civilization (Ritter, ed. 15. p. 1040). Keil.And he was left alone.It is generally supposed that Jacob remained on the north side of the Jabbok. Keil, p. 218; Delitzsch, p. 334. [Jacobus; Wordsworth, p. 136.A. G.] Rosenmller and Knobel reject the idea that Jacob recrossed the stream, although nothing there claimed his attention, the latter indeed, on the incorrect assumption that Jacob crossed the Jabbok going from the south, northwards. In Gen 32:23 it is, he passed over, i.e., he himself, without mentioning that he took his family, which is specially related elsewhere. [It seems probable that he first went over himself, and then, finding the crossing safe, he returned and sent over his herds and his family.A. G.] Then, too, it is not necessary that should be understood in a local sense (see Ges. under ). Moreover, we find him (Gen 32:32), when leaving the place of his wrestling, Peniel, ready to proceed on his journey. Lastly, it would seem an act of cowardice if Jacob had sent his wives and children across the brook, which was a protection against the danger, while he himself remained behind. [Still, the narrative plainly implies that Jacob remained on the north of the Jabbok. And whatever courage may have prompted to do, as to protect his own with his life, Jacob was dimly conscious that the crisis of his life was now upon him, and that he must be alone with God. It was not the want of courage, but the sense that help must come from God, and the working of his faith which led him to cling to the arm of God, which kept him here for the prayer and struggle and victory.A. G.]And there wrestled a man with him.Now, when he supposed everything arranged, the greatest difficulty meets him. The unmeasured homage, with which he thought to reconcile Esau, touches the violation or at least puts in peril the promise which was given to him. Moreover, he has not only injured Esau, but offended God (Elohim), who is the God of Esau, and will not suffer him to be injured with impunity.There wrestled a man.This archaic form occurs only here and in Gen 32:25-26. Dietrich traces it to the idea of struggling or freeing oneself from; Delitzsch to , to limit, to touch each other closely, member to member. We prefer the reference to the kindred form, , to hold fast, to adhere firmly, etc. Hithpael, to hold to oneself. There seems to be an allusion in the word to the name Jabbok (Knobel), or rather, the brook derives its name from this struggle, instead of (Keil). An older derivation traces the word, to dust, to raise dust in the struggle. The question arises whether the sense of the word here is, that the nameless man came upon Jacob, as if he had been his enemy, or that Jacob seized the man, as he appeared to him, and held him fast, while he strives to free himself from the grasp. According to Gen 32:27, the last sense is the true one. If we take the other supposition, we must conceive that Jacob, during the night-wrestling, recognized as a friend the man who came upon him as an enemy. Still there is no intimation of a hostile attack. The passage in Hos 12:4, also supports the idea that Jacob held fast the mysterious man, and not vice vers. He took his brother by the heel in the womband by his strength he had power with Godhe had power over the angel and prevailedhe wept and made supplication unto himhe found him in Bethel.And when he saw that he prevailed not against him.That is, Gen 32:27, he could not compel him to let him go.For the day breaketh.In regard to this, and to the circumstance that Jacob remained alone, Knobel remarks, that the acts of God are not spectacles for the eyes of impious mortals (see Gen 19:17; Gen 22:13; Exo 12:29). There is, however, a broad distinction between the heathen and theocratic interpretation of this event. There is no reference here to any fear or dread of the day-light on the part of spirits.The hollow of his thigh.Lit., the socket of the hip. It is not said that he struck it a blow (Knobel); the finger of God (for it is God who is spoken of) needs but to touch is object, and the full result is secured.And the hollow of Jacobs thigh was out of joint.This is explained more fully in the thirty-fourth verse. The sinews of his thigh (nervus ischiadicus) were paralyzed through the extreme tension and distortion. But this bodily paralysis does not paralyze the persevering Jacob.I will not let thee go.Now the blessing which he obtained from his father by cunning and deceit, must be sought with tears from this mysterious divine man. And then he blesses him when he gives him the name Israel, i. e., the God-wrestler or fighter (from and ). [The captain and prince of God, from sarah, to marshal in battle, to lead, to command, to fight, and hast prevailed, , as a prince. Wordsworth, p. 138.A. G.] Instead of a supplanter, he has now become the holy wrestler with God, hence his name is no longer Jacob, but Israel. There is no trace in his after- of the application of his wisdom to mere selfish and cunning purposes. But the new name confirms to him in a word the theocratic promise, as the name Abraham confirmed it to Abram. For the connection of this passage with Gen 38:10, see the Exegetical note upon that passage.And hast prevailed.Has he overcome in his wrestling with God, he need have no further fears as to his meeting with Esau.Wherefore is it, that thou dost ask after my name?The asking after his name in this particular way, not the general inquiry, is the point which occasions this answer. The believer is not to learn all the names of the Lord in this theoretic manner, but through the experience of faith; thus even the name Immanuel. Indeed, he had already learned his name substantially.Thou hast wrestled with God and men.It does not rest upon the view which the Jews have when they regard the name Jehovah as , as Knobel asserts.And he blessed him.The blessing contained already in the name Israel, is now definitely completed.Peniel, or Penuel with the conj., face of God. The locality of this place has not been definitely fixed (V. Raumer, p. 255), but if it could be identified it would be idle to look for it upon the north of the Jabbok. Knobel refers for an analogy to the Phnician promontory . [Keil thinks Peniel was upon the north of the Jabbok, though he does not regard it as certain. Kiepert locates it on the Jabbok. It was certainly east of Succoth (see Jdg 8:8-9), and was most probably on the north of the Jabbok.A. G.]Face to face.With his face he had seen the face of God (Exodus 33.; Deu 34:10). Exo 33:20 is not in contradiction to this, since that passage speaks of the seeing of God beyond and above the form of his revelation in its legal development.And my life is preserved.Luthers translation and my soul is healed, saved, is equally beautiful and correct. For it is impossible that the idea here is that of the later popular notion: he rejoices that he had seen the face of God and did not die.The sun rose upon him. The sun not only rose, but rose especially upon him; and with a joyful mind he begins with the sunrise his journey to meet Esau.And he halted upon his thigh.He appears not to have noticed this before. In the effort of the wrestling it had escaped him, just as the wounded soldier oftentimes first becomes aware that he is wounded by the blood and gash, long after the wound was received.Therefore the children of Israel eat not.The author explains the custom of the Israelites, in not eating of the sinew of the thigh, by a reference to this touch of the hip of their ancestor by God. Through this divine touch, this sinew, like the blood (Gen 9:4) was consecrated and sanctified to God. This custom is not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament; the Talmudists, however (Tract. Cholin, Mischna, 7), regard it as a law, whose transgression was to be punished with several stripes. Knobel. Delitzsch adds: This exemption exists still, but since the ancients did not distinguish clearly in ( , the large, strong cord of the sinew of the thigh), between muscle, vein, and nerve, the sinew is now generally understood, i.e., the interior cord and nerve of the so-called hind-quarter, including the exterior also, and the ramifications of both.
6. Esaus approach, the new arrangement of the train, and the greeting (Gen 33:1-11).And Jacob lifted up his eyes.In contrast to his previous inward contemplation, and in confident expectation.And he divided the children.We read no more of the two bands or trains. He now separates his family into three divisions. He himself, as the head of the family, as its protector and representative, takes the lead; then follow the handmaids with their children; then Leah with hers; and at last, Rachel with Joseph. This inverted order, by which the most loved came last, is not merely chosen from a careful and wise prudence, but at the same time the free expression of the place which they occupied in his affections.To the ground seven times.Not that he cast himself seven times to the ground, which would have been expressed by , but he bowed himself seven times with the low inclination of the head [the low oriental bow, in which one bends the head nearly to the ground without touching it. Keil.A. G.]. But even this courtesy far excels the usual degree in oriental greetings, and finds its explanation in the number seven. The bowing itself expresses the recognition of an external princely prerogative, from which Esau believed that he had robbed him; the seven-fold utterance of this recognition stamps it with the mimic (Ger., mimische) seal of the certainty which belongs to the covenant. Thus Jacob atones for his offence against Esau. The manifestation of this courtesy is at the same time, however, a barrier which in the most favorable issue protects him, before mingling with the spirit and temper of the Edomitic army.And Esau ran to meet him.He is overcome; his anger and threats are forgotten; the brothers heart speaks. Jacobs heart, too, now released from fear, is filled with like affection, and in their common weeping these gray-headed men are twins once more. The unusual pointing of probably indicates a doubt as to the sincerity of this kiss. But the doubt is groundless. The Scriptures never authorize us to regard Esau as inhuman. He is susceptible of noble desires and feelings. The grace of God which ruled in his paternal home has not left him without its influence. Delitzsch. The assertion of Knobel, that the author of Gen 27:1 ff; Gen 32:8 ff. could not thus write if he wrote proprio marte, is critically on the same level with the remark of Tuch upon Jacobs prayer, Gen 32:9it is unseemly in the narrator that he allows Jacob to remind God of his promises. The old Jewish exegesis has indeed outbid this modern zeal in effacing this great and beautiful moral feature in the narrative. The Breschith Rabba and Kimchi inform us that some in the earlier time held that meant here that he bit him. The Targum of Jonath. says that Jacobs weeping sprung from a pain in his neck, and Esaus from a toothache. Knobel.The children which God.The name Elohim, out of regard to Esaus point of view [and, as Delitzsch and Keil suggest, in order not to remind Esau of the blessing of Jehovah, of which he was now deprived.A. G.]Joseph and Rachel.It is a fine trait in the picture that the order is here reversed, so that Joseph comes before his mother. The six-year-old lad seems to break through all the cumbrous ceremonial, and to rush confidently into the arms of his uncle.By all this drove (camp or train).Knobel thinks that he here discovers a third explanation of the name Mahanaim, and finds in the answer of Jacob, these are to find grace, etc., an offensive fawning, or cringing humility. But in fact, it is not a mere present which is here in question, but a voluntary atonementan indirect confession that he needed forgiveness. We find this same thought also in Esaus refusal.I have enough.Esau had a two-fold reason for his refusal, for he doubtless possessed a large share of the paternal estate, while Jacob had earned all that he had by the labor of his hands. It is nevertheless a noble strife, when Esau says, keep that thou hast,I have enough, and Jacob overcomes him, take, I pray thee, my blessing,I have enough of all, or briefly all.For therefore I have seen.This cannot mean, I have gained the friendly aspect of thy face by my present, but therefore, for this purpose, is it. As things now stand, the present is an offering of gratitude.As though I had seen the face of God.The words sound like flattery, but they bear a good sense, since in the friendly face of his brother he sees again in full manifestation the friendliness of God watching over his lifes path (Job 33:26; Psa 11:7). [He refers either to his wrestling with the angel, in which he had learned that his real enemy was God and not Esau, or in the fact that the friendly face of his brother was the pledge to him that God was reconciled. In the surprising, unexpected change in his brothers disposition, he recognizes the work of God, and in his brothers friendliness, the reflection of the divine. Delitzsch.A. G.] The words, take, I pray thee, my blessing, are just as select and forcible. It is as if, in allusion to the blessing he had taken away, he would say, in so far as that blessing embraced present and earthly things, and is of value to you, I give it back. Knobel explains the choice of the expression from the benedictions which accompanied the present. The presents to the clergy in the middle ages were called benedictions. But the idea of homage lies nearer here. In the reception of his present he has the assurance that Esau is completely reconciled to him. The friendliness in Esaus countenance is a confirmation to him of the friendliness of the divine countenance, a seal of the grace of God, which he saw in his face at Peniel.
7. Esaus offer and return (vers.1216).I will go before thee.The kindness of Esau assumes a confidential and officious character. He will take the lead in the way, go before as the protector of his caravan. But that could have happened only at the expense of Jacobs freedom. Besides this, the caravan, with tender children, and sucklings among the cattle, could not keep pace with a train of Bedouin. Jacob urges this strenuously, in order to effect a separation. It is no pretence on his part, but it is the only reason he ventures to offer to the powerful Esau, whose superficial nature unfitted him to appreciate the other reasons. He reveals to him also, in a striking way, his purpose to come to him at Seir. Is this the new Israel or the old Jacob who speaks? The words are ambiguous, even if he actually visited him in after years at Seir, as some have urged as an excuse. There is, indeed, a peculiar emphasis upon the word , in connection with the verb, which excludes any obligation to hasten there. He declines, also, the offer of a protecting band.What needeth it?He is conscious of a higher protector. He desires nothing from Esau but a peaceful and friendly deportment. [Jacobs promise of a visit was honestly made. His course led him to Canaan, probably to Hebron, and from thence he contemplated a visit to Esau at Seir. Whether it was ever made, or not, we do not know. The narrative does not record all the events of Jacobs life, and this may well have been one of those less important, which it passes over in silence. There is no ground, in any case, to question his sincerity, or to think that it is the old Jacob who speaks.A. G.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. This section belongs to the more important parts of Genesis, especially of the patriarchal history, holding in the life of Jacob a position like Genesis 15, 17, 18, , 22, in the life of Abraham, Genesis 27 in the life of Isaac, and Genesis 41, 45. in the life of Joseph. We have here, indeed, the full development of patriarchalism, the bud which shall open into its most perfect flower, and which unfolds itself completely in the blessing of Jacob. As the institution of a sacred sacrifice reached its full development in the offering of Abraham (Genesis 22), and the mysterious fact of election comes into prominence in the blessing of Isaac (Genesis 27), so this narrative brings out in a clear, distinct form: 1. The prayer of faith, based upon the promise and the clear consciousness of the contrast between human unworthiness and divine grace; 2. the actual occurrence of a believing wrestling with God, and its result, the prelude to the theanthropic life; 3. the contrast between the old and new man, between Jacob and Israel, the token of the new birth growing out of the circumcision of the heart; hence, also, 4. the dawn of the love of ones enemies, and of the triumph of that affection over the hatred of our enemies, through confidence in God and the proofs of his reconciliation; and 5. lastly, that divine law, according to which believers inwardly and truly overcome the world, by their outward subjection to the demands of its power. In the struggle with Jacob, moreover, the form of the Angel of the Lord passes already into the form of the angel of his face, which afterwards, in the book of Exodus, develops itself more completely. Thus, also, we find here already clearly intimated the germ of the distinction between the external aspect of the kingdom of God (the blessing of Isaac), and its inward essence, a distinction winch was not fully comprehended by Israel at the time of Christ, and over which, even in our own day, many toil and labor without clear conceptions. This section contains also a representation of the nightly and sacred birth hour of Israel, and in a formal point of view is well fitted to introduce a true insight into the fundamental form of revelation.
2. The intellectual movement and progress in the narrative, correspond to the most subtle laws of the spiritual and intellectual life of the soul. After Jacob had seen the divine messengers, the angels, in his journey, he takes heart, and sends a human embassy to greet Esau. The contents of their message is determined by his prudence. He greets his lord Esau, as Jacob his servant. The unpleasant and dangerous recollections of the events which had occasioned his long absence, are passed over; on the contrary, he speaks of his rich possessions in herds and flocks, which he had acquired while with Laban, lest Esau should think that he was now returning, longing for the paternal goods. He wishes only to find favor in the eyes of Esau. In thus rendering homage to him, he recognizes the earthly and temporal prerogatives of the first-born, and at the same time makes indirectly a confession of his guilt. When the messengers return without any counter-greeting, and announcing that Esau was drawing near, the mere human prudence of Jacob again suggests his course. As he apprehends a hostile attack from Esau, so he thinks of resisting force with force, but with the prospect of being vanquished. Hence the division of his caravan into two bands. But this measure gives him no rest. His pressing wants drove him to faith and prayer, a prayer which marks already a great development of the patriarchal life and faith. His soul was thus so sustained and comforted, that he can no more rest or sleep during the night. He now boldly crosses the Jabbok (his Rubicon, or better, his Kedron) with his whole train. And then, in the loneliness and solitude, he meets with the decisive struggle of his life. After the victory of his faith in this struggle, he is, as Jacob, lame in his thigh; he no longer expects salvation from his natural struggles with Esau, but has found, in the grace of Jehovah, the source of his world subduing humility and love. He thinks no longer of the two bands for mutual self-defence or flight, but on the contrary, he sends his five bands to the attack, five different acts of homage embodied in presents, which, as a continuous train, has the most impressive aspect, and gives the highest satisfaction to Esau in the presence of his four hundred men. The closing word of the messengers was that Jacob was coming after them; he himself, and thus the strongest expression of his confidence toward his brother. Upon the five droves which designate the completed act of homage, as an actual outward occurrence (since five is the number of free choice), there follows now the seven-fold bowing of Jacob himself, as a sacred assurance of his intellectual, real homage, as to the prerogatives of the first-born which belonged to Esau. Hence his family also, in three intervals and acts, which follow the salutation, must render the same homage. Jacob, in offering so large a portion of his herds, had made a great sacrifice; so that probably it may be literally true that his children, who at first rode upon camels, now that so few of the camels were left, were obliged to walk. But it was both noble and wise not to take advantage of Esaus magnanimous feelings, as he had formerly done of his natural and sensual infirmity in the matter of the lentile pottage. And now he has completely overcome him, and even more than this. As he had at first to guard against his former threats, and his alarming appearance, so now against his amiable importunity, which might have led him into the danger of mingling and developing his cause and future history with those of Esau. Esau actually yields to his request, and returns. He overcomes him in this, too, but not as Jacob the supplanter, but as Israel the warrior of God [the prince with God.A. G.].
3. Jacobs prayer. The great development of faith which marked this prayer: 1. The resting of the prayer upon the divine promises, and the more definite development of prayer in its general idea; 2. the contrast: I am not worthy, etc. [literally, I am too little for, less than.A. G.], an ancient denial of any righteousness of works, a watchword of humility for all time; 3. the connection of the divine goodness and grace (here in the plural) and truth, or faithfulness, which henceforth runs through the sacred scriptures; 4. the beautiful description of the divine blessing, for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, etc. [Jacobs faith appears in the very terms by which he addresses God, in his confidence in the divine promise and command, the two pillars of his hope, in his expectation of deliverance, not-withstanding his deep sense of his personal unworthiness, and in the clear, sharp contrast which he makes between the destruction he feared and the divine promise. How could the promise: I will make thy seed as the sand of the sea, be saved, if the mother was to be slain with the children? As Luther has said, this is a beautiful specimen of all hearty prayer, and has all the attributes of real prayer.A. G.] 7. With regard to the form of the struggle, it cannot on the one hand be a dream-vision which is spoken of (Rosenm. and others), nor on the other hand an external event (Kurtz: History of the Old Covenant, i. p. 260; Auberlen, in the article Jacob, in Herzogs Encyclopdic.) [Jacobus: Notes, ii. p. 134; Murphy, p. 414; Wordsworth, p. 137.A. G.]; for the mythical explanation may be entirely left out of view. For moral struggles and decisions are not wrought in dreams or in dream-visions. Against an external bodily wrestling, Hengstenberg reminds us forcibly that an outward wrestling does not occur in the form of weeping and supplication. Kurtz attempts to evade this difficulty by assuming two acts in the struggle, in which the external bodily wrestling precedes the spiritual wrestling with tears and prayers. He thus seeks to exclude the vision and the ecstasy (conditions which in our view are only two aspects of one and the same state). Keil rejects the idea of a natural corporeal wrestling, but thinks that an ecstasy, of a like or related condition of the body and soul, must be received. We have often seen already that the condition of vision or ecstasy does not exclude the objective manifestation. We now see, also, that the soul-struggles in vision, might present themselves under the form of bodily labor, and wrestlings of the soul, since in the vision the whole spiritual process is represented in pictures; and further, that such a struggle may even produce bodily effects, as here the lameness of Jacobs thigh. Kurtz replies, on the contrary, that such effects of the inward life upon the body are not certainly ascertained; that, indeed, the reverse is for the most part true in such cases, the germinant bodily complaint giving its peculiar form to the dream. But how can one confound these mere natural dreams with the very highest religious events in the world of mind? Should we suppose that the whole history of the despised one rested upon a mere illusion, still the history of Gethsemane would not stand there in vain with reference to the event here before us. It has been denied that such a lameness as that described here, could result from any corporeal wrestling. [It may be said, however, that there is no necessity here for departing from the obvious and literal sense of the passage. The idea of close personal corporeal conflict seems to be suggested in the very terms which the sacred writer has chosen to describe this wrestling. It is certainly implied in the crippling of the thigh. And if God walked in the garden with Adam, and partook of the feast which Abraham prepared, there is no reason why he should not enter into bodily conflict with Jacob. The other events in the narrative, the crossing of the Jabbok, the rising of the sun, seem also to require that we should understand this wrestling as real, objective, corporeal, without any attempt, however, to define too closely its precise mode.A. G.]
8. The man who wrestled with Jacob. Some have absurdly held that he was an assassin sent by Esau. Origen: The night-wrestler was an evil spirit (Eph 6:12). Other fathers held that he was a good angel. The correct view is that he was the constant revealer of God, the Angel of the Lord Schrder. Delitzsch holds that it was a manifestation of God, who through the angel was represented and visible as a man. The well-known refuge from the reception of the Angel of the Incarnation! In his view, earlier explained and refuted, Jacob could not be called the captain, prince of God, but merely the captain, prince of the Angel. No other writer in the Pentateuch, Knobel says, so represents God under the human form of things as this one. Jacob surely, with his prayers and tears, has brought God, or the Angel of the Lord, more completely into the human form and likeness than had ever occurred before. The man with whom he wrestles is obviously not only the angel, but the type also of the future incarnation of God. As the angel of his face, however, he marks a development of the form of the angel of revelation which is taken Up and carried on in Exodus.
9. The angel and type of the incarnation, is at the same time an angel and type of atonement. When Kurtz (p. 257) says that God here meets Jacob as an enemy, that he makes an hostile attack, the expressions are too strong. There is an obvious distinction between a wrestler and one who attacks as an enemy, leaving out of view the fact, that there is nothing said here as to which party makes the assault. After the revelations which Jacob received at Bethel, Haran, and Mahanaim, a peculiar hostile relation to God is out of the question So much, certainly, is true, that Jacob, to whom no mortal sins are imputed for which he must overcome the wrath of God (Kurtz, p. 258, the divine wrath is not overcome but atoned), must now be brought to feel that in all his sins against men he has striven and sinned against God, and that he must first of all be reconciled to him, for all the hitherto unrecognized sins of his life.
10. The wrestling of Jacob has many points of resemblance to the restoration of Peter (John 21). As this history of Peter does not treat of the reconstituting of his general relation to Jesus, but rather of the perfecting of that relation, and with this of the restitution of his apostolic calling and office, so here the struggle of Jacob does not concern so much the question of his fundamental reconciliation with Jehovah, but the completion of that reconciliation and the assurance of his faith in his patriarchal calling. And if Christ then spake to Peter, when thou wast young thou girdedst thyself, etc., in order that he might know that henceforth an entire reliance upon the leading and protection of God must take the place of his sinful feeling of his own strength and his attachment to his own way, so, doubtless, the lameness of Jacobs thigh has the same significance, with this difference, that as Peter must be cured of the self-will of his rash, fiery temperament, so Jacob from his selfish prudence, tending to mere cunning.
11. A like relation holds between their old and new names. The name Simon, in the narrative of Peters restoration, points to his old nature, just as here the name Jacob to the old nature of Israel. Simons nature, however, was not purely evil, but tainted with evil. This is true also of Jacob. He must be purified and freed from his sinful cunning, but not from his prudence and constant perseverance. Into these latter features of his character he was consecrated as Israel. The name Abram passes over into the name Abraham, and is still ever included in it; the name Isaac has in itself a two-fold significance, which intimates the laughter of doubt, and that of a joyful faith; but the name Jacob goes along with that of Israel, not merely because the latter was preminently the name of the people, nor because in the new-birth the old life continues side by side, and only gradually disappears, but also because it designates an element of lasting worth, and still further, because Israel must be continually reminded of the contrast between its merely natural and its sacred destination.
12. The sacred and honored name of the Israelitish people, descends from this night-wrestling of Israel, just as the name Christian comes from the birth and name of Christ. The peculiar destination of the Old-Testament children of the covenant is that they should be warriors, princes of God, men of prayer, who carry on the conflicts of faith to victory. Hence the name Israelites attains completeness in that of Christians, those who are divinely blessed, the anointed of God. The name Jews, in its derivation from Judah, and in its Messianic import, forms the transition between these names, since it designates those who are praised, who are a praise and glory to God. But the contrast between the cunning, running into deceit, which characterized the old nature of Jacob, and the persevering struggle of faith and prayer of Israel, pervades the whole history of the Jewish people, and hence Hosea, Gen 12:1 ff., applies it to the Jewish people (see Kurtz, p. 259, with reference to the Practical Com. of Umbreit, iv. p. 82). The force of this contrast lies in this, that in the true Israelite there is no guile, since he is purified from guile (Joh 1:47), and that Christ, the king of Israel (Gen 32:44), is without guile, while the deceit of the Jacob nature reaches its most terrible and atrocious perfection in the kiss of Judas.
13. The natural night, through which Jacob carried on his long wrestling, not only figures symbolically the inner night which brooded over his soul, but also the mystery of his new-birth, determined of course by its Old-Testament limits. Hence the dawn and sunrise indicate not only the blessed state of faith which he had now gained, but also the fact that he, as the halting and lame, now appeared as a new man in the light of the breaking day. 16. The growth in Jacobs life of faith is marked by the names Bethel, Mahanaim, Peniel. But it. is surely an entirely unallowable explanation of the words I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved, when they are explained upon the prevalent Jewish notion, that whoever has seen Jehovah must die. Leaving out of view the essential germ of that notion, that the sight of the glory of God terrifies sinful men and mortifies sin within them, which takes place in this case also, it might be held more plausibly that this very notion grew out of a misunderstanding of these words (comp. the similar expression of Hagar, Gen 16:13). Delitzsch: The sun which rose upon Jacob at Peniel has its antitype in the sun of the resurrection morning.
17. The glorious reconciliation between Jacob and Esau is based upon the perfect reconciliation of Jacob with God. For the old way in which he hoped to overcome Esau, he now makes amends in the new method by which he actually overcomes him. We shall do injustice to the history if we do not distinguish here the elements of humility, satisfaction, reconciling love, and confidence. Jacobs humiliation before Esau implies his humiliation before God; his satisfaction to Esau, his reconciliation with God; and the strength of his love and confidence by which he overcomes Esau, comes from Jehovahs grace and truth. HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
See the Doctrinal paragraphs.Jacob between Laban and Esau on his homeward journey.Jacobs progress from struggle to struggle.His conflict with Laban compared with that with Esau.His struggle with men, in comparison with that with God.How the sins of youth are punished after a long period of years. How Jacob, through his prayer, passes from the plan of flight from Esau, suggested by his human fears, to the method of attacking him with the weapons of humility and love; from a mere human defensive, to a divine offensive.The prayer of Jacob.The distinction between his prayer and his wrestling.Jacobs act of faith in crossing the Jabbok.Jacobs struggle and victory, or how from Jacob he became Israel.The features of the development of revealed faith in Jacobs wrestling: 1. The germ of the incarnation (Godhead and humanity wrestling with each other; the Godhead in the form of a man); 2. the germ of the atonement (sacrifice of the human will); 3. the germ of justification by faith (I will not let thee go, etc.); 4. the germ of the new-birth (Jacob, Israel); 5. the germ of the principle of love to ones enemies (the reconciliation with God, reconciliation with the world).Jacobs night and Jacobs dawn.The sacrifice of human prudence upon the altar of God, one of the most difficult sacrifices (more so than that of human strength).Bethel, Mahanaim, Peniel, divine stations in the journey of the pilgrim of faith.The shepherd train of Jacob, and the warlike procession of Esau.Civility a barrier against injury, and a source of security and protection.In their tears Jacob and Esau are twins once more.Thus the nobler life of the world and the life of faith have twin elements and moments.The permanent friendship between Jacob and Esau (persons so in antipathy with each other, the children of God and men of the world, the church and the state), under proper conditions and at proper distances.The triumph of departing Esau, and Jacob (the future Bedouin sheik and the ancestor of Israel).Jacob between the Jabbok and the Jordan.The return of the banished to his fatherland.The native country.The bloom of patriarchalism.
First Section, 47. Starke: Christians must be open to reconciliation with their enemies (Rom 12:18).Schrder: If his mother had sent him the message, as was agreed upon: Thy brother has now laid aside his anger, then Jacob would have had an easier journey than now, when he returns leaning upon the hand of the invisible God (Baumgarten).The little ship nears the haven, all depends on this last moment.Esau as prince in Mount Seir.Thus he chooses with perfect freedom what God has from the beginning determined (Baum. and Calvin).
Second Section, Gen 32:8-9. Schrder: We must not overlook the name of Jehovah in his prayer. The danger is so great that a mere general belief in a general providence will not sustain him (Hengstenberg).
Third Section, Gen 32:10-13. Starke: Nothing is more humbling than the grace of God.Cramer: There is no better way to avoid danger than by be lieving prayer (Psa 27:8).Schrder: His humility does not blush at the recollection: for with my staff, etc.The mother with the children. The words describe the most relentless cruelty.The death of a mother, over and with her children, is the most cruel way of taking life imaginable (Baumgarten).God saved his promise in saving Jacob.Taube: The school of the cross is the most glorious school, for: 1. It reveals his God to the Christian; 2. it reveals also the Christian heart before God and the world.
Fourth Section, Gen 32:14-22. Starke: If we may infer from his presents, as to the size of his flocks of different kinds, we shall easily see how abundantly God has blessed Jacob, and fulfilled to him his promise of prosperity.Schrder: He chooses milchcamels because they are more valuable for their milk, which is used by the Arabians as a drink. The camels milk becomes intoxicating when it has stood a few hours, but when fresh has no such property (Michaelis).
Fifth Section, Gen 32:23-32. Starke: Cramer: When a Christian has prayed, he is not to sit down in idleness and security, but should consider well how he may best accomplish his end.There is no better way to win the heart of an enemy than by good deeds (1Sa 25:18).Bibl. Tub.: There is no conflict more blessed and glorious than when we wrestle with God in faith and prayer, and thus take heaven by violence.Osiander: God is often accustomed thus to try his saints, and prove their faith; he sends upon them many afflictions at the same time, but still sustains his saints so that they shall not sink (Exo 4:24; Psa 38:6 ff.).We bear about with us the marks of our sin, our misery, and our mortality, that we may not become proud (2Co 12:7).(Gen 32:26. The Jews, who hold this man to have been an angel, suppose that in thus addressing Jacob he wished to remind him that it was time for him to sing his morning song. For the Jews believed that at the dawn the angels raised their hymns of praise to God.
Gen 32:28 (no more; No, here, is equivalent with not alone).Luther: Here the temptation to despair often enters, a temptation by which the greatest saints are wont to be tried. Whoever stands the test, he comes to the perfect knowledge of the will of God, so that he can say, I have seen God face to face.Hall: When the angel of the covenant has once blessed, no trial can make us miserable (Joh 10:28).(Gen 32:32. The Jews think that Jacob was healed at Sichem, and hence the city was called Shalem.)Compare the conflict of Jacob after he had crossed the Jabbok, with the conflict of Jesus in Gethsemane, after he had crossed the Kedron. [Wordsworth also has a long and suggestive note, in which Jacob is held up as a type of Christ, and this comparison is carried out into various minute points.A. G.]Jacob a type of the New-Testament church.Bibl. Tub.: They are blessed who see the face of God in faith, for thus their souls are healed.Cramer: To see God is the best food for souls, their strength and courage (1Co 13:12).Gerlach, upon the 28th verse: In the words, with men, God reminds him of the more consolatory aspect of the events of his former life, of the opposition which first Esau, then Isaac, etc (We must remember, however, that in the previous struggles he was victorious as Jacob merely.)Calw. Hand.: Although all human power is weakness compared with God, yet he suffers himself to be overcome by faith and prayer.His name truly was a confession of his sin.Schrder: Quotations from G. D. Krummachers Contest and Victory of Jacob.The thigh is the very basis of the body; when it is put out of joint the body falls (Krummacher: Jacob, however, did not fall).There was nothing left for him but to hang upon his neck if he would not fall.Hope maketh not ashamedThe wrestler first for himself and with men, then with God and with men, lastly for God and for men.The name of Christian is the completion of the name Israel.Taube: Jacobs conflict and victory: 1. The contest; 2. the victory.
Sixth Section, Gen 33:1-11. Starke: In this manner we Christians are in the eyes of the world the most miserable, subject to every one, but in truth we are and remain the heirs of heaven and earth.
Gen 33:7. The wives of Jacob. Now when they thought to reach his fathers house and their kindred, they are in fear of death. This was certainly a severe test.How beautiful when contending parties come together; but then previous difficulties must not be called up (Rom 12:10).In the world, among all outward means there are none more effectual than presents and gifts (Pro 17:8).Gerlach: An atoning present is indeed blessing (1Sa 25:27).Lisco: His victory of faith is typical for all the children of God.
Seventh Section, Gen 32:12-16. Starke: (Gen 32:14.) Some are offended at Jacob and have charged him with deceit (Calvin). But it rather seems that at the first he was willing to go thither. Perhaps God had warned him, as he did the wise men (Mat 2:12).
Gen 33:15. Osiander: All official persons in ecclesiastical or worldly positions should use wise precaution, that they may direct affairs according to the power of those who are entrusted to them, lest they should be rather injured than helped.Schrder: Luther: Note, the justified and those resting in their good works cannot walk together.Calw. Hand.: Persons so widely different as Esau and Jacob are the best friends when they do not come into too close relations.Schrder: The sacred Scriptures are indeed sacred. As the dark side of the elect is revealed without any attempt at concealment, so they do not pass without notice the brighter features of those who are without. We find traces of the divine image in every one, and it is too frequently true that the world teaches morality to the believer.
Footnotes:
[1][Gen 32:13.The night after the return of the messengers, and his arrangement of his company.A. G.]
[2][Gen 32:20.Heb., cover his face; and so, in the last clause: he will lift up my face.A. G.]
[3][Gen 32:24., an antique form, only used here and Gen 32:25-26, from ,to struggle with, or the kindred root , to limit, enclose, as one member the other. Keil, p. 219.A. G.]
[4][Gen 33:5.Lit., Who these to thee.A. G.]
[5][Gen 33:8.What to thee all this train.A. G.]
[6][Gen 33:13.Heb., which are milking.A. G.]
[7][Gen 33:14.According to the foot, or pace.A. G.]
Psa 112:7 .
CONTENTS
The Patriarch’s history is still continued through this Chapter. Here is the account of Jacob’s meeting his brother Esau, and the effect of the interview: the affection displayed between the brothers; their amicable separation: Esau returns to Mount Seir, and Jacob pursues his journey to Canaan.
The passing over of Jacob, before his family, should remind us of Christ’s unequalled love, in the moment of danger, amidst his disciples in the garden. Joh 18:8 .
Gen 33
‘And he had a fine revenge; but when Jacob, on his journey, heard that his brother was near with 400 men, and made division of his flocks and herds, his man-servants and maid-servants, impetuous as a swollen hill-torrent, the fierce son of the desert, baked red with Syrian light, leapt down upon him, and fell on his neck, and wept. And Esau said, “What meanest thou by all this drove which I met?” And Jacob said, “These are to find grace in the sight of my Lord”; then Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself”. O mighty prince, didst thou remember thy mother’s guile, the skins upon thy hands and neck, and the lie put upon the patriarch as, blind with years, he sat up in his bed snuffing the savoury meat? An ugly memory, I should fancy!’
Alexander Smith in Dreamthorp.
References. XXXIII. 9-11. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. 47, No. 2739. XXXIII. F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis, p. 116. XXXV. 1. C. Perren, Outline Sermons, p. 308. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxiv. No. 1395. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Genesis, p. 233. XXXV. 1-3. C. Perren, Revival Sermons, p. 180.
XXVIII
JACOB’S MEETING WITH ESAU
Gen 32:1-34:31
Our last discussion closed with the thirty-first chapter of Genesis, and we had just finished our discussion of Jacob’s meeting with his uncle Laban. In this discussion we take up the thirty-second chapter, which deals with Jacob’s meeting with Esau, his brother, his inveterate enemy, and the method which was pursued by Jacob in appeasing Esau’s wrath. “And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And Jacob said when he saw them, This is God’s host, and he called the name of that place Mahanaim,” or as the margin has it, “The two hosts or companies.” This vision was an encouraging revelation to Jacob. He saw a heavenly band on earth; hence the name, “Mahanaim,” or “two companies.” That upper band had been with him all the time, but invisible. Here he is permitted to see them. In view of apprehended troubles ahead of him, this vision greatly assures him of safety. The psalmist later expressed the general truth: “The angel of Jehovah encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them” (Psa 34:7 ). In the same way Jehovah opened the eyes of the faithful young man with Elisha: “And he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (2Ki 6:17 ). So, when our faith is bright enough we can see the presence of attending angels.
In Gen 32:3 we learn that Jacob sent messengers forward into the country of Esau to find out the plan of his brother. It had been twenty years since Jacob had seen his brother, on that occasion when through the duplicity of his mother and himself he had secured the blessing of the birthright from his old, blind father, when Esau had determined to kill him and his mother had sent him away from home secretly. Jacob was naturally very anxious to know what Esau’s reception would be and so he sent these messengers. And in order to excite the attention of his brother to his wealth and possessions, Jacob directed the messengers as follows: “Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau: Thus saith thy servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now: and I have oxen, and asses, and flocks, and men-servants, and maidservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favour in his sight.”
When the messengers returned to Jacob they brought back the news that the wrath of Esau had not abated during these twenty years. “We came to thy brother Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.” And Jacob was afraid. So he began to make preparation for his meeting with his brother. His first step was to divide his herds and his people into three companies, in order that they might not all be destroyed at one stroke from the warlike band of his brother. But notice that in his preparation, he made no effort to resist the onslaught of his brother’s men. He had a stronger shield than physical forces, the shield of faith in God’s promises to him, and the accompanying angel host. And his next step and best step of all was his earnest prayer. Let us notice that prayer: “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac.” Do you notice how that prayer leads? He states the fact that Jehovah was the God of his father and his grandfather, and he had made promises to both of them. Then he pleads the fact that God had commanded him, therefore the Lord ought to protect him in his obedience. He pleads the Lord’s promise: Who said, “I will do thee good.” Notice another element of power in his prayer: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shown thy servant.” There is humility in the prayer, pleading the promise, pleading the command, pleading the triple blessing pronounced upon Abraham, Isaac, and himself, and then acknowledging, that, personally, he was not worthy of any of it: “With my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I have become two companies.” Let us see what he is going to ask for. He knows how to make a request. He did not commence by praying that the Lord would bless the dwellers in the steppes of Asia and on the islands of the sea, and then pray all around the world. He says, “Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him lest he come and smite me, 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.” That is his step so far. Now he is going back to his worldly wisdom again. He is like Mohammed, who said, “Tie your camel and pray the Lord that he may not get away.” Don’t turn the camel loose and then pray that he may not escape. As the old British general said to his soldiers, “Pray to the Lord and keep your powder dry.” Don’t simply pray and leave God to do everything, but do what you can do.
Let us see the next step he takes. “He took a present for his brother Esau: first, two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats; second, two hundred ewes and twenty rams; third, twenty milk camels and their colts; fourth, forty cows and ten bulls; fifth, twenty she-asses and ten foals.” Notice how he makes that work: “And he said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.” When the first drove meets Esau, he will say, “Who are you, and what is this?” They will say, “We are Jacob’s servants, and this is a present to his brother Esau.” After awhile Esau meets the second drove, and receives the same answer to his question. Imagine in your mind the effect of these repeated answers. Imagine his feelings after he had met these five successive droves, Jacob’s wisdom, viz.: that he must not be content with making a small impression:
Many drops of water, drop, drop, drop,
…..will wear away a rock.
And yet again present a thing to a man’s mind; wait a while and present it again. Maybe the first impression glances off, but after awhile one will stick. It does not seem to me that the maddest man in the world could have remained mad until he got through meeting these herds.
We now come to Jacob’s last step. Here was the brook Jabbock, flowing into the Jordan. Jacob sends all his family and property across that brook and is left alone. He is going to have a big battle and he is going to fight this battle out with God. From no scripture have I ever gained more spiritual power than that. I never went out as an agent or undertook any enterprise that I did not separate myself from all humankind, and go off alone with God, and just like a little child, state the whole case, prostrate myself before him; and if I win the divine favor I am not afraid of anything. And a man wrestled with him till the rising of the dawn. The prophet Hosea calls him an angel (Hos 12:4 ), and a little later Jacob calls him God, and he was a manifestation of the Logos, the Son of God. When he saw that he prevailed not against Jacob, he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh and it was out of joint. He said to Jacob, “Turn me loose, for the dawn is coming.” Jacob said, “I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me.” He could stand on but one foot, but he would not turn loose. The Hoosier Schoolmaster by Edward Eggleston has a remarkable lesson about a bulldog that belonged to “Old Man Mean’s” boys which had this virtue, viz.: whenever he took hold he would not turn loose. You might kick him and scold him, but he held his grip. That taught a lesson to the schoolmaster. I think the dog and the schoolmaster both might credit Jacob with the original idea. What a marvelous secret of success that is: “I will not let thee go unless thou bless me.” Anybody that knocks tentatively at the door of prayer and runs off before anybody comes, making but one petition, will never succeed. You have heard me state before, and I will restate it now, how that idea of persistence got hold of me when I was four years old. I slept with my eldest brother and he taught me history lessons in child stories. One night he told me the history of the g Battle of Marathon, where one hundred thousand Persians were assailed by ten thousand Greeks under Miltiades; how the Greeks broke the ranks of the Persians, and followed them into the sea; how the Persians got into their boats, and the Greeks grabbed the boats with their hands until the Persians cut their hands off; and then how they caught bold with their teeth until the Persians cut their heads off. And when my brother got that far, I jumped up in the bed and yelled out, “Hurrah for the Greeks!” until I woke up the whole house. There is the secret of prayer. As David Crockett said, “Be sure you are right, and then go ahead.” “And the angel said to Jacob, What is thy name? and he says, Jacob,” which means supplanter, a crafty fellow, and the angel says, “Thy name shall no more be called supplanter, but Israel, for thou hast striven with God and with men and has prevailed,” power with God and man. One of the greatest revival sermons ever preached in Waco was preached by A. B. Earle, an evangelist, on that text: “Israel, power with God and man.” One of my examination questions is: Analyze Jacob’s power with God and with man. With God: humility, pleading of commandment, then the promise, then his faith which took hold, then his importunity: “I will not let thee go unless thou bless me.” His power with men appears from the way he got at Esau. He took every step that wisdom could suggest to placate and disarm the adversary of hostility. Some men have a way of looking at you that conveys an insult, and others with a shrug of the shoulders. Shakespeare tells how the’ followers of Montague and Capulet would insult each other, one by twisting his mustache and the other by letting his hand rest on his sword. They would begin, “Did you twist your mustache?” “I twisted my mustache.” “Did you touch your sword?” “I touched my sword,” until finally they got to fighting. Jacob had none of that. He was never going to have a controversy for which he was responsible. His power with man consisted in this also, that he never violated a contract. You can find no evidence in the Bible that Jacob ever went back on a compact made with men.
“Jacob called the name of the place Peniel,” i.e., “the face of God.” “I have seen God face to face, and my soul was delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed over Peniel, and he limped on his thigh. Therefore, the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the hip. Look at the effect of that upon Esau: Present after present, and Jacob coming to meet him, limping, without a weapon in his hand. There are two things I want to say about this. One is that all the second-blessing people and sanctificationists make this an example in which their second blessing was received, sinless perfection. And they used to go by the name of “Penielists.” Unquestionably it was a tremendous upward step in the spiritual life of Jacob. But he needed more of God’s discipline before he would be perfectly holy, and we will come to some of it after awhile. I ask you to read the best spiritual interpretation of this incident of Jacob’s life that I know, Charles Wesley’s great hymn. Every time I teach Genesis I have the class bring out that hymn, which you will find in the old-time Methodist hymnbook:
Come, O thou traveller unknown, whom still I hold but cannot see,
My company before is gone, and I am left alone with thee.
With thee all night I mean to stay and wrestle till the break of day.
My prayer hath power with God, the grace unspeakable I now receive
Through faith I see thee face to face and live.
In vain I have not wept and strove; thy nature and thy name is love.
I have a remark for you preachers: Get as many commentaries as you can on that wrestling of Jacob. Every time you see it mentioned in literature, buy what is said, and read and study it profoundly. You are looking for power; that is what you preachers ought to be looking for, power with God and men. Right in that incident of Jacob’s life power can be found. There are a great many things in the Bible you can go over hurriedly. They are parts that hold the rest together, but this is a passage to spend the night on.
But we will go on, however. Jacob has the matter settled with God, and has done everything he can do to get God on his side, and has succeeded. As Saul’s name was changed to Paul, and Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, so Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, as Simon’s name was changed to Peter, Cephas, a stone. Great events of life justify a change of name. “Jacob lifted up his eyes and beheld Esau coming with his four hundred men.” Now we see the last step that Jacob took. First he takes the two concubines and their four sons, as the least beloved, and puts them ahead; then Leah and her six sons and daughter as next most beloved, and puts them next; and last he puts Rachel and Joseph in the rear, furthermost from danger. I don’t blame him for his preference, but Jacob is not going to skulk in the rear. He goes in front, limping as God had lamed him. But as Paul says, “When I am weak, then am I strong.” He is now going to rely upon God altogether. When Esau saw him all of his enmity had banished and he ran to meet him and embraced him and fell upon his neck and kissed him and they wept. They had not met for twenty years. Then Esau saw the women and children and asked an introduction. Each woman with her children came up and was introduced in order; so Esau became acquainted with the family and Jacob won out completely.
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessing on your head.
I hope that when trouble comes and takes to itself the form of a cloud and gathers thick and thunders loud, you will be as humble before God and as courageous before man as Jacob was, and come out of it as well.
Esau proposes to accompany him. Jacob said no; that he had a great many young cattle and children, and they could not go fast like the soldiers, and he does not think it wise to keep too long in the company of that force of border men. In Ivanhoe we have an account of the wisdom of Wamba, the son of Witless, when he saw Richard the Lion-Hearted, “hail fellow well met,” with Robin Hood’s crowd of thieves. It all went off very well, but he was afraid if they kept on, directly some controversy would arise, and so he got off into a thicket and blew a horn, and everybody got up. Thus the wise son of Witless warned Richard that he had better separate from the thieves.
Jacob moved down into the valley of the Jordan, a hot, rank place, and full of sinkholes. He did not stay long. Next he came to Shechem and pitched his tent before that city. Although all the country belonged to him as it did to Abraham, he bought a piece of land. There occurs the incident which is self-explanatory, recounted in the thirty-fourth chapter, and upon which I need to comment very little. Dinah wanted to go to a parties will call it that that the Shechemites were giving. It is a characteristic of girls that they do like to go to parties, but it is not best for a young girl, unchaperoned, to go, among strange wild people. But this heathen loved her and came to Jacob and proposed to marry her, and Jacob would have consented under the circumstances, but an expedient was resorted to that they should become Jews. So the males were circumcised. But Simeon and Levi and their followers came and killed all the men and took possession of the property, and merged the two tribes into one, a most horrible transaction, yet it is customary for brothers to slay those who ruin their sisters, at least it used to be so regarded in the South. Jacob did not approve of it and felt that it was an awful wrong, especially after a covenant had been made and marriage had been proposed and accepted, and they had even agreed to turn Jews. When the old man comes to die you will hear from him on this.
QUESTIONS 1. What assurance of safety did God give Jacob in view of his apprehended trouble in meeting Esau, what name did Jacob give the place and why?
2. Cite a passage in the psalms on this, “id an incident in the life of Elisha on this point.
3. What initiative step did Jacob take toward reconciliation with Esau?
4. What plan did Jacob then adopt for meeting his brother?
5. What report did the messengers make to Jacob?
6. What are the elements of power in his prayer?
7. What was his request and how does he co-operate in bringing it about?
8. Give the sayings of Mohammed and of the British general on this point.
9. What present did he send Esau and what was the plan of presentation?
10. What was his last battle before meeting Esau?
11. Who wrestled with Jacob and what is the key to Jacob’s power?
12. How was the lesson of persistence impressed upon the expositor’s mind?
13. What new name was given Jacob here, and why?
14. Analyze Jacob’s power with God and his power with men.
15. What name did Jacob give to the place where he wrestled, and its meaning?
16. What effect of this fight went with Jacob through life and what custom practiced by the children of Israel in memory of the event?
17. What modern claim is based upon this experience of Jacob’s and what is the fallacy of this claim?
18. What matchless hymn was suggested by this event in Jacob’s life?
19. What advice here is especially adapted to preachers?
20. Cite several instances in Scripture of the change of the name and the justification for such change.
21. How did Jacob shield Rachel from danger in this plan of meeting Esau?
22. What position did Jacob take and what was the effect of all this on Esau?
23. How did Jacob evade Esau’s proposal to accompany him on the journey?
24. Where did Jacob stop after this meeting with Esau and why so named?
25. Where did he stop next and what trouble did Jacob have here? Cite the dying testimony of Jacob relative to this incident.
26. What part of Jacob’s character was inherited from Isaac? What is attributable to divine discipline?
Gen 33:1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
Ver. 1. He divided the children. ] Carnal fear oft expels man’s wisdom, and leaves him shiftless. But Jacob, after he had prayed and prevailed, was not so moped as not to know what to do in that great danger: he masters his fears, and makes use of two the likeliest means: (1.) The marshalling of his wives and children in best manner, for the saving of the last, at least; (2.) The marching before them himself, and doing low obeisance. So Esther, when she had prayed, resolved to venture to the king, whatever came of it. And our Saviour, though before fearful, yet, after he had prayed in the garden, goes forth and meets his enemies in the face, asking them, “Whom seek ye?”. Joh 18:4 Great is the power of prayer to steel the heart against whatsoever amazements.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 33:1-3
1Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. 2He put the maids and their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3But he himself passed on ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
Gen 33:2 Notice the distinction in the family. The lesser wives and children go first, his favorites go last (i.e., Rachel and Joseph). Things have changed in Jacob’s heart, however, and he goes before them all (cf. Gen 33:3). If they are to be killed, he will be killed first. He still strategizes, but he trusts in YHWH’s presence and promised protection.
Gen 33:3 “bowed down” This VERB (BDB 1005, KB 295, Hishtaphel IMPERFECT) is repeated four times.
1. Jacob bows before Esau, Gen 33:3
2. the maids and their children bow before Esau, Gen 33:6
3. Leah and her children bow before Esau, Gen 33:7
4. Rachel and her child bow before Esau, Gen 33:7
“seven times” This was a gesture of submission (i.e., El Amarna Letters, 14th century B.C.).
men = Hebrew sing, ‘ish (App-14), as we use the expression “400 foot”. When plural, used only of angels.
Chapter 33
And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and the two handmaidens ( Gen 33:1 ).
In other words, each of the mothers with their children that they had born.
And he put the handmaids and their children in the front, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph were behind. And he passed over before them, and he bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother ( Gen 33:2-3 ).
Now according to the Tel Amarna Tablets, it is proper when greeting a king to bow to the earth seven times in approaching him. So Jacob was approaching his brother Esau and greeting Esau as a king, which indeed Esau was. He had become the ruler and the king, so to speak, over the area of Mount Seir, the area known as Edom. And so he is giving honor to his brother’s position, bowing before him seven times, a custom in those days.
And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept ( Gen 33:4 ).
So that prayer of Jacob’s was answered. His brother’s anger was assuaged. And the meeting, rather than being tense, rather than being bitter, rather than with great recriminations and anger, it’s a sign of acceptance, a sign of forgiveness, a sign of love as they embraced each other. They kissed each other. They wept together. The work of God’s spirit had been wrought.
It is my opinion that Esau, when he was coming, was intending to fulfill his threat of killing Jacob. And even as Laban when he was pursuing Jacob intending to by force take back everything that Jacob had and to do Jacob harm; and even as God spoke to Laban and said, “Don’t touch him, don’t do him harm, don’t speak to him good or evil” and God protected Jacob. I believe that God changed the heart of Esau so that by the time they met, all of the anger and the bitterness of the years gone by flowed out and there was that beautiful reunion of the two brothers.
And he lifted up his eyes, he saw the women and the children; and he said, Whose are these that are with you? And Jacob said, The children which God has graciously given thy servant. And the handmaidens came near, and their children, and they bowed themselves [to their uncle actually]. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after that came Joseph with Rachel, and they bowed themselves. And he said, What is the meaning of all of these droves of animals that I met when I was coming towards you? And he said, These are to find grace in thy sight. And Esau said, Hey, I have enough, brother; keep that to yourself. And Jacob said, No, I pray you, if I have found grace in your sight, receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, [he insisted,] so that Esau took it. And he said, Esau said, Let us take our journey, let’s go, we’ll go before you. And Jacob said to him, My lord knows how that the children are tender, [they’re young actually, thirteen and under], and the flocks and the herds with the young are with me: and if the men should overdrive them even one day, the flock will die. So let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will come on softly or slowly, according as the cattle that go before me and the children are able to endure, until I come to my lord unto Seir. So Esau said, Let me now leave with you some of my men that they might be with you. And he said, I don’t need it. Let me find grace in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and there built a house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Booths or Succoth ( Gen 33:5-17 ).
Now the fact that he built booths and all indicates his intention to just sort of stay there awhile which he no doubt did. Now one of the things of the book of Genesis does not really keep us up with and that is the time lapses between. Jacob did not go directly to Mount Seir to where Esau was. He stopped first at Succoth for a period of time. Built booths there, stayed there for a while and then he moved on to Shechem, the area of Shechem where he no doubt stayed for maybe eight to ten years.
The Bible doesn’t give up these time passages except that we note the ages and the events and we know that many years had to transpire. So probably eight or more years transpired between the time that he saw Esau and before he ever started journeying down toward Hebron. He stayed up in the area of Shechem for many, many years.
So Jacob came [verse eighteen] to Shalem, a city of Shechem ( Gen 33:18 ),
The word “Shalem” is actually the Hebrew word Shalom and it probably would be better translated that Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem. There is no record of any city called Shalom in that area and the translation could easily read, “And Jacob came in peace onto Shechem”.
which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and he pitched his tent before the city. And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. And he erected an altar there, and called it Elelohe-Israel ( Gen 33:18-20 ).
Or God, the God of Israel. So he here adopts his new name. A name that God had given to him. And in building the altar he builds it unto the God not of Jacob but to the God, the God of Israel. And so he purchased now this field, planning to remain in this area indicated by the fact that he purchased the field; and did remain here for many years. “
Gen 33:1-2. And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
He placed them in the order of his affection for them, the best-beloved in the rear.
Gen 33:3-4. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
God had been very gracious to him, and all his fears were gone, so he met Esau as a brother, not as an enemy, and the four hundred men were willing to become his protectors.
Gen 33:5. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
There was a considerable number of them altogether, more than enough, I expect most of you would think if you had them; but Jacob did not speak of them disparagingly, but he described them as the children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
Gen 33:6-10. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand:
For, among Orientals, it is such a common custom to offer and receive presents, that, if they are not accepted, it is regarded as an affront.
Gen 33:10-12. For therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it. And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
This exposition consisted of readings from Genesis 32, Gen 33:1-12.
The morning broke and Jacob-or Israel as he had now become- went forward to meet Esau. How strange a mixture there was in the make-up of this man is once more clearly evident. It is patent that fear of his brother still lurked in his heart and there is a touch of nobleness in his going forward alone to meet him, having set his loved ones behind in two companies. Moreover, his love of Rachel is again manifest as he put her in the second company, so that if Esau met him in anger she, at any rate, might have a better chance to escape
The chief interest of this story, however, is found in Esau’s attitude. In him Jacob met no angry man but a brother. It would appear that Esau had started to meet Jacob with revenge in his heart, as the armed bands suggest. But God has the disposing of all hearts in His own power; and while He had been dealing with Jacob by the brook, probably all unconsciously to Esau, He had been dealing with him too, changing his attitude toward Jacob.
The measure of a man’s finding God is ever that of his discovery of a pathway straitened and yet smoothed. Evidently, all Jacob’s preparations to appease Esau would have been of no avail, for Esau did not want them. But God had met and dealt with the difficulty for this man who had been brought into submission to Him in the long struggle of the lonely night.
Jacob and Esau Reconciled
Gen 33:1-17
Many things, like this meeting with Esau, are worse in anticipation than in actuality. The brothers were on the same old terms as before that filching of Isaacs blessing. The holy transactions of the previous night had induced this change in the atmosphere. If our ways please the Lord, He will make our enemies to be at peace with us. We must win power with God, by yielding to Him, before we can have power with our Esaus and prevail. When you fear mans wrath, do not run hither and thither for defense; be still and fear not. Commit your way to the Lord and read Psa 37:1-40. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. Surely Jacob needed not to fear, or make these lame excuses and promises. He never intended to go to Esau, to Seir. As soon as the last ranks of his brothers men were lost in the desert haze, he turned to go in the contrary direction. This duplicity was not worthy of the heir of the promises; but too many of us would have done the same, even on the morrow of the Jabbok-wrestle.
Gen 33:20; Gen 34:1
In erecting this altar Jacob both set up a witness against the false worship and idolatry of the people among whom he dwelt, and at the same time provided a church or centre of unity for all his numerous family and dependents in the regular service of Jehovah. But the enticements of the world were too great, and prevailed to bring misery and sin into his home. This chapter points out the danger to which young persons are exposed, of being deluded and led away, first by vain curiosity and then by worldly and carnal lusts, to misery and ruin; and this through the influence especially of bad example.
I. When Dinah went to visit the daughters of the land, we may well suppose that she was weary of the quiet, uniform course of life kept up at her father’s house. Her father’s authority and wishes being set aside, she went out without God’s blessing, and misery and ruin followed. This represents: (1) the guilt and punishment which Christian people make themselves liable to when they disregard the authority of those whom the providence of God has placed over them. (2) The danger of becoming tired of Christianity.
II. Two cautions suggest themselves from the study of this chapter. (1) We must learn to look on Almighty God, through Jesus Christ, as our only true Father and Friend. (2) In the service of God we must not expect to find all plain and easy, but quite otherwise: the more earnestly and steadily we serve God, the more trials we must expect to encounter.
Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times,” vol. x., p. 296.
References: Gen 33-F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis, p. 116; R. S. Candlish, Book of Genesis, vol. ii., p. 84. Gen 33:4.-R. C. Trench, Brief Thoughts and Meditations, p. 55. Gen 33:5.-Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxviii., p. 305. Gen 33:9, Gen 33:11, Gen 33:13.-Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes, pp. 19, 21. Gen 33:14.-F. R. Havergal, Sunday Magazine (1879), p. 918. Gen 33:17.-R. S. Candlish, Book of Genesis, vol. ii., p. 93. Gen 33:20.-Plain Sermons by Contributors to the “Tracts for the limes,” vol. x., p. 296. Gen 34:31.-R. S. Candlish, Book of Genesis, vol. ii., p. 93. Gen 35:1.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxiv., No. 1395. Gen 35:3.-J. Van Oosterzee, The Year of Salvation, vol. ii., p. 366. Gen 35:5-11.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. xi., p. 8.
CHAPTER 33 The Reconciliation of Esau
1. Jacob meets Esau (Gen 33:1-17)
2. In the city of Shechem and the altar erected (Gen 33:18-20)
The reconciliation is effected, but Jacob is the same man of deceit. He tells his brother he will follow him to Seir. But he goes instead to Succoth. He built an altar there, but it is not the worship God expected. He should have gone to Bethel and fulfilled his vow.
Esau came: Gen 27:41, Gen 27:42, Gen 32:6
And he: Gen 32:7, Gen 32:16
Reciprocal: Gen 32:8 – General Gen 38:1 – it came Gen 42:4 – Lest Jos 5:13 – he lifted
The Reunion With Esau
When Jacob saw Esau coming, he divided his family into three groups. The maidservants formed a group with their children, Leah formed one with hers and Rachel brought up the rear with Joseph. Bowing to the ground seven times before his brother showed Israel’s humility. Esau’s embrace and kiss with weeping seems to say the anger is in the past. Israel identifies the children as a blessing from God. Though Esau tried to refuse the presents, Israel insisted he take them. He said seeing Esau’s forgiving face was like seeing God’s face.
Israel declined Esau’s offer to journey with them, since he said the cattle and children would be slow. He also refused help from Esau’s men. Instead, he said he intended to settle and then come to see his brother in Seir, the mountain in the land later called Edom. Israel then journeyed on to Succoth where he made booths for his cattle and lived for a time. Later, he moved on to Shechem where he bought a piece of land from the children of Hamor. He then built and altar and worshipped God, calling the place El Elohe Israel, or “God, the God of Israel” ( Gen 33:1-20 ).
Gen 33:1. Behold, Esau came Who had said, Gen 27:41, I will slay my brother Jacob; and with him four hundred men A force sufficient for him to do what he had threatened.
Gen 33:3. Bowed himself to the ground. He then rose and walked a little farther, and bowed again; so he did seven times until he approached his brother. Homage of this kind was first paid to the great patriarchs; and very extravagant homage is still paid to great men in all the oriental nations. Poor Jacob was now an Assyrian ready to perish, but God was his defence. Deu 26:5.
Gen 33:4. Fell on his neck and kissed him. We have here the answer of Jacobs prayers and Jacobs tears. Grace is stronger than nature; love casts out fear. How different was this conduct of Esau from that of Joab, who kissed Abner, and stabbed him under the fifth rib. Assuredly in the friendship and covenant of this interview, we see something more than the emotions of nature; something which discovers a heart touched with the power of the Spirit of God. For we are here bound, from the fears and alarms of Jacob at the silence of Esau, to believe, as did the elder rabbins, that Esau set out with a view to do his brother harm.
Gen 33:10. As the face of God. Many versions read it, as the face of an angel. There is no need however to deviate from the common version, and read angel; as the word often signifies prince, ruler, or judge. To which we may add, the irradiated countenance of Esau, on seeing the prosperity of his brother.
Gen 33:17. Succoth. The place of booths, on the east of the Jordan. Jacob stayed here till his cattle brought forth their young.
Gen 33:18. Shalem. That is, safety, in which state he reached Sichem: so Dr. Wells. But most commentators think that it was the place which was afterwards called Sychar, Joh 4:5; for that village had been distinguished by patriarchal devotions.
Gen 33:19. Hundred pieces of money. Hebrews lambs. It is thought that a lamb was stamped on the money; as an angel was once ridiculously stamped on an English coin, which occasioned it to be called an angel. The French call a gold coin of 20s. after the name of their sovereign, a Louis dor, a Napoleon.
Gen 33:20. El-elohe-Israel. Poole, out of Menochius, renders this name, or inscription, the altar of the Mighty God of Israel.
REFLECTIONS.
We now see Jacob safely arrived in the promised land, God having heard his prayer, restrained the rage of Laban, and removed the long lurking malice from Esaus heart. What shall a man render to God for all his benefits! In particular we learn from this history, that the presence of God is the best support of the soul in the time of danger and affliction. Jacob had stayed behind for prayer; but after the covenant tokens of Gods favour had been renewed to him, with an increase of blessings, though halt, he hasted to the head of his company, and was the first to meet Esau. Let us ever pray that the divine presence may accompany us through life, and we shall either be safe from danger, or danger will be turned to our advantage.
This afflicted man, we farther see, divided his family and his cattle into companies. He placed his beloved Rachel with Joseph on a camel behind; but Leah with Judah, from whom the Messiah descended, was the first exposed to danger. How vain and insufficient is mans care, unless God also care! No man is able to guide his affairs with discretion, without the counsel of that eye which sees futurity without a veil. And as the smallest incidents of life may be pregnant with the greatest events, let us in every thing seek the guidance and blessing of Israels God.
How efficacious is prayer, when accompanied with prudence and good fruits, for the conversion of sinners. Did the Lord in a moment change the hard heart of Esau; and so much so, that instead of killing his brother he wept, and fell on his neck and kissed him: instead of looking on him with hateful eyes, his countenance was as the face of God? Let us then hope for Esau, on whom the secondary blessing of Isaac came; let us hope that Jacobs submission and piety, now very much revived, had a good and lasting effect on his brothers mind; and let us hope also for the conversion of all our relatives, even of those who seem the farthest from the good way. And God forbid that we should ever set their hearts against religion by studied acts of falsehood, covetousness, and crime.
Did Jacob, on arriving near Shechem, purchase a field; and following the custom of the family, did he erect an altar to the Lord, and pay there his vows to the Most High, firmly purposing to build another at Bethel as soon as providence permitted? (Gen 28:20; Gen 28:22.) Did the Lord also confirm to him every blessing of the covenant? Then let all families learn of him to raise an altar unto God in their houses, and join in public worship. And if providence should call young people, or whole families to wander in their pilgrimage, seeking their bread, let it be their first concern to adore God in their new abode, and to form connections with his people.
Did Jacob according to his vow, spare no cost which was needful for Gods service? Let all christians learn to support Gods ministers with food and raiment, that they may give up their minds freely to his work; and let them so assist the poor, that the blessing of heaven may rest on all his people. Thus the good man scattereth, and yet maketh rich.
Genesis 33 – 34
We may here see how groundless were all Jacob’s fears, and how useless all his plans. Notwithstanding the wrestling, the touching the hollow of the thigh, and the halting, we find Jacob still planning. “And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.” This arrangement proved the continuance of his fears. He still anticipated vengeance from the hand of Esau, and he exposed those about whom he cared least, to the first stroke of that vengeance. How wondrous are the depths of the human heart? How slow it is to trust God! Had Jacob been really leaning upon God, he never could have anticipated destruction for himself and his family; but alas! the heart knows something of the difficulty of simply reposing, in calm confidence, upon an over present, all-powerful, and infinitely gracious God.
But mark, now, the thorough vanity of the heart’s anxiety. “and Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him; and they wept.” The present was quite unnecessary – the plan, useless. God “appeased” Esau, us He had already appeased Laban. Thus it is He ever delights to rebuke our poor, coward, unbelieving hearts, and put to flight all our fears. Instead of the dreaded sword of Esau, Jacob meets his embrace and kiss; instead of strife and conflict, they mingle their tears. Such are God’s ways. Who would not trust Him? Who would not honour Him with the heart’s fullest confidence? Why is it that, Notwithstanding all the sweet evidence of His faithfulness to those will put their trust in Him, we are so ready, on every fresh occasion, to doubt and hesitate? The answer is simple, we are not sufficiently acquainted with God. “acquaint now thyself with Him and be at peace.” (Job 22: 21) This is true, whether in reference to the unconverted sinner, or to the child of God. The true knowledge of God, real acquaintance with Him, is life and pence. “This is, life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” (John 17: 3) The more intimate our acquaintance with God, the more solid will be our peace, and the more will our souls be lifted above every creature dependence. “God is a Rock,” and we only need to lean our whole weight upon Him, to know how ready and how able He is to sustain us.
After all this manifestation of God’s goodness, we find Jacob settling down in Succoth, and, contrary to the spirit and principles of a pilgrim life, building a house, as if it were his home. Now, Succoth was evidently not his divinely-appointed destination. The Lord had not said to him,” I am the God of Succoth;” no; but “I am the God of Bethel.” Bethel, therefore, and not Succoth, should have been Jacob’s grand object. But, alas! the heart is always prone to rest satisfied with a position and portion short of what God would graciously assign.
Jacob then moves on to Shechem, and purchases ground, still falling short of the divine mark, and the name by which he calls his altar is indicative of the moral condition of his soul. He calls it “El-elohe Israel,” or “God, the God of Israel.” This was taking a very contracted view of God. True, it is our privilege to know God as our God; but it is a higher thing to know Him as the God of His own house, and to view ourselves as part of that house. It is the believer’s privilege to know Christ as his Head; but it is a higher thing to know Him as the Head of His body the Church, and to know ourselves as members of that body.
We shall see, when we come to Gen. 35 that Jacob is led to take a higher and a wider view of God; but at Shechem he was manifestly on low ground, and he was made to smart for it, as is always the case when we stop short of God’s own ground. The two tribes and a half took up their position on this side of Jordan, and they were the first to fall into the enemy’s hand. So it was with Jacob. We see, in Gen. 34 the bitter fruits of his sojourn at Shechem. There is a blot cast upon his family, which Simeon and Levi attempt to wipe out, in the mere energy and violence of nature, which only led to still deeper sorrow; and that, too, which touched Jacob still more keenly than the insult offered to his daughter:” And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me, to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.” Thus, it was the consequences in reference to himself that affected Jacob most. He seems to have walked in constant apprehension of danger to himself or his family, and in the manifestation of an anxious, a cautious, timid, calculating spirit, utterly incompatible with a life of genuine faith in God.
It is not that Jacob was not, in the main, a man of faith; he assuredly was, and as such, gets a place amongst the “cloud of witnesses” in Heb. 11. But then he exhibited sad failure from not walking in the habitual exercise of that divine principle. Could faith have led him to say,” I shall be destroyed, I and my house?” Surely not. God’s promise in Gen. 28: 14, 15, should have banished every fear from his poor timid spirit. “I will keep thee …..I will not leave thee. This should have tranquillised his heart. But the fact is, his mind was more occupied with his danger among the Shechemites than with his security in the hand of God. He ought to have known that “not a hair of his head could be touched, and therefore, instead of looking at Simeon and Levi, or the consequences of their rash acting, he should have judged himself for being in such a position at all. If he had not settled at Shechem, Dinah would not have been dishonoured, and the violence of his sons would not have been exhibited. We constantly see Christians getting into deep sorrow and trouble through their own unfaithfulness; and then, instead of judging themselves, they begin to look at circumstances, and to cast upon them the blame.
How often do we see Christian parents, for instance, in keen anguish of soul about the wildness, unsubduedness, and worldliness of their children; and, all the while, they have mainly to blame themselves for not walking faithfully before God in reference to their family. Thus was it with Jacob. He was on low moral ground at Shechem; and, inasmuch as he lacked that refined sensibility which would have led him to detect the low ground, God, in very faithfulness, used his circumstances to chastise him. “God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.” This is a principle flowing out of God’s moral government, a principle, from the application of which none can possibly escape; and it is a positive mercy to the children of God that they are obliged to reap the fruits of their errors. It is a mercy to be taught, in any way, the bitterness of departing from, or stopping short of, the living God. We must learn that this is not our rest; for, blessed be God, He would not give us a polluted rest. He would ever have us resting in, and with Himself. Such is His perfect grace; and when our hearts founder, or fall short, His word is, “If thou wilt return, return unto Me.” False humility, which is simply the fruit of unbelief, would lead the wanderer or backslider to take lower ground, not knowing the principle or measure of God’s restoration. The prodigal would seek to be made a servant, not knowing that, so far as he was concerned, he had no more title to take place of a servant than to that of a son; and, moreover, that it would be utterly unworthy of the father’s character to put him in such a position. We must come to God on a principle and in a manner worthy of Himself, or not at all.
Genesis 33. The Reconciliation of Jacob and Esau.
Gen 33:1-17 is in the main from J, but bits of E have been woven in (Gen 33:5 b, Gen 33:10 b, Gen 33:11 a). The actual course of events, however, is not clear. According to E, Jacob had prepared a very costly present for Esau, and reading our narrative as if it carried on Gen 32:13 b Gen 32:21, we should gain the impression that at the point reached in Gen 33:1 Esau had already received the gifts enumerated in Gen 32:14 f. But Gen 33:1 rather carries on Gen 32:7 f. J represents Esau as having already met (Gen 33:8) and passed one of the two camps into which Jacob had divided his company (Gen 32:7 f.). Jacob is with his wives and children in the second camp, and pacifies Esau by the grovelling prostrations with which he honours him (Gen 33:3). Then after the reconciliation and the prostrations of the family before him, Esau inquires as to the object of the camp he had already met. On the spur of the moment, Jacob offers it to Esau as a present. He had already written it off in his mind as probable loss (Gen 32:8); Esau had, it is true, forgiven, but his question (Gen 33:8) was a broad hint; and then there were the four hundred men. Esau declined, with conventional courtesy (cf. Gen 23:15), but, of course, took it. Jacob paid a heavy price, but well worth it. His brother appeased, half his property left him, his family secure, his own skin safe, he had come out of a perilous situation better than he could have hoped. Now if Esau would only go! But Esau is in no hurry to leave his long-lost brother. He proposes that they shall travel together, but Jacob has a reason against thishis pace will be too slow. At any rate, let him leave Jacob an armed escort. Jacob pleads that there is no need, and desires his brother not to press it. Perhaps he foresees difficulties between Esaus men and his own (cf. Gen 13:6 f.). He preferred to be let alone; above all if the escort remained, he would have to go to Seir, not merely promise to go. So Esau left the same day, and Jacob journeyed to Succoth (site unknown), still on the E. of the Jordan, and settled there for a time. E. Meyer thinks that J represented Jacob as actually going to Seir and thence to Hebron without crossing the Jordan at all. But one cannot build any conclusions on the truthfulness of Jacobs implied promise to visit Seir. The rest of the chapter (Gen 33:18-20) throws no light on Js account of Jacobs movements after leaving Succoth. It is taken from E, and presupposes that Jacob had already crossed the Jordan. It records how he reached Shechem (Gen 12:6*) in safety, and purchased land. In this plot Josephs bones were buried (Jos 24:32), thus the grave of Joseph, like the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 23*), belonged to Israel by purchase.
THE BROTHERS MEET AGAIN
Jacob’s trepidation is not eased when he sees that Esau has passed by all the droves and is coming with his four hundred men to meet Jacob. He even divides his family at this time, putting the maids and their children first, then Leah and her children, followed by Rachel and Joseph, for whom he was plainly the most concerned (vs.1-2).
Now he must meet Esau, and with a servility that is not becoming to a brother, he bows himself seven times to the ground (v.3). Of course it was conscience and fear that made him do this, but Esau had no such attitude. He ran to meet his brother, embraced him and kissed him. Then both of them wept. Time had made a difference with Esau particularly. What a relief for Jacob! Indeed, family feuds should never be allowed to continue long without a reconciliation. Only an unusually hard heart could maintain bitter rancor against a brother for long years.
Esau then needs an introduction to Jacob’s wives and children and each in turn are presented in the order that Jacob had previously arranged. Actually, if he had more confidence in Esau, he would have presented Rachel and Joseph first, for they were most important to him (vs.6-6). Then Esau asks the meaning of all the droves that he met. Jacob does not conceal the fact that this was not a gift given because of his love to his brother, but tells him honestly that he was giving them to him in order to find favor from Esau, — whom he calls “my lord” — virtually as a bribe to secure his good-will! (v.8).
But even Esau was not looking for any such thing: he tells him that he has enough, therefore that Jacob should keep what belonged to him (v.9).
Jacob insists that, since Esau’s attitude was favorable toward him, he wants Esau to take his present. His words to Esau are far too flattering and exaggerated, when he says that seeing Esau was like seeing the face of God (v.10). If this meeting had been like his parting with Laban, he would not have spoken of Esau’s face being like the face of God. But he urges Esau to accept his gift, and Esau does so (v.11). Though we read of Jacob giving this large gift to Esau, we never read of his keeping his promise to give one tenth of his possessions to God!
Now that they have met on friendly terms, Esau proposes to Jacob that they travel together to Seir, Esau going before (v.12), but Jacob replies, quite plausibly, that he and his large company could not keep pace with Esau’s four hundred men. The flocks and herds with young must not be over driven, and his children also were young. Therefore he asks that Esau go on and that he (Jacob) would proceed at a slower pace to come to Esau’s residence at Seir (vs.13-14). Jacob continues to call Esau his “lord,” but he had no intention of obeying Esau’s will that he should go to Seir, even though he told him he would do so. When Esau wants to leave some of his company with Jacob to accompany him to Seir, Jacob only responds that there was no need for this.
Why did Jacob not act in simplicity of faith? He could have simply told Esau the truth, that God had directed him to return to Bethel. Was he afraid that Esau might be put out by Jacob’s not coming to visit with him at least? But would Esau not be more put out by Jacob’s deceiving him as he did?
Perhaps one reason for Jacob’s deceit was that he was not prepared to fully obey God at the time, for he did not continue to Bethel, but came as far as Succoth, where he built a house and made shelters for his flock and herds (v.17). Rather than going to Bethel (God’s house) he built a house for himself. This was only half-way obedience, and evidently it did not satisfy his own conscience, for he left all these buildings behind and journeyed to Shalem, a city of Shechem. Shalem means “peace,” and Jacob was not at peace at Succoth, but finds it apparently at Shalem. Shechem means “shoulder”, and implies that peace cannot be enjoyed apart from our taking responsibility on our shoulders. Here he does not build a house, but pitches his tent. At least he seems to realize that, in being away from Bethel, he should maintain pilgrim character.
Still, this was also only a half-way measure, and there he bought “a parcel of a field,” typical of “a part of the world,” not a large part, but nevertheless involving him in a compromise that brought some sad results, so that he actually paid far more for this than only his hundred pieces of silver. He erected there an altar, but it was not because of God’s word he did so. He erected there an altar, but it was not because of God’s word he did so. God told him later to make an altar at Bethel. He names this one at Shalem “El-Elohe-Israel,” meaning “God, the God of Israel.” For it was still not god’s honor primarily that he was seeking, but his own blessing. At Bethel his altar’s name was “El Bethel,” “God of the house of God,” for then he finally learned that God’s glory was more important than Jacob’s blessing. God is the God of His own house, not merely the God of Israel.
33:1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he {a} divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
(a) That if the one part were assailed, the other might escape.
Jacob arranged his family to preserve those who were most precious to him if his brother proved to be violently hostile (Gen 33:1-3).
"This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable." [Note: The NET Bible note on 33:2.]
His going ahead of them to meet Esau shows the new Israel overcoming the fear that had formerly dominated the old Jacob. His plan does not seem to me to reflect lack of trust in God as much as carefulness and personal responsibility. However, Jacob was obviously fearful and weak as he anticipated meeting his brother. Faith does not mean trusting God to work for us in spite of our irresponsibility; that is presumption. Faith means trusting God to work for us when we have acted responsibly realizing that without His help we will fail. His insistence on giving presents to Esau may have been an attempt to return to him the blessing that should have been his, to undo his sins of earlier years (cf. Gen 33:11). [Note: Wenham, Genesis 16-50, pp. 298-99.]
Jacob gave God the glory for giving him his family; he confessed that his family was a gift from God (Gen 33:4-5). This attitude is evidence of a basic change in Jacob’s approach to life. [Note: For some interesting insights into eastern behavior as reflected in Gen 33:4, see Imad Shehadeh, "Contrasts between Eastern and Western Cultures," Exegesis and Exposition 2:1 (Summer 1987):3-12.] Whereas he had previously been dishonest and devious, now he was honest and forthright about his intentions (Gen 33:10).
"Now that they are reunited, Esau desires a fraternal relationship, but Jacob is unable to move beyond a formal relationship.
"Only the restraining intervention of God kept Laban from retaliation against Jacob (Gen 31:24; Gen 31:29). Esau is apparently in no need of a similar divine check. His own good nature acts as a check on him. Since his rage and hate of ch. 27, Esau himself has undergone his own transformation. No longer is he controlled by vile passions." [Note: Hamilton, The Book . . . Chapters 18-50, p. 345.]
"I see your face as one sees the face of God," means "I see in your face, as expressive of your whole attitude toward me, the friendliness of God. I see this friendliness demonstrated in His making you friendly toward me" (Gen 33:10; cf. 1Sa 29:9; 2Sa 14:17). Jacob had seen God’s gracious face and had been spared at Peniel, and he now saw Esau’s gracious face and was spared.
Jacob’s "language shows that he saw the two encounters with his Lord and his brother, as two levels of a single event: cf. 10b with Gen 32:30." [Note: Kidner, p. 171. Cf. von Rad, pp. 327-28.]
Jacob’s reasons for declining Esau’s offer of an escort evidently did not spring from fear (Gen 33:14-15). He gave a legitimate explanation of why it would be better for him to travel separately: the condition of his animals. Jacob may have been counting on God’s protection and therefore felt no need of Esau’s men. Alternatively Jacob may have mistrusted Esau having been deceived himself and having been deceptive. [Note: von Rad, p. 328.] Still another view is that Jacob was returning to the Promised Land on God’s orders, and that did not include going to Seir. [Note: Wenham, Genesis 16-50, p. 299.]
His reference to visiting Esau in Seir (Gen 33:14) does not mean that Jacob planned to go directly to Seir, where he did not go immediately. He could have been deceiving his brother again. Perhaps Jacob meant that he would visit his brother in his own land in the future. Scripture does not record whether Jacob ever made such a trip.
Jacob and his family settled first at Succoth ("Booths") east of the Jordan River (Gen 33:17). Evidently he lived there for some time since he built a house and huts for his livestock.
This incident illustrates the truth of Pro 16:7, "When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."
"At almost every point in this story, Esau emerges as the more appealing, more humane, and more virtuous of the two brothers." [Note: Hamilton, The Book . . . Chapters 18-50, p. 347.]
"This is only the second-and it is the last-conversation between Esau and Jacob mentioned in Genesis. On the first occasion (Gen 25:29-34) Esau failed to perceive Jacob’s capacity for exploitation. On the second occasion he fails to perceive Jacob’s hesitancy and lack of excitement about going to Seir. In both cases, Jacob succeeds in deceiving Esau." [Note: Ibid., p. 348.]
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
4. The prayer of Jacob precedes his choice of his presents for Esau. We must first deal with God, be reconciled with him, then with men. First faith, then works.
5. Jacobs present. A great sacrifice of penitence and restitution, of large value in itself, but far more glorious in its spiritual form and import.
6. Jacobs wrestling. We must distinguish: 1. The motive of the struggle; 2. its elements; 3. its greatness; 4. the fruits of victory. Its motive cannot lie in Jacobs fear of Esau, although he was not yet free from all fear. For as to the main thing, his fears have been removed by the foregoing prayer and the sending of the present, with which, indeed, is connected also the announcement that Jacob himself was coming to meet Esau. The motive arises from the fact, that a new, and indeed the final and greatest necessity, sprang from this act of homage which Jacob had just performed. He had restored to Esau in spirit as well as in his outward arrangements the honor of the first-born, as to its earthly aspects. But had he not thus resigned also his theocratic birthright, the Abrahamic blessing? This question rested upon his mind with great weight, since the external aspect of the blessing was apparently inseparably connected with the inward. To how many of his descendants has the external theocracy occupied the place of the inward and real kingdom of God! Abraham must distinguish the present from the future, Isaac between patient endurance and dominion, but Jacob must now learn to distinguish between the external attributes and the internal and real possession of the birthright and the blessing. And since these things have hitherto been inseparably blended in his mind, there must now be, as it were, a rent in his very soul; it is only through the sorest birth-throes that he can attain a faith in the blessing, stripped of its outward and temporal glory. If he will retain the real blessing, then apparently he must recall the messengers who have gone to render homage to Esau. If he suffers these to go on, then all his hopes for the future seem to vanish. And still this is impossible, since his hope is inscribed, as a destination, in his innermost being, his election. Like Abraham upon Moriah, he must also, through his readiness to make the sacrifice, attain the full assurance in its great gain, the new life springing out from this sacrifice. Hence his wrestling. According to Hosea, it consisted essentially and fundamentally in weeping and tears; a weeping and tears that he might secure the assurance of the blessing in his very sacrifice of the blessing. His sacrifice must be completed in his heart, for it is the genuineness of his repentance, but he must also have the certainty of his blessing, for it is the genuineness and certainty of his faith. And all that he can present to the God of revelation, for redemption and deliverance from this fearful appearance of opposition in his inward life, is his sighs and tears. There his prayer becomes a vision of the most intensive form and nature. Jehovah appears to him in his Angel, the Angel appears to him in human form, in the form, indeed, of some individual man. The man in a certain measure is his alter ego in an objective form, in so far as he is the image of his innermost individuality in its communion with Jehovah, or the type of the Son of Man, the God-man. But the man meets him as a stranger. He must in him become certain of his own inward election, as Moses was made certain of the law in his own heart, in the law of the two tables of stone. At first he meets him as a mighty wrestler, who will cast him to the ground, and then proceed on his way. That is, the Angel of his election will cast him down and then leave him lying in his repentance in bitter anguish over his life lost through his sin and guilt. But Jacob wrestles with him, although unable, and even not choosing, to make use of his strivings as Jacob, of his supplanting and crafty efforts. His human prudence discerns no way of escape from this fearful inward sorrow, nor does it seek any. But what was the very core and centre of his nature as Jacob, his adherence to his faith in the future, that is preserved, even now; he does not yield in his wrestling. The day dawns upon the struggle, and now the strange man seems to get the upper hand; he puts Jacobs thigh out of joint. The human strength and elasticity of the patriarch were gone. And now the trial culminates, when the man says: Let me go. But now also the precise thought of Jacob, and the purpose of his heart, comes out in the words: I will not let thee go except thou bless me. He struggles no more, but throws his arms around the neck of the divine man and clings to him. This is the full renunciation, and the full and determined embracing of faith, both in one act, and there lies his victory. The mysterious stranger asks after his name and his name is now as an acknowledgment, a confession, Jacob. His new name, Israel, which is now given to him, on the other hand, imports not only his absolution, but also his restitution, indeed, his exaltation above his previous blessed condition. From this time onwards he is the warrior of God. He not only overcomes Esau, but God suffers him to prevail over him in that specific way of wrestling which he has just learned. Jacob now asks after his name. He must not seek this name, however, prematurely, but learn it in his actual experience. The names Peniel, Shiloh, Immanuel, are for him to be developed from the name Israel. But when the parting one gives him a special blessing, that is the assurance, that in bringing the offering of the external qualities of the blessing to Esau, he has perfectly and fully gained the essential blessing of Abraham. As in the very beginning of his new birth he had learned to distinguish between the old and new life, between Jacob and Israel, between the wrestlings of Jacob and the strength of Israel, so also he has now been taught to distinguish between the rights of the natural human birth, and the rights of the new divine birth. [There is another view of this wrestling, which bases it upon the character and previous history of Jacob. He was not, indeed, destitute of faith and reliance upon God, but the prominent feature of his character was a strong reliance upon his own resources and strength. He had thus fallen into doubtful and censurable courses. In this confidence he had wrestled with Esau for the birthright, and with Laban for the reward of his wages and his present possessions. God had dealt with him by chastisements. He had been involved in difficulties and trials which he could not well have failed to connect with his sins. Still his fault was not corrected. And now, on his return to the land of promise, and his paternal home, to inherit the blessing he had so striven to secure, he is met by Esau with his four hundred men. Conscious of his weakness, and reminded of his sins, feeling as he doubtless did that Esaus anger was not unprovoked, he flies to God for help (Gen 32:10-13). His prayer gives him relief from his fears. But it does not necessarily wean him from his self-reliance. He must feel that his crimes against men are at the same time sins against God. And to teach him this, and at the same time bring him to unreserved reliance upon God, is the purpose with which God meets him here. The progress of the struggle and its issue show this. He struggles with this new combatant to the very end, or as long as he had any strength, but when his thigh was thrown out of joint, then he saw how vain the struggle in this form was. In his disabled state he merely hangs upon the conqueror, and thus overcomes him. He is no longer strong in himself, but in the Lord. It is his faith, the divine principle planted in him, in one sense the divine energy working in him, which secures the victory. The lesson which Jacob here learned reveals its power in his whole after-life. He is no longer the supplanter. His life is not marked by his own strivings, but by his reliance upon God. And this is in accordance with the prophet Hosea (Gen 12:4 ff.), who not only teaches that the sighs and tears were prominent features in the struggle, but that in his wrestling with God in this way, Jacob has completely secured what he had been striving for from his birth, the inheritance of the first-born, the promise and blessing of the covenant; secured it, however, not by his own strength, but by casting himself upon God.A. G.]
14. When it is said of Israel that he had prevailed with God, we must not forget that he prevailed with him because God permitted him to do so. The idea that God permits himself to be overcome, assumes a gross and dangerous form if we should apply it to our selfish prayers according to our own selfish thoughts. In the entire concession to the grace of God, the believer first reaches that turning-point in his life where the will of God becomes even his own will, where God can yield and confide himself to the will of his faith.
15. In the apparent rejection of Jacobs question, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name? the angel proceeds in the same way with Christ in his public ministrations. He does not immediately call himself Christ. Believers must attain the true idea of his name from the experience of its effects.
18. The fact that Jacob after his reconciliation with Esau, could not be prevailed upon by any consideration whatever, either of fear or favor, to mingle with him, is the clearest proof of the strength of his patriarchal consciousness.
19. For the mythical traditions which resemble this wrestling of Jacob with God, see Delitzsch, Bunsen, Schrder, upon the passage.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Mackintosh’s Notes on the Pentateuch
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)