Genesis 32:14-30

Complete Jewish Bible

(ii) ¹⁴⁽¹³⁾He stayed there that night; then he chose from among his possessions the following as a present for ‘Esav his brother: ¹⁵⁽¹⁴⁾two hundred female goats and twenty males, two hundred female sheep and twenty males, ¹⁶⁽¹⁵⁾thirty milk-camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten colts. ¹⁷⁽¹⁶⁾He turned them over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Cross over in front of me, and keep a space between each drove and the next one.” ¹⁸⁽¹⁷⁾He instructed the servant in front, “When ‘Esav my brother meets you and asks you, ‘Whose servant are you? Where are you going? And whose animals are these?’ ¹⁹⁽¹⁸⁾then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Ya‘akov, and they are a present he has sent to my lord ‘Esav; and Ya‘akov himself is just behind us.’” ²⁰⁽¹⁹⁾He also instructed the second servant, and the third, and all that followed the droves, “When you encounter ‘Esav, you are to speak to him in the same way, ²¹⁽²⁰⁾and you are to add, ‘And there, just behind us, is your servant Ya‘akov.’” For he said, “I will appease him first with the present that goes ahead of me; then, after that, I will see him myself — and maybe he will be friendly toward me.” ²²⁽²¹⁾So the present crossed over ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

²³⁽²²⁾He got up that night, took his two wives, his two slave-girls, and his eleven children, and forded the Yabok. ²⁴⁽²³⁾He took them and sent them across the stream, then sent his possessions across; ²⁵⁽²⁴⁾and Ya‘akov was left alone. Then some man wrestled with him until daybreak. ²⁶⁽²⁵⁾When he saw that he did not defeat Ya‘akov, he struck Ya‘akov’s hip socket, so that his hip was dislocated while wrestling with him. ²⁷⁽²⁶⁾The man said, “Let me go, because it’s daybreak.” But Ya‘akov replied, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁸⁽²⁷⁾The man asked, “What is your name?” and he answered, “Ya‘akov.” ²⁹⁽²⁸⁾Then the man said, “From now on, you will no longer be called Ya‘akov, but Isra’el; because you have shown your strength to both God and men and have prevailed.” ³⁰⁽²⁹⁾Ya‘akov asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he answered, “Why are you asking about my name?” and blessed him there.