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GENESIS 32

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATION

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: GENESIS 32:1-2
  ¹Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him. ²Jacob said when he saw them, "This is God's camp." So he named that place Mahanaim.

32:1 "the angels of God" He had seen the angels as he fled Canaan (cf. Gen. 28:12), now on his return, they appeared again (cf. 2 Kgs. 6:16-17; Ps. 34:7). They represented YHWH's presence and protection. It would have reminded him of his conditions and God's promises of chapter 28. This chapter is a mixture of fear and trust. Jacob contends with these two options!

This VERB (BDB 803, KB 910, Qal IMPERFECT with waw) denotes a chance encounter (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 575, e.g., Exod. 23:4; Num. 35:19,21; Jos. 2:16; 1 Sam. 10:5; Amos 5:19).

One wonders if this brief and ambiguous verse is somehow linked to the wrestler of Gen. 32:22-32. The wrestler is obviously an angel or spiritual being of some kind that had the power (from YHWH) to bless Jacob and change his name. The problem lies in

1. this ambiguous opening verse
2. the wrestler's inability to defeat Jacob in a protracted physical contest

The Anchor Bible Commentary (p. 254) links these angels to Gen. 32:24-32. This does allow one to see the chapter as beginning and ending with a divine encounter.

32:2 "God's camp" The term "camp" (BDB 334) implies a place of encampment or rest on a journey. It can denote an armed military camp (cf. Jos. 6:11,14; 1 Sam. 4:3,6,7; 17:53; 2 Kgs. 7:16) or army (cf. Exod. 14:24). This is one of several Hebrew military terms translated "hosts."

▣ "Mahanaim" This word literally means "two camps" or "two hosts" (BDB 334, dual form). These two camps can refer to

1. Laban and Jacob
2. the angels and Jacob
3. Esau and Jacob
4. Jacob's divided family groups

In light of the immediate context, #2 fits best. In light of the larger context, #4 fits Jacob's character of trying to trust in his own resourcefulness.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: GENESIS 32:3-5
  ³Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴He also commanded them saying, "Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: 'Thus says your servant Jacob, "I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now; ⁵I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight."'"

32:3 "messengers" In both Hebrew (BDB 521) and Greek the term "messengers" (same root as the name Malachi) means "angels." The rabbis say Jacob sent the angels before him to meet Esau. The same Hebrew root is translated "angels" in Gen. 32:1 and "messengers" in Gen. 32:3 and 6.

32:4 "lord Esau" Here "lord" is used as a title of courtesy (Adon) in Jacob's message to Esau.

▣ "your servant" The messengers are to address Esau as "Lord" (BDB 10) and call Jacob "slave" or "servant" (BDB 713). Jacob is still afraid (cf. Gen. 32:7,11) that Esau holds a grudge (because of the stealing of the family blessing in Genesis 27).

32:5 Apparently this message has a dual purpose.

1. Jacob has become prosperous
2. he wants to give Esau some of his wealth as a gift (cf. Gen. 32:13-21)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: GENESIS 32:6-8
  ⁶The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him." ⁷Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies; ⁸for he said, "If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape."

32:6 "four hundred men are with him" Esau did not answer Jacob's message and he had 400 men with him. This really scared Jacob (cf. Gen. 32:7).

32:7-8 Jacob plans for the worst possible situation. Again in the context of Gen. 32:1, this seems to denote a lack of faith. He does pray in Gen. 32:9-12, but in a sense he is still trying to control his own destiny.

32:7 Note Jacob's mental response to the news.

1. "greatly afraid"
   1. afraid, BDB 431, KB 432, Qal IMPERFECT with waw, cf. Gen. 3:10; 18:15; 43:18
   2. greatly, ADVERB, BDB 547
2. "distressed," BDB 864 I, KB 1058, Qal IMPERFECT with waw, which basically means "to be cramped," cf. Job 20:22; Isa. 49:19, but it is used metaphorically for a "cramped spirit" (i.e., depressed), cf. Jdg. 2:15; 10:9; 2 Sam. 13:2

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: GENESIS 32:9-12
 ⁹Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,' ¹⁰I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. ¹¹Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. ¹²For You said, 'I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.'"

32:9 Notice the different ways to refer to Deity.

1. "O God (אלה, BDB 43) of my father Abraham"
2. "O God (same as above) of my father Isaac"
3. "O Lord" (יהוה, BDB 217)

These all refer to the God of Abraham (cf. Gen. 12:1; 28:3-4) and to His promises to Jacob in Gen. 28:13-17.

SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY

▣ "who said to me" This refers to Gen. 31:13,29 and ultimately back to Gen. 28:15.

1. "return," BDB 996, KB 1427, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. Gen. 31:13
2. "I will prosper you," BDB 405, KB 408, Hiphil COHORTATIVE, cf. Gen. 32:10,13; 28:14

32:10 "I am unworthy" This is an important admission for Jacob (BDB 881, KB 1092, Qal PERFECT, which denotes insignificance, cf. 2 Sam. 7:19; 1 Chr. 17:17). The emphasis is on the covenant God's grace, protection, and provision!

The word used here is hesed (BDB 338 I), which denotes covenant loyalty.

SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (HESED)

This is the Hebrew word emeth (BDB 54), which denotes loyalty. Hesed and emeth are often found together in the OT to describe God.

SPECIAL TOPIC: BELIEVE, TRUST, FAITH AND FAITHFULNESS IN THE OT

32:11 "Deliver me" This term (BDB 664, KB 717, Hiphil IMPERATIVE) in the Hiphil stem means "to snatch away" and metaphorically "deliver."

▣ "lest he come and attack me" The term "attack" (BDB 645, KB 697, Hiphil PERFECT with waw) in the Hiphil stem means to strike a whole company with a fatal blow (cf. Gen. 34:30). Jacob was afraid Esau would kill all the heirs of his family.

32:12 Jacob is reminding God of His covenant promises of Gen. 28:14 and 22:17. This was a recurrent covenant promise to the Patriarchs. It was a corollary to giving them a son.

▣ "prosper you" This is literally "I will do you good." This phrase is an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and an IMPERFECT VERB of the same root (BDB 405, KB 408), which denotes intensity.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: GENESIS 32:13-21
 ¹³So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau: ¹⁴two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ He delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, "Pass on before me, and put a space between droves." ¹⁷He commanded the one in front, saying, "When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?' ¹⁸then you shall say, 'These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.'" ¹⁹Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, "After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; ²⁰and you shall say, 'Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.'" For he said, "I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me." ²¹So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.

The VERB (BDB 497, KB 493, Piel COHORTATIVE) is the VERB used for a blood cleansing sacrifice (cf. Leviticus 4 and 16). Its basic meaning is "to cover" or "make atonement."

The VERB (BDB 669, KB 724, Qal IMPERFECT) means "to lift." This is a Hebrew idiom "to lift the face" (cf. Job 42:8,9; Ps. 82:2; Pro. 18:5; Lam. 4:16). In a legal setting it referred to a judge lifting the face of the accused, which jeopardized his impartiality.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: GENESIS 32:22-32
  ²²Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had. ²⁴Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. ²⁵When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. ²⁶Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." ²⁷So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." ²⁸He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed." ²⁹Then Jacob asked him and said, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there. ³⁰So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved." ³¹Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. ³²Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.

32:22 "crossed the ford" The Hebrew root for "crossed" (BDB 716, KB 778, Qal IMPERFECT with waw) is the same root as "ford" (BDB 721, cf. Jos. 2:7; Jdg. 3:28; Isa. 16:2). It denotes wading across at a shallow point.

▣ "the Jabbok" This root means "flowing" (BDB 132). It had cut a very deep gorge.

32:24 "a man wrestled" Here "wrestled" (BDB 7, KB 9, Niphal IMPERFECT), "Jabbok" (BDB 132), as well as "Jacob" (BDB 784), all sound similar when pronounced. Here the person is called a "man" (BDB 35, ish, cf. Gen. 32:6), but the context implies it was a physical manifestation of Deity (cf. vv. 28,30; Gen. 18:1-2). However, Gen. 32:26 implies some kind of angelic creature.

This is the kind of text that western literalism cannot understand. This has both physical and symbolic aspects. This contest was for Jacob's benefit. It surely does not describe the "wrestling" characteristics of God!!

YHWH appears to Jacob several times (cf. Gen. 28:10-22; 32:22-31; 35:9-13; 46:2-4) and each time it is the character and promises of God that are emphasized. The key element is not Jacob (or his acts), but God and His covenant promises!

32:25 "When he saw that he had not prevailed against him" The Jewish Study Bible, p. 67, mentions an interesting Jewish tradition (Gen. Rab. 77.3) that asserts it was Esau's patron angel and that this encounter serves as a warning to all who would oppose the covenant people. This does attempt to explain why an angelic creature cannot defeat a mere human. However, can Esau's angel change Jacob's name to Israel?! This was somehow a "God thing."

▣ "the socket of his thigh" The rabbis say this refers to the vein of the thigh and this part of the animal carcass is not allowed to be eaten in Judaism (cf. Gen. 32:32).

32:26 "the dawn is breaking" This time of day was known as a special period of God's activity (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 4, p. 85). It was often mentioned in ancient folklore.

In light of the Hebraic fear of seeing God (cf. Gen. 16:13; 32:30; Exod. 33:20), possibly the dawn would have revealed the divine identity of Jacob's opponent.

▣ "bless me" It was not Jacob's wrestling ability that was rewarded, but his tenacious dependent attitude upon God.

32:27 "What is your name" This is not lack of information on the angelic/divine wrestler's part, but a reminder to Jacob of his character of trickery and manipulation.

32:28 "Israel" This name change seems to be the key to the interpretation of the entire account. Israel means "may El preserve" (BDB 975) or if jussive, "let El contend" (cf. Hosea 12:3-4). It was not Jacob's strength, but God's purpose. One's name was very important to the Hebrews and denoted a person's character.

Another option for the name "Israel" (ישׂראל, BDB 975) is from ישׂרונ ("Jeshurun," BDB 449, cf. Deut. 32:15; 33:5,26; Isa. 44:2), which means "upright one."

SPECIAL TOPIC: ISRAEL (THE NAME)

▣ "with God" The wrestler seems to differentiate himself from God, although in Gen. 32:30 Jacob realizes he has somehow been with Deity.

32:29 "Please tell me your name" In the Ancient Near East the name of a spiritual being was closely guarded because of the possible use of that name in curses, oaths, and rituals. This is surely not the issue in biblical texts (cf. Jdg. 13:17-18). In biblical texts YHWH reveals His name to His people (cf. Exod. 3:13-15). However, its meaning is not always comprehended (compare Exod. 6:3 with Gen. 4:26). As Judges 13:18 states, the name is too "wonderful" for humans to comprehend.

32:30 "Peniel" Peniel means "the face of God" (BDB 819). The spelling "Penuel" may be the alternative spelling of an older name for the location.

This name surely implies Jacob thought his opponent was YHWH, who could have easily defeated a mere mortal, but allows a contracted context to denote His willingness to work with and on the side of Jacob. He was not an antagonist, but a present help and one who blesses.

This really is a strange ancient account with many unknown aspects, much like Exod. 4:24-26. It would be very unwise to use these ambiguous texts for doctrine or application. They remain a mystery and their interpretation mere modern conjecture!

SPECIAL TOPIC: CAN HUMANS SEE GOD AND LIVE?

32:31 "he was limping" Whether this was permanent (later Jewish tradition) or temporary is not certain.

32:32 "to this day" This phrase is textual evidence of a later editor. The ban on eating this part of an animal is rabbinical, not biblical.

SPECIAL TOPIC: LATER EDITORIAL ADDITIONS

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Who was the wrestler?
   1. a man (cf. Gen. 32:24)
   2. an angel (cf. Gen. 32:26, Hosea 12:3-4)
   3. God in human form (cf. Gen. 32:30)
   4. Jesus (Martin Luther, following Justin)
2. What part do the angels of Gen. 32:1 play in the rest of the chapter?
3. Why were these encounters (i.e., with the angel and Esau) so important to Jacob?
4. Why the name change?

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