2tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”

3sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.

4tn Heb “before him.”

5tn Heb “field.”

6sn Your servant. The narrative recounts Jacob’s groveling in fear before Esau as he calls his brother his “lord,” as if to minimize what had been done twenty years ago.

7tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense – as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows – much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.

8tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

9tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”

10tn Heb “and he said, ‘If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.” The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar) here represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “he thought.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

11tn Heb “the surviving camp will be for escape.” The word “escape” is a feminine noun. The term most often refers to refugees from war.

12tn Heb “said.”

13tn Heb “the one who said.”

14tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.

15tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).

16tn Heb “you have done with.”

17tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.

18tn Heb “this Jordan.”

19tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.

20tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”

21tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”

22tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”

23sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.

24tn Heb “But you, you said.” One of the occurrences of the pronoun “you” has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

sn Some commentators have thought this final verse of the prayer redundant, but it actually follows the predominant form of a lament in which God is motivated to act. The primary motivation Jacob can offer to God is God’s promise, and so he falls back on that at the end of the prayer.

25tn Or “will certainly deal well with you.” The infinitive absolute appears before the imperfect, underscoring God’s promise to bless. The statement is more emphatic than in v. 9.

26tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.

27tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.

28tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

29tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.

30sn The Hebrew noun translated gift can in some contexts refer to the tribute paid by a subject to his lord. Such a nuance is possible here, because Jacob refers to Esau as his lord and to himself as Esau’s servant (v. 4).

31tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”

32tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.

33tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.

34tn Heb “to whom are you?”

35tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”

36tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.

37tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

38tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”

39tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”

40tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

41tn Heb “And he commanded also the second, also the third, also all the ones going after the herds, saying: ‘According to this word you will speak when you find him.’”

42tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

43tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”

44tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.

45tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

46tn Heb “I will see his face.”

47tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

48tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”

49tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.

50tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.

51tn The Hebrew term used here is יֶלֶד (yeled) which typically describes male offspring. Some translations render the term “children” but this is a problem because by this time Jacob had twelve children in all, including one daughter, Dinah, born to Leah (Gen 30:21). Benjamin, his twelfth son and thirteenth child, was not born until later (Gen 35:16-19).

52sn Hebrew narrative style often includes a summary statement of the whole passage followed by a more detailed report of the event. Here v. 22 is the summary statement, while v. 23 begins the detailed account.

53tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”

54sn Reflecting Jacob’s perspective at the beginning of the encounter, the narrator calls the opponent simply “a man.” Not until later in the struggle does Jacob realize his true identity.

55sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayye’aveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, ya’aqov) and “Jabbok” (יַבֹּק, yabboq). In this way the narrator links the setting, the main action, and the main participant together in the mind of the reader or hearer.

56tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”

57tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

58tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

59tn Or “injured”; traditionally “touched.” The Hebrew verb translated “struck” has the primary meanings “to touch; to reach; to strike.” It can, however, carry the connotation “to harm; to molest; to injure.” God’s “touch” cripples Jacob – it would be comparable to a devastating blow.

60tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

61tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”

62tn Heb “and he said, ‘I will not let you go.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

63sn Jacob wrestled with a man thinking him to be a mere man, and on that basis was equal to the task. But when it had gone on long enough, the night visitor touched Jacob and crippled him. Jacob’s request for a blessing can only mean that he now knew that his opponent was supernatural. Contrary to many allegorical interpretations of the passage that make fighting equivalent to prayer, this passage shows that Jacob stopped fighting, and then asked for a blessing.

64tn Heb “and he said to him.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

65sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the Lord obviously knew Jacob’s identity. But since the Lord is going to change Jacob’s name, this question is designed to bring focus Jacob’s attention on all that his name had come to signify.

66tn Heb “and he said.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

67sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ’el) that usually indicates the subject of the verb. Here it means “God fights.” This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the Lord was saying that Jacob would have victory and receive the promises because God would fight for him.

68sn You have fought. The explanation of the name Israel includes a sound play. In Hebrew the verb translated “you have fought” (שָׂרִיתָ, sarita) sounds like the name “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל, yisra’el ), meaning “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). The name would evoke the memory of the fight and what it meant. A. Dillmann says that ever after this the name would tell the Israelites that, when Jacob contended successfully with God, he won the battle with man (Genesis, 2:279). To be successful with God meant that he had to be crippled in his own self-sufficiency (A. P. Ross, “Jacob at the Jabboq, Israel at Peniel,” BSac 142 [1985]: 51-62).

69sn Tell me your name. In primitive thought to know the name of a deity or supernatural being would enable one to use it for magical manipulation or power (A. S. Herbert, Genesis 12-50 [TBC], 108). For a thorough structural analysis of the passage discussing the plays on the names and the request of Jacob, see R. Barthes, “The Struggle with the Angel: Textual Analysis of Genesis 32:23-33,” Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis (PTMS), 21-33.

70tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.

71tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

72tn The verb here means that the Lord endowed Jacob with success; he would be successful in everything he did, including meeting Esau.

73tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

74sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.

75tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

76tn Or “because.”

77sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.

78tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”

sn I have survived. It was commonly understood that no one could see God and live (Gen 48:16; Exod 19:21, 24:10; and Judg 6:11, 22). On the surface Jacob seems to be saying that he saw God and survived. But the statement may have a double meaning, in light of his prayer for deliverance in v. 11. Jacob recognizes that he has survived his encounter with God and that his safety has now been guaranteed.

79tn Heb “shone.”

80sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).

81tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.

82sn On the use of the expression to this day, see B. S. Childs, “A Study of the Formula ‘Until This Day’,” JBL 82 (1963): 279-92.

83tn Or “because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck.” Some translations render this as an impersonal passive. On the translation of the word “struck” see the note on this term in v. 25.