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32 Jacob went on his way as well. As he went, messengers of God met him along the way. 2 When Jacob saw them, he acknowledged that this was God’s camp, so he named that place Mahanaim, which means “two camps.” 3-4 Jacob knew he had to pass by the territory of Edom where his brother Esau lived in the land of Seir. He sent messengers ahead with a message for Esau.
Jacob (to his messengers): This is what I want you to say to my master Esau: “Your servant Jacob says this: ‘I have lived with Laban as a foreigner and stayed there working for him until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female slaves. I have sent my messengers to inform you, my master, of all this so that I might regain your trust and favor.’”
6 The messengers went out to Esau and then returned to Jacob with a troubling report.
Messengers: We went to your brother Esau and gave him your message. He is coming to meet you, but 400 men are with him.
7 When Jacob heard their report, he was afraid and extremely distressed. He divided up the people who were with him, the flocks, the herds, and the camels into two camps, 8 thinking, “If Esau comes to one camp and crushes it, at least then the other might escape.” 9 Then Jacob prayed.
Jacob: O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Eternal One who said to me, “You must now return to the land of your ancestors and to your own family. I will make good things happen for you.” 10 I know I am not worthy of even a little of all of the loyal love and faithfulness You have shown to me, Your servant. You have already blessed me because I left home and crossed the Jordan with nothing except my staff. Now I have grown into two large camps. 11 Rescue me now, please, from the hand of my brother, from the grip of Esau. I am afraid that he may come and crush us all, the children alongside their mothers. 12 Remember You told me, “I will make good things happen for you and make your descendants as many as the grains of sand on the shores, which are too numerous to count.”
Jacob has come to the end of himself. He has struggled with his brother and the rest of his family for his entire life. He was born a “heel-catcher,” a deceiver, and he lived the part well. But he can’t go on like this any longer. With Esau on his way, by this time tomorrow he could well be dead and his family killed or captured. He desperately needs God’s blessing and protection, so he grieves and agonizes through the night. Through stabbing pain Jacob demands a blessing from his unknown assailant, but he cannot receive it until he confesses his name. Once he does, his name is changed. No longer is he known as Jacob; from now on he is “Israel,” he who wrestles with God. This is the turning point in Jacob’s life. He lays aside his former self and takes up a new name, a new identity. If Jacob is to be the one to carry on God’s covenant and the source of universal blessing, he has to change.
And Jacob prayed on. 13 He spent the night there, and from his possessions he prepared a gift for his brother Esau: 14 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 rams, 15 30 milk camels and their colts, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys. 16 When he had rounded them up, he made various servants responsible for driving each herd. He gave them instructions.
Jacob: Travel on ahead of me, and put some distance between each herd.
17 (to the leader) When Esau, my brother, meets you and asks you, “To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose herds are these?” 18 then say, “They belong to your servant, Jacob, and are a gift sent to my master, Esau. Jacob is coming along behind us.”
19 Jacob instructed those responsible for the second and third herds, as well as those who followed behind to help:
Jacob: When you meet Esau, say the same thing these other herdsman have said, 20 and make sure you tell him, “Your servant Jacob is coming along behind us.”
(to himself) I might be able to appease Esau with these gifts. He will see them before he sees me. When I see his face, I’ll know whether he’ll accept and forgive me.
21 So the gifts were driven on ahead, and he stayed the night in the camp, waiting.
22 Later that same night, Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his 11 children; and he crossed the Jabbok River. 23 He sent them all ahead across the stream along with everything he had; 24 but Jacob stayed behind, left alone in his distress and doubt. In the twilight of his anguish, an unknown man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw he was not winning the battle with Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was thrown out of joint as he continued to wrestle with him.
Man: 26 Let me go; the dawn is breaking.
Jacob: I will not let you go unless you bless me.
Man: 27 What’s your name?
Jacob: Jacob.
Man: 28 You will no longer go by the name Jacob. From now on, your name will be Israel because you have wrestled with God and humanity, and you have prevailed.
Jacob: 29 Please, tell me your name.
Man: Why do you ask what my name is?
Right then and right there the man blessed Jacob. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel because as he said, “I have come face to face with God, and yet my life was spared.” 31 The sun began to rise as Jacob passed by Penuel, limping because of his dislocated hip. 32 And to this day, the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached near the hip socket of any animal, since that is where God struck Jacob when He dislocated his hip.
33 Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and 400 men were with him. Jacob quickly divided the children among Leah and Rachel and their two servants. 2 He put the female servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. 3 He himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. 4 But Esau ran to meet him. He embraced Jacob, kissed his neck, and they both cried. 5 Esau looked up and saw the women and children.
Esau: Who are these people with you?
Jacob: These are the children God has graciously given your servant.
6 Then the female servants came closer, along with their children, and they bowed down. 7 Leah did likewise; she and her children approached and bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward, and they bowed down as well.
Esau: 8 What was your intent in sending all of your men and herds ahead of you?
Jacob: I hope to find favor with you, my master.
Esau: 9 I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.
Jacob expects trouble from Esau, but he finds the pain of the past healed. Now Esau wants nothing from his brother.
Jacob: 10 No, please. If I have found favor with you after all these years, please accept the gifts I offer. Seeing your face again is like seeing the face of God, so graciously and warmly have you welcomed me. 11 Please accept the blessing I bring. God has graciously provided for me and my family. I have everything I could want.
Jacob kept insisting that Esau accept the gift. Finally he did.
Esau: 12 Now let’s be on our way, and I will walk on ahead of you.
Jacob: 13 My master knows that the children are very small and the nursing flocks and herds are under my care. If they are driven too hard for even one day, I’m afraid I’ll lose all the flocks. 14 Please, my master, go on ahead of me, and I will keep on at a slower pace—the pace of the animals up ahead and the children—until I come to you in Seir.
Esau: 15 Let me leave some of my people to accompany you.
Jacob: Why go to all that trouble? You have done enough already. Just let me find favor with my master.
16 Esau agreed and set out that day to go back to Seir. 17 But Jacob journeyed instead to Succoth, and he built himself a house there and put up some shelters for his cattle. That’s why this place is called Succoth, which means “shelters.”
18 At last Jacob came to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan. Overall it had been a safe and peaceful journey from Paddan-aram. He camped outside of the city 19 and purchased the land on which he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor (who was Shechem’s father) for one hundred pieces of money. 20 And there also he built an altar he called El-Elohe-Israel, which means “God, the God of Israel.”
34 One day Dinah, Leah and Jacob’s daughter, went out to visit some of the women who lived in the land. 2 But when Shechem (son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the region) saw Dinah, he grabbed her and raped her. 3 His soul was drawn to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with her and spoke tenderly to her. 4 Shechem went then and spoke with his father, Hamor.
Shechem: I need you to arrange for this girl to be my wife.
5 Now Jacob found out that Shechem had dishonored and raped his daughter, Dinah, but at the time, all of his sons were out in the field working with the livestock. So Jacob stayed calm and did not react until they came back. 6 Meanwhile Hamor, Shechem’s father, had come to speak with Jacob to arrange a marriage. 7 When news of the attack reached Jacob’s sons, they came in from the field. The young men were appalled and extremely angry because Shechem had done such a horrible thing in Israel by raping Jacob’s daughter. Something like this should never happen.
8 Hamor tried speaking with them.
Hamor: My son’s soul longs for your daughter. Please give her to him in marriage. 9 In fact, let’s intermarry our families. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 We’ll live together. The entire land will be open to you. You can live on it, trade on it, and buy property on it.
Shechem (to Jacob and his sons): 11 Please, let me find my way into your favor! Whatever you ask, I will give it to you. 12 Set the bride-price and gift as high as you like, and I will give you whatever it takes. Just please allow me to marry the young woman.
13 Jacob’s sons were still angry that Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, so they answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.
Jacob’s Sons: 14 We can’t agree to this arrangement: to give our sister to someone who isn’t circumcised would bring shame on all of us. 15 We will consent to allow you to marry our sister on one condition: you must be circumcised as the rest of us have been. Every male among you must be circumcised.[a] 16 Then we will give our daughters to you and will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you in peace and become one people. 17 But if you don’t agree to this condition and be circumcised, then we will take our sister[b] and go.
18 Hamor and his son Shechem were willing to go along with the demand, 19 and the young man wasted no time in fulfilling the requirement since he was so taken with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored man in all of his family, 20 so Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of the city and addressed all of the men.
Hamor and Shechem (to the men of the city): 21 These men are peaceful and friendly to us, so let’s allow them to live in the land and trade in it. You see this land is large enough for them too. Let’s take their daughters in marriage, and let’s give them our daughters. 22 They will agree to live among us in peace and become one people on one condition: every male among us must be circumcised, just as they already are. 23 Wouldn’t we have much to gain—their livestock, property, and animals? Let’s agree to their condition, and they will live among us and increase the vitality of our city.
24 So everyone who passed by the city gate listened to Hamor and his son, Shechem, and they all were circumcised—every single man who went out the city gates that day. 25 Three days later, when the men of the city were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting people of the city, killing all of the men. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword as well; they took Dinah out of Shechem’s house—where she had remained during the negotiations—and then went away. 27 Jacob’s other sons saw those who were killed, and they plundered the city. All of this was done in anger, because it was here that their sister had been raped and the family dishonored. 28 They took all of the flocks, herds, donkeys, and whatever was in the city and the field. 29 All of their wealth, all of their children, and all of their wives—everything they could find in the houses—they plundered and made it their own.
Jacob (reacting to Simeon and Levi): 30 You have brought a lot of trouble to me. The people of this land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, can smell the stink of my sons’ actions. I don’t have huge armies of men to defend us. If they all decide to gather against me and attack me, I will be destroyed along with my entire household.
Simeon and Levi: 31 Would you rather have our sister treated as a whore?
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.