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Genesis 32-34
New English Translation

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

32 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God[a] met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed,[b] “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.[c]

3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead[d] to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region[e] of Edom. 4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant[f] Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now.[g] 5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent[h] this message[i] to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has 400 men with him.” 7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 8 “If Esau attacks one camp,”[j] he thought,[k] “then the other camp will be able to escape.”[l]

9 Then Jacob prayed,[m] “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said[n] to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’[o] 10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love[p] you have shown[q] your servant. With only my walking stick[r] I crossed the Jordan,[s] but now I have become two camps. 11 Rescue me,[t] I pray, from the hand[u] of my brother Esau,[v] for I am afraid he will come[w] and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children.[x] 12 But you[y] said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper[z] and will make[aa] your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’”[ab]

13 Jacob[ac] stayed there that night. Then he sent[ad] as a gift[ae] to his brother Esau 14 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 ewes and 20 rams, 15 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, and 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys. 16 He entrusted them to[af] his servants, who divided them into herds.[ag] He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd,[ah] “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong?[ai] Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’[aj] 18 then you must say,[ak] ‘They belong[al] to your servant Jacob.[am] They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau.[an] In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’”[ao]

19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him.[ap] 20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’”[aq] Jacob thought,[ar] “I will first appease him[as] by sending a gift ahead of me.[at] After that I will meet him.[au] Perhaps he will accept me.”[av] 21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him[aw] while he spent that night in the camp.[ax]

22 During the night Jacob quickly took[ay] his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons[az] and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.[ba] 23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions.[bb] 24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man[bc] wrestled[bd] with him until daybreak.[be] 25 When the man[bf] saw that he could not defeat Jacob,[bg] he struck[bh] the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

26 Then the man[bi] said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.”[bj] “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied,[bk] “unless you bless me.”[bl] 27 The man asked him,[bm] “What is your name?”[bn] He answered, “Jacob.” 28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him,[bo] “but Israel,[bp] because you have fought[bq] with God and with men and have prevailed.”

29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.”[br] “Why[bs] do you ask my name?” the man replied.[bt] Then he blessed[bu] Jacob[bv] there. 30 So Jacob named the place Peniel,[bw] explaining,[bx] “Certainly[by] I have seen God face to face[bz] and have survived.”[ca]

31 The sun rose[cb] over him as he crossed over Penuel,[cc] but[cd] he was limping because of his hip. 32 That is why to this day[ce] the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck[cf] the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Jacob looked up[cg] and saw that Esau was coming[ch] along with 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them.[ci] 3 But Jacob[cj] himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached[ck] his brother. 4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 5 When Esau[cl] looked up[cm] and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob[cn] replied, “The children whom God has graciously given[co] your servant.” 6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down.[cp] 7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

8 Esau[cq] then asked, “What did you intend[cr] by sending all these herds to meet me?”[cs] Jacob[ct] replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said.[cu] “If I have found favor in your sight, accept[cv] my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me,[cw] it is as if I have seen the face of God.[cx] 11 Please take my present[cy] that was brought to you, for God has been generous[cz] to me and I have all I need.”[da] When Jacob urged him, he took it.[db]

12 Then Esau[dc] said, “Let’s be on our way![dd] I will go in front of you.” 13 But Jacob[de] said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young,[df] and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young.[dg] If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children,[dh] until I come to my lord at Seir.”

15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.”[di] “Why do that?” Jacob replied.[dj] “My lord has already been kind enough to me.”[dk]

16 So that same day Esau made his way back[dl] to Seir. 17 But[dm] Jacob traveled to Sukkoth[dn] where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called[do] Sukkoth.[dp]

18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near[dq] the city. 19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it[dr] from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for 100 pieces of money.[ds] 20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.”[dt]

Dinah and the Shechemites

34 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet[du] the young women[dv] of the land. 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her,[dw] and sexually assaulted her.[dx] 3 Then he became very attached[dy] to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her.[dz] 4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.”[ea] 5 When[eb] Jacob heard that Shechem[ec] had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent[ed] until they came in.

6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah.[ee] 7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news.[ef] They[eg] were offended[eh] and very angry because Shechem[ei] had disgraced Israel[ej] by sexually assaulting[ek] Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed.[el]

8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter.[em] Please give her to him as his wife. 9 Intermarry with us.[en] Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves.[eo] 10 You may live[ep] among us, and the land will be open to you.[eq] Live in it, travel freely in it,[er] and acquire property in it.”

11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s[es] father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me[et] I’ll give.[eu] 12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive,[ev] and I’ll give[ew] whatever you ask[ex] of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”

13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem[ey] had violated their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot give[ez] our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace[fa] to us. 15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become[fb] like us by circumcising[fc] all your males. 16 Then we will give[fd] you our daughters to marry,[fe] and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 17 But if you do not agree to our terms[ff] by being circumcised, then we will take[fg] our sister[fh] and depart.”

18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem.[fi] 19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked[fj] because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah[fk] badly. (Now he was more important[fl] than anyone in his father’s household.)[fm] 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate[fn] of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough[fo] for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry.[fp] 22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand[fq] that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 23 If we do so,[fr] won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”

24 All the men who assembled at the city gate[fs] agreed with[ft] Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate[fu] was circumcised. 25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword[fv] and went to the unsuspecting city[fw] and slaughtered every male. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 27 Jacob’s sons killed them[fx] and looted the city because their sister had been violated.[fy] 28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields.[fz] 29 They captured as plunder[ga] all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin on[gb] me by making me a foul odor[gc] among the inhabitants of the land—among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I[gd] am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!” 31 But Simeon and Levi replied,[ge] “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 32:1 sn The phrase angels of God occurs only here and in Gen 28:12 in the OT. Jacob saw a vision of angels just before he left the promised land. Now he encounters angels as he prepares to return to it. The text does not give the details of the encounter, but Jacob’s response suggests it was amicable. This location was a spot where heaven made contact with earth, and where God made his presence known to the patriarch. See C. Houtman, “Jacob at Mahanaim: Some Remarks on Genesis XXXII 2-3, ” VT 28 (1978): 37-44.
  2. Genesis 32:2 tn Heb “and Jacob said when he saw them.”
  3. Genesis 32:2 sn The name Mahanaim apparently means “two camps.” Perhaps the two camps were those of God and of Jacob.
  4. Genesis 32:3 tn Heb “before him.”
  5. Genesis 32:3 tn Heb “field.”
  6. Genesis 32:4 sn 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.
  7. Genesis 32:4 tn Heb “Laban and have lingered until now.”
  8. Genesis 32:5 tn 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.
  9. Genesis 32:5 tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  10. Genesis 32:8 tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”
  11. Genesis 32:8 tn Heb “and he said, ‘If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.” The Hebrew verb אָמַר (ʾamar) 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.
  12. Genesis 32:8 tn Heb “the surviving camp will be for escape.” The word “escape” is a feminine noun. The term most often refers to refugees from war.
  13. Genesis 32:9 tn Heb “said.”
  14. Genesis 32:9 tn Heb “the one who said.”
  15. Genesis 32:9 tn 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.
  16. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).
  17. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “you have done with.”
  18. Genesis 32:10 tn 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.
  19. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “this Jordan.”
  20. Genesis 32:11 tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.
  21. Genesis 32:11 tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”
  22. Genesis 32:11 tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”
  23. Genesis 32:11 tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”
  24. Genesis 32:11 sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.
  25. Genesis 32:12 tn 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.
  26. Genesis 32:12 tn 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.
  27. Genesis 32:12 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the nuance of the preceding verb forward.
  28. Genesis 32:12 tn Heb “which cannot be counted because of abundance.” The imperfect verbal form indicates potential here.
  29. Genesis 32:13 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  30. Genesis 32:13 tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.
  31. Genesis 32:13 sn 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).
  32. Genesis 32:16 tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”
  33. Genesis 32:16 tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.
  34. Genesis 32:17 tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.
  35. Genesis 32:17 tn Heb “to whom are you?”
  36. Genesis 32:17 tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”
  37. Genesis 32:18 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.
  38. Genesis 32:18 tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  39. Genesis 32:18 tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”
  40. Genesis 32:18 tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”
  41. Genesis 32:18 tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  42. Genesis 32:19 tn 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.’”
  43. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”
  44. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew verb אָמַר (ʾamar), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”
  45. Genesis 32:20 tn 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 550 animals.
  46. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”
  47. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “I will see his face.”
  48. Genesis 32:20 tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.
  49. Genesis 32:21 tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”
  50. Genesis 32:21 tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.
  51. Genesis 32:22 tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.
  52. Genesis 32:22 tn 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).
  53. Genesis 32:22 sn 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.
  54. Genesis 32:23 tn Heb “and he sent across what he had.”
  55. Genesis 32:24 sn 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.
  56. Genesis 32:24 sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayyeʾaveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, yaʿaqov) 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.
  57. Genesis 32:24 tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”
  58. Genesis 32:25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  59. Genesis 32:25 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  60. Genesis 32:25 tn 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.
  61. Genesis 32:26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  62. Genesis 32:26 tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”
  63. Genesis 32:26 tn 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.
  64. Genesis 32:26 sn 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.
  65. Genesis 32:27 tn 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.
  66. Genesis 32:27 sn 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 focus Jacob’s attention on all that his name had come to signify.
  67. Genesis 32:28 tn 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.
  68. Genesis 32:28 sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ʾel) 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.
  69. Genesis 32:28 sn 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, yisraʾel), 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).
  70. Genesis 32:29 sn 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.
  71. Genesis 32:29 tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.
  72. Genesis 32:29 tn 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.
  73. Genesis 32:29 tn The verb here means that the Lord endowed Jacob with success; he would be successful in everything he did, including meeting Esau.
  74. Genesis 32:29 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  75. Genesis 32:30 sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face-to-face here, the name is appropriate.
  76. Genesis 32:30 tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  77. Genesis 32:30 tn Or “because.”
  78. Genesis 32:30 sn I have seen God face-to-face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.
  79. Genesis 32:30 tn 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; 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.
  80. Genesis 32:31 tn Heb “shone.”
  81. Genesis 32:31 sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).
  82. Genesis 32:31 tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.
  83. Genesis 32:32 sn 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.
  84. Genesis 32:32 tn 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.
  85. Genesis 33:1 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”
  86. Genesis 33:1 tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
  87. Genesis 33:2 sn This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable.
  88. Genesis 33:3 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  89. Genesis 33:3 tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause.
  90. Genesis 33:5 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  91. Genesis 33:5 tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”
  92. Genesis 33:5 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  93. Genesis 33:5 tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”
  94. Genesis 33:6 tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.”
  95. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  96. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “Who to you?”
  97. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”
  98. Genesis 33:8 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  99. Genesis 33:10 tn Heb “and Jacob said, ‘No, please.’” The words “take them” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.
  100. Genesis 33:10 tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, expressing a contingent future nuance in the “then” section of the conditional sentence.
  101. Genesis 33:10 tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here.
  102. Genesis 33:10 tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”sn This is an allusion to the preceding episode (32:22-31) in which Jacob saw the face of God and realized his prayer was answered.
  103. Genesis 33:11 tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.
  104. Genesis 33:11 tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.
  105. Genesis 33:11 tn Heb “all.”
  106. Genesis 33:11 tn Heb “and he urged him and he took.” The referent of the first pronoun in the sequence (“he”) has been specified as “Jacob” in the translation for clarity.
  107. Genesis 33:12 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  108. Genesis 33:12 tn Heb “let us travel and let us go.” The two cohortatives are used in combination with the sense, “let’s travel along, get going, be on our way.”
  109. Genesis 33:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  110. Genesis 33:13 tn Heb “weak.”
  111. Genesis 33:13 tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”
  112. Genesis 33:14 tn Heb “and I, I will move along according to my leisure at the foot of the property which is before me and at the foot of the children.”
  113. Genesis 33:15 tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help.
  114. Genesis 33:15 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why this?’” 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.
  115. Genesis 33:15 tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”
  116. Genesis 33:16 tn Heb “returned on his way.”
  117. Genesis 33:17 tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s.
  118. Genesis 33:17 sn But Jacob traveled to Sukkoth. There are several reasons why Jacob chose not to go to Mt. Seir after Esau. First, as he said, his herds and children probably could not keep up with the warriors. Second, he probably did not fully trust his brother. The current friendliness could change, and he could lose everything. And third, God did tell him to return to his land, not Seir. But Jacob is still not able to deal truthfully, probably because of fear of Esau.
  119. Genesis 33:17 tn Heb “why he called.” One could understand “Jacob” as the subject of the verb, but it is more likely that the subject is indefinite, in which case the verb is better translated as passive.
  120. Genesis 33:17 sn The name Sukkoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.
  121. Genesis 33:18 tn Heb “in front of.”
  122. Genesis 33:19 tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence.
  123. Genesis 33:19 tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qesitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”).
  124. Genesis 33:20 tn Heb “God, the God of Israel.” Rather than translating the name, a number of modern translations merely transliterate it from the Hebrew as “El Elohe Israel” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB). It is not entirely clear how the name should be interpreted grammatically. One option is to supply an equative verb, as in the translation: “The God of Israel [is] God.” Another interpretive option is “the God of Israel [is] strong [or “mighty”].” Buying the land and settling down for a while was a momentous step for the patriarch, so the commemorative naming of the altar is significant.
  125. Genesis 34:1 tn Heb “went out to see.” The verb “to see,” followed by the preposition ב (bet), here has the idea of “look over.” The young girl wanted to meet these women and see what they were like.
  126. Genesis 34:1 tn Heb “daughters.”
  127. Genesis 34:2 tn Heb “and he took her and lay with her.” The suffixed form following the verb appears to be the sign of the accusative instead of the preposition, but see BDB 1012 s.v. שָׁכַב.
  128. Genesis 34:2 tn The verb עָנָה (ʿanah) in the Piel stem can have various shades of meaning, depending on the context: “to defile; to mistreat; to violate; to rape; to shame; to afflict.” Here it means that Shechem violated or humiliated Dinah by raping her.
  129. Genesis 34:3 tn Heb “his soul stuck to [or “joined with”],” meaning Shechem became very attached to Dinah emotionally.
  130. Genesis 34:3 tn Heb “and he spoke to the heart of the young woman,” which apparently refers in this context to tender, romantic speech (Hos 2:14). Another option is to translate the expression “he reassured the young woman” (see Judg 19:3, 2 Sam 19:7; cf. NEB “comforted her”).
  131. Genesis 34:4 tn Heb “Take for me this young woman for a wife.”
  132. Genesis 34:5 tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.
  133. Genesis 34:5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  134. Genesis 34:5 sn The expected response would be anger or rage, but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.
  135. Genesis 34:6 tn Heb “went out to Jacob to speak with him.” The words “about Dinah” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  136. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  137. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.
  138. Genesis 34:7 tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (ʿatsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.
  139. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  140. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”
  141. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.
  142. Genesis 34:7 tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.
  143. Genesis 34:8 tn Heb “Shechem my son, his soul is attached to your daughter.” The verb means “to love” in the sense of being emotionally attached to or drawn to someone. This is a slightly different way of saying what was reported earlier (v. 3). However, there is no mention here of the offense. Even though Hamor is speaking to Dinah’s brothers, he refers to her as their daughter (see v. 17).
  144. Genesis 34:9 tn Heb “form marriage alliances with us.”sn Intermarry with us. This includes the idea of becoming allied by marriage. The incident foreshadows the temptations Israel would eventually face when they entered the promised land (see Deut 7:3; Josh 23:12).
  145. Genesis 34:9 tn Heb “Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.” In the translation the words “let…marry” and “as wives” are supplied for clarity.
  146. Genesis 34:10 tn The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.
  147. Genesis 34:10 tn Heb “before you.”
  148. Genesis 34:10 tn The verb seems to carry the basic meaning “travel about freely,” although the substantival participial form refers to a trader (see E. A. Speiser, “The Verb sḥr in Genesis and Early Hebrew Movements,” BASOR 164 [1961]: 23-28); cf. NIV, NRSV “trade in it.”
  149. Genesis 34:11 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Dinah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  150. Genesis 34:11 tn Heb “whatever you say.”
  151. Genesis 34:11 tn Or “pay.”
  152. Genesis 34:12 tn Heb “Make very great upon me the bride price and gift.” The imperatives are used in a rhetorical manner. Shechem’s point is that he will pay the price, no matter how expensive it might be.
  153. Genesis 34:12 tn The cohortative expresses Shechem’s resolve to have Dinah as his wife.
  154. Genesis 34:12 tn Heb “say.”
  155. Genesis 34:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  156. Genesis 34:14 tn Heb “we are not able to do this thing, to give.” The second infinitive is in apposition to the first, explaining what they are not able to do.
  157. Genesis 34:14 tn The Hebrew word translated “disgrace” usually means “ridicule; taunt; reproach.” It can also refer to the reason the condition of shame or disgrace causes ridicule or a reproach.
  158. Genesis 34:15 tn Heb “if you are like us.”
  159. Genesis 34:15 tn The infinitive here explains how they would become like them.
  160. Genesis 34:16 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.
  161. Genesis 34:16 tn The words “to marry” (and the words “as wives” in the following clause) are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  162. Genesis 34:17 tn Heb “listen to us.”
  163. Genesis 34:17 tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.
  164. Genesis 34:17 tn Heb “daughter.” Jacob’s sons call Dinah their daughter, even though she was their sister (see v. 8). This has been translated as “sister” for clarity.
  165. Genesis 34:18 tn Heb “and their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem son of Hamor.”
  166. Genesis 34:19 tn Heb “doing the thing.”
  167. Genesis 34:19 tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
  168. Genesis 34:19 tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).
  169. Genesis 34:19 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).
  170. Genesis 34:20 sn The gate. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the location for conducting important public business.
  171. Genesis 34:21 tn Heb “wide on both hands,” that is, in both directions.
  172. Genesis 34:21 tn The words “to marry” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  173. Genesis 34:22 tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”
  174. Genesis 34:23 tn The words “If we do so” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  175. Genesis 34:24 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”
  176. Genesis 34:24 tn Heb “listened to.”
  177. Genesis 34:24 tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”
  178. Genesis 34:25 tn Heb “a man his sword.”
  179. Genesis 34:25 tn Heb “and they came upon the city, [which was] secure.” In this case “secure” means the city was caught unprepared and at peace, not expecting an attack.
  180. Genesis 34:27 tn Heb “came upon the slain.” Because of this statement the preceding phrase “Jacob’s sons” is frequently taken to mean the other sons of Jacob besides Simeon and Levi, but the text does not clearly affirm this.
  181. Genesis 34:27 tn Heb “because they violated their sister.” The plural verb is active in form, but with no expressed subject, it may be translated passive.
  182. Genesis 34:28 tn Heb “and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.”
  183. Genesis 34:29 tn Heb “they took captive and they plundered,” that is, “they captured as plunder.”
  184. Genesis 34:30 tn The traditional translation is “troubled me” (KJV, ASV), but the verb refers to personal or national disaster and suggests complete ruin (see Josh 7:25, Judg 11:35, Prov 11:17). The remainder of the verse describes the “trouble” Simeon and Levi had caused.
  185. Genesis 34:30 tn In the causative stem the Hebrew verb בָּאַשׁ (baʾash) means “to cause to stink, to have a foul smell.” In the contexts in which it is used it describes foul smells, stenches, or things that are odious. Jacob senses that the people in the land will find this act terribly repulsive. See P. R. Ackroyd, “The Hebrew Root באשׁ,” JTS 2 (1951): 31-36.
  186. Genesis 34:30 tn Jacob speaks in the first person as the head and representative of the entire family.
  187. Genesis 34:31 tn Heb “but they said.” The referent of “they” (Simeon and Levi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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Genesis 32-34
New International Version

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

32 [a]Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God(A) met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!”(B) So he named that place Mahanaim.[b](C)

3 Jacob sent messengers(D) ahead of him to his brother Esau(E) in the land of Seir,(F) the country of Edom.(G) 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord(H) Esau: ‘Your servant(I) Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban(J) and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants.(K) Now I am sending this message to my lord,(L) that I may find favor in your eyes.(M)’”

6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”(N)

7 In great fear(O) and distress(P) Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,[c](Q) and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group,[d] the group[e] that is left may escape.”

9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham,(R) God of my father Isaac,(S) Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’(T) 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness(U) you have shown your servant. I had only my staff(V) when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps.(W) 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid(X) he will come and attack me,(Y) and also the mothers with their children.(Z) 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand(AA) of the sea, which cannot be counted.(AB)’”

13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift(AC) for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,(AD) 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.(AE) 16 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”(AF)

17 He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ 18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant(AG) Jacob. They are a gift(AH) sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’”

19 He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Your servant(AI) Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts(AJ) I am sending on ahead;(AK) later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.”(AL) 21 So Jacob’s gifts(AM) went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles With God

22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons(AN) and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.(AO) 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.(AP) 24 So Jacob was left alone,(AQ) and a man(AR) wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip(AS) so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”(AT)

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,”(AU) he answered.

28 Then the man said, “Your name(AV) will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[f](AW) because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”(AX)

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”(AY)

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?”(AZ) Then he blessed(BA) him there.

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[g] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face,(BB) and yet my life was spared.”

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,[h](BC) and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip,(BD) because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men;(BE) so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants.(BF) 2 He put the female servants and their children(BG) in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph(BH) in the rear. 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground(BI) seven times(BJ) as he approached his brother.

4 But Esau(BK) ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.(BL) And they wept.(BM) 5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked.

Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.(BN)”

6 Then the female servants and their children(BO) approached and bowed down.(BP) 7 Next, Leah and her children(BQ) came and bowed down.(BR) Last of all came Joseph and Rachel,(BS) and they too bowed down.

8 Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?”(BT)

“To find favor in your eyes, my lord,”(BU) he said.

9 But Esau said, “I already have plenty,(BV) my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”

10 “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes,(BW) accept this gift(BX) from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God,(BY) now that you have received me favorably.(BZ) 11 Please accept the present(CA) that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me(CB) and I have all I need.”(CC) And because Jacob insisted,(CD) Esau accepted it.

12 Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”

13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord(CE) knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young.(CF) If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. 14 So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds(CG) before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.(CH)”

15 Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.”

“But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.”(CI)

16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.(CJ) 17 Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth,(CK) where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth.[i]

18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram,[j](CL) he arrived safely at the city of Shechem(CM) in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 19 For a hundred pieces of silver,[k] he bought from the sons of Hamor,(CN) the father of Shechem,(CO) the plot of ground(CP) where he pitched his tent.(CQ) 20 There he set up an altar(CR) and called it El Elohe Israel.[l]

Dinah and the Shechemites

34 Now Dinah,(CS) the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. 2 When Shechem(CT) son of Hamor(CU) the Hivite,(CV) the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her.(CW) 3 His heart was drawn to Dinah(CX) daughter of Jacob;(CY) he loved(CZ) the young woman and spoke tenderly(DA) to her. 4 And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”(DB)

5 When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled,(DC) his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.

6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob.(DD) 7 Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked(DE) and furious,(DF) because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in[m] Israel(DG) by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.(DH)

8 But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.(DI) 9 Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.(DJ) 10 You can settle among us;(DK) the land is open to you.(DL) Live in it, trade[n] in it,(DM) and acquire property in it.(DN)”

11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes,(DO) and I will give you whatever you ask. 12 Make the price for the bride(DP) and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.”

13 Because their sister Dinah had been defiled,(DQ) Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully(DR) as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. 14 They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised.(DS) That would be a disgrace to us. 15 We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition(DT) only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males.(DU) 16 Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves.(DV) We’ll settle among you and become one people with you.(DW) 17 But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.”

18 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man, who was the most honored(DX) of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.(DY) 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city(DZ) to speak to the men of their city. 21 “These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it;(EA) the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours.(EB) 22 But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised,(EC) as they themselves are. 23 Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours?(ED) So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.(EE)”

24 All the men who went out of the city gate(EF) agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.

25 Three days later, while all of them were still in pain,(EG) two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon(EH) and Levi,(EI) Dinah’s brothers, took their swords(EJ) and attacked the unsuspecting city,(EK) killing every male.(EL) 26 They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword(EM) and took Dinah(EN) from Shechem’s house and left. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city(EO) where[o] their sister had been defiled.(EP) 28 They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys(EQ) and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields.(ER) 29 They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children,(ES) taking as plunder(ET) everything in the houses.(EU)

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble(EV) on me by making me obnoxious(EW) to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land.(EX) We are few in number,(EY) and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”

31 But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?(EZ)”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 32:1 In Hebrew texts 32:1-32 is numbered 32:2-33.
  2. Genesis 32:2 Mahanaim means two camps.
  3. Genesis 32:7 Or camps
  4. Genesis 32:8 Or camp
  5. Genesis 32:8 Or camp
  6. Genesis 32:28 Israel probably means he struggles with God.
  7. Genesis 32:30 Peniel means face of God.
  8. Genesis 32:31 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel
  9. Genesis 33:17 Sukkoth means shelters.
  10. Genesis 33:18 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  11. Genesis 33:19 Hebrew hundred kesitahs; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value.
  12. Genesis 33:20 El Elohe Israel can mean El is the God of Israel or mighty is the God of Israel.
  13. Genesis 34:7 Or against
  14. Genesis 34:10 Or move about freely; also in verse 21
  15. Genesis 34:27 Or because
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Genesis 32-34
King James Version

32 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

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:

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.

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.

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;

8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

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:

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.

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.

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.

13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;

14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,

15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.

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.

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?

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.

19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.

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.

21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.

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.

23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

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.

26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

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.

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.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

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.

33 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.

2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.

3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.

6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.

7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

8 And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.

9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.

10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.

12 And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.

13 And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.

14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.

15 And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.

16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.

19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.

20 And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.

34 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.

4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.

5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.

6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.

7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter: which thing ought not to be done.

8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.

9 And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.

10 And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.

11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.

12 Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.

13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:

14 And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:

15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;

16 Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.

18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.

19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.

20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,

21 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.

23 Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of their's be our's? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.

24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.

25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.

26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.

27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.

28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,

29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.

30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.

31 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

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