Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Genesis 32

Introduction

1  Jacob's vision at Mahanaim.
3  His message to Esau.
6  He is afraid of Esau's coming.
9  He prays for deliverance.
13  He sends a present to Esau, and passes the brook Jabbok.
24  He wrestles with an angel at Peniel, where he is called Israel.
31  He halts.
Verse 1

And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
angels
Psalms 91:11, Hebrews 1:4, 1 Corinthians 3:22, Ephesians 3:10
Verse 2

And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
God's
Joshua 5:14, 2 Kings 6:17, Psalms 34:7, 103:21, 148:2, Daniel 10:20, Luke 2:13
the name
Joshua 21:38, 2 Samuel 2:8,12, 17:24,26,27, 1 Kings 2:8, 4:14
Mahanain
i.e., two hosts, or camps.
Song of Solomon 6:13; Mahanaim was situated between Gilead and the river Jabbok, near the present Djezan.
Verse 3

And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
sent
Malachi 3:1, Luke 9:52, 14:31,32
land
The land, or mountains, of Seir was situated south and east of the Dead Sea; forming a continuation of the eastern Syrian chain of mountains, beginning with Antilibanus, and extending from thence to the eastern gulf of the Red Sea.
Seir
14:6, 33:14,16, 36:6-8, Deuteronomy 2:5,22, Joshua 24:4
country
Heb. field. Edom.
25:30
Verse 4

And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
my lord
5,18, 4:7, 23:6, 27:29,37, 33:8, Exodus 32:22, 1 Samuel 26:17, Proverbs 6:3, 15:1, Luke 14:11, 1 Peter 3:6
servant
1 Kings 20:32, Ecclesiastes 10:4
Verse 5

And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
have oxen
30:43, 31:1,16, 33:11, Job 6:22
may find
33:8,15, 47:25, Ruth 2:2, 1 Samuel 1:18, 2 Samuel 16:4
Verse 6

And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
and four
8,11, 27:40,41, 33:1, Amos 5:19
Verse 7

Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
greatly
Exodus 14:10, Psalms 18:4,5, 31:13, 55:4,5, 61:2, 142:4, Matthew 8:26, John 16:33, Acts 14:22, 2 Corinthians 1:4,8-10, 2 Timothy 3:12
distressed
35:3, Psalms 107:6
and he
Psalms 112:5, Proverbs 2:11, Isaiah 28:26, Matthew 10:16
Verse 8

And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
33:1-3, Matthew 10:16
Verse 9

And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
Jacob
1 Samuel 30:6, 2 Chronicles 20:6,12, 32:20, Psalms 34:4-6, 50:15, 91:15, Philippians 4:6,7
O God
17:7, 28:13, 31:29,42,53, Exodus 3:6
the Lord
31:3,13
Verse 10

I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
not worthy of the least of all
Heb. less than all.
18:27, 2 Samuel 7:18, Job 42:5,6, Psalms 16:2, Isaiah 6:5, 63:7, Daniel 9:8,9, Luke 5:8, Luke 17:10, 2 Corinthians 12:11, 1 Timothy 1:12-15, 1 Peter 5:5, 1 John 1:8-10
mercies
24:27, Psalms 8:5
truth
24:27, 28:15, Psalms 61:7, 85:10, Micah 7:20
my staff
28:10,11, Job 8:7, Psalms 18:35
two bands
5,7, 30:43, Deuteronomy 8:18, Psalms 18:35, 84:7, Job 17:9, Proverbs 4:18
Verse 11

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.
Deliver
1 Samuel 12:10, 24:15, Psalms 16:1, 25:20, 31:2, 43:1, 59:1,2, 119:134, 142:6, Proverbs 18:19, Daniel 3:17, Matthew 6:13
the mother
Deuteronomy 22:6, Hosea 10:14
with
Heb. upon.
Verse 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.
thou
6, Exodus 32:13, Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Matthew 24:35, 2 Timothy 2:13, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:17
I will
28:13-15, 46:3,4
Verse 13

And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;
which
1 Samuel 25:8
to his hand
Or, "under his hand" or power; i.e., what Providence had put in his power or possession.
a present
20,21, 18:2, 33:10, 42:6, 43:11,26, 1 Samuel 25:27, Proverbs 17:8, 18:16, 19:6, Proverbs 21:14
Verse 14

Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
30:43, 31:9,16, Deuteronomy 8:18, 1 Samuel 25:2, Job 1:3, 42:12
Verse 16

And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
space
20, 33:8,9, Psalms 112:5, Proverbs 2:11, Isaiah 28:26, Matthew 10:16
Verse 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?
Whose art
33:3
Verse 18

Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.
4,5
Verse 20

And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
I will appease
43:11, 1 Samuel 25:17-35, Job 42:8,9, Proverbs 15:18, 16:14, 21:14
peradventure
1 Samuel 6:5, 1 Kings 20:31, Jonah 3:9, 2 Timothy 2:25
of me
Heb. my face.
Job 42:8,9, Proverbs 6:35
Verse 22

And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
his two wives
29:21-35, 30:1-24, 35:18,22-26, 1 Timothy 5:8
the ford Jabbok
Or, "the ford of Jabbok," a stream which takes its rise in the mountains of Gilead, and falls into the Jordan to the south of the lake of Gennesareth. It is now called the Zerka.
Deuteronomy 2:37, 3:16, Joshua 12:2
Verse 23

And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
sent them
Heb. caused to pass.
Verse 24

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
wrestled
30:8, Luke 13:24, 22:44, Romans 8:26,27, 15:30, Ephesians 6:12,18, Colossians 2:1, 4:12, Hebrews 5:7
man
28,30, 48:16, Isaiah 32:2, Hosea 12:3-5, 1 Corinthians 15:47
breaking of the day
Heb. ascending of the morning.
Exodus 14:27, Song of Solomon 2:17
Verse 25

And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
that he
19:22, Numbers 14:13,14, Isaiah 41:14, 45:11, Hosea 12:3,4, Matthew 15:22-28, Luke 11:5-8
touched
32, Psalms 30:6,7, Matthew 26:41,44, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
Verse 26

And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Let me go
Exodus 32:10, Deuteronomy 9:14, Song of Solomon 7:5, Isaiah 45:11, 64:7, Luke 24:28,29
I will not
Song of Solomon 3:4, Hosea 12:4, Luke 18:1-7, Romans 8:37, 1 Corinthians 15:58, 2 Corinthians 12:8,9, Hebrews 5:7
thou bless
1 Chronicles 4:10, Psalms 67:1,6,7, 115:12,13
Verse 28

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.
Thy name
17:5,15, 33:20, 35:10, Numbers 13:16, 2 Samuel 12:25, 2 Kings 17:34, Isaiah 62:2-4, Isaiah 65:15, John 1:42, Revelation 2:17
Israel
i.e., a prince of God. as a prince. Or, according to the LXX., Vulgate, Houbigant, Dathe, and Rosenmuller, "because thou hast power with God, thou shalt also prevail with men." There is a beautiful antithesis between the two terms, with [Elohim] Elohim, god, the Almighty, with [anashim] anashim, weak, feeble men, as the word imports; seeing thou hast had power with the Almighty, surely thou shalt prevail over perishing mortals.
power
24, Hosea 12:3-5
with men
25:31, 27:33-36, 31:24,36-55, 33:4, 1 Samuel 26:25, Proverbs 16:7
Verse 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.
Wherefore
27, Deuteronomy 29:29, Judges 13:16-18, Job 11:7, Proverbs 30:4, Isaiah 9:6, Luke 1:19
blessed
26, 27:28,29, 28:3,4,13,14, Hosea 6:1
Verse 30

And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Jacob
Penuel
28:19, Judges 8:8,17, 1 Kings 12:25
Peniel
i.e., the face of God. Peniel, or Penuel, was evidently situated near the ford of Jabbok, on the north of that stream, about forty miles from Jerusalem.
I have
16:13, Exodus 24:10,11, 33:14,19-23, Numbers 12:8, Deuteronomy 5:24, 34:10, Judges 6:22,23, 13:21,22, Isaiah 6:5, John 1:18, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:6, Galatians 1:6, Ephesians 1:17, Colossians 1:15, 2 Timothy 1:10, Hebrews 11:27
Verse 31

And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
rose upon
19:15,23, Malachi 4:2
he halted
25, Psalms 38:17, 2 Corinthians 12:7,9
Verse 32

Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.
eat not
1 Samuel 5:5

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