Verse by Verse

¹³ But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.

¹⁴ And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us.

¹⁵ But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised,

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

¹⁷ But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.”

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

¹⁹ So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father.

²⁰ And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying:

²¹ “These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters.

²² Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised.

²³ Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”

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

we will become one people (v.16) — We aren’t told what Jacob thought of all this. He knew God had called his people to be a separate nation. Did he think circumcising the Shechemites would solve this issue? Wechsler thinks so (below). Or was he party to the plot to kill the Shechemites? Or had he left and not heard this part of the conversation? He was angry with Simeon and Levi after the fact (v.30).

Pretending to go along with Hamor’s proposition that there should be general intermarriage between the two peoples, with consequent commercial advantage to both, they said that the only problem was a religious one. It was their religious conviction that every male in their own nation should be circumcised. If indeed they were from that time on to be one people, then the Shechemites also would need to be circumcised. Otherwise, they would have to take Dinah back and keep the two peoples completely segregated in the future. Whether the other brothers knew about the murderous plan or not, the Bible is not clear, but it was Simeon and Levi who carried it out. — Morris, pages 512-513.

the gate of their city (v.20) — At this time, the gate of the city was where the men met and conducted business.

There were certain other nations, beside the Israelites, who practiced circumcision in early times, so that the terms of the agreement did not sound too strange or offensive to the men of Shechem. Hamor gathered them all together at the city’s gate, and laid the whole proposition before them, stressing that they would eventually own all the property of the Israelites as well as have access to their women. The men of Shechem were easily persuaded by such inducements. — Morris, page 513.

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The petition [for Shechem to marry Dinah] is made also in the presence of Jacob’s sons, who, though grieved and angry over the crime, nonetheless agree to the marriage—with Jacob’s implicit approval—on the condition that every male among Shechem’s people be circumcised and thus become one people with the family of Israel. Implicit in this arrangement, since the Schchemites are uniting with Israel on Israel’s terms, is submission to the God of Israel (i.e., conversion) and hence inclusion in the Abrahamic Covenant of which circumcision is the outward sign (see Genesis 17:11). — Wechsler, page 241.

1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to 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 violated her.

³ His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman.

⁴ So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”

⁵ And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came.

⁶ Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.

⁷ And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.

⁸ But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.

⁹ And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves.

¹⁰ So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.”

¹¹ Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.

¹² Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”

Dinah (v.1) — Genesis 30:21

The following paragraph by Morris is pure speculation, but he does attempt to draw some context around the events of the chapter. However, he tries to paint a picture that makes Dinah somewhat complicit in the sin and Shechem just a young man in love (albeit a pagan young man). Wechsler (bottom) takes a different view based on the meaning of the Hebrew word for “took.”

Dinah … had probably met some of the Shechemite girls and gotten to know them. This … raised problems, since their standards were quite different from those Jacob and Leah had tried to teach her. Whether she had become a bit rebellious against these standards is not mentioned, but it is possible, in view of the circumstances. In any case, Dinah, being now and then in the company of the Shechemite girls, could hardly have failed also to come to the attention of some of the Shechemite young men. She must have seemed particularly attractive, being of a different nationality, as well as possessed of a grace and charm which was not shared by girls raised in an atmosphere of idolatry and lasciviousness such as characterized most Canaanite communities. — Morris, page 509.

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Marriage was not as easily accomplished as a simple sexual adventure, however. In those days, even among pagans, marriage had to be arranged by the parents. Consequently, Shechem asked his father to take the necessary steps with Dinah’s father to obtain Dinah as his wife. It is an interesting commentary on the Shechemite culture to note that Hamor apparently thought nothing about the moral implications of what his son had done. He neither rebuked Shechem nor apologized in any way to Jacob or Dinah’s brothers [so far as we know]. For a young man to lie with a young woman, even by force, was apparently such a common thing in Canaanite towns that no one gave it a second thought. — Morris, page 510.

Hamor suggested, not only that Shechem marry  Dinah, but that there be widespread intermarriage between the Shechemites and the Israelites. He apparently thought this would result in the eventual assimilation of Jacob’s family, which would add Jacob’s wealth to his own.

Shechem himself, who had evidently come with his father but had remained discreetly silent to this point, then eagerly offered to pay Jacob and his sons whatever they would require in the way of a dowry and other gifts. Though he obviously really did love Dinah, and was more interested in having her than in his father’s concern for full amalgamation with the Israelites, he did not seem to feel any pangs of conscience for what he had done to her, or for the terrible offense to her family.

Quite possibly it was this matter-of-fact, businesslike attitude of Hamor and Shechem that infuriated Dinah’s brothers beyond limit. Here these men were making a monetary offer for their beloved sister, just as though she were nothing but a harlot (v.31) whose body could be purchased for the asking. — Morris, page 512.

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When Shechem, the eponymous prince of the city outside of which Jacob and his family are encamped, sees Jacob’s daughter Dinah, he lay with her by force (lit. “humiliated her”—i.e., raped her) and rather atypically for situations of rape (cf. 2 Samuel 13:14-15), subsequently becomes even more drawn to the girl and, through his father Hamor, petitions Jacob to be given Dinah as his wife. — Wechsler, page 241.

1 Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.

² And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.

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

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

⁵ And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”

⁶ Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down.

⁷ And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.

⁸ Then Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.”

⁹ But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”

¹⁰ And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me.

¹¹ Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” So he urged him, and he took it.

¹² Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.”

¹³ But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die.

¹⁴ Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

¹⁵ And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”

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

¹⁷ And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

¹⁸ Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city.

¹⁹ And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money.

²⁰ Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.

Not all at once does “Jacob” cease to dominate the walk of “Israel” (v. 14). Compare Genesis 35:1-10, where the walk becomes according to the new name. — Scofield, page 49.

Williams (below) doesn’t have a lot of good to say about Jacob at this point.  Scofield seems to be indicating the same thing (above). I’m not sure if Jacob was totally wrong, but I did wonder when I first read the passage why he told Esau he would see him in Seir and then travel to Succoth.

The action of Esau shows how groundless were Jacob’s fears, and how needless his plans. The straight path of faith and obedience is free from the tormenting apprehensions which wear out the doubting heart.

Jacob’s thigh is disjointed, but his will remains unbroken and so immediately he begins to plan how he may deceive Esau. He engages to follow him to Mount Seir, but at once sets out for Succoth! This gives further insight into the depths of unbelief and evil in the heart of man and of the exceeding riches of grace in the heart of God. Notwithstanding the vision of the Angels, and the night of wrestling with God Himself, he resumes his evil scheming for self-conservation, and distrusts the promises of Divine preservation.

The folly of following his own thoughts is seen in his building a house at Succoth. It became a memorial of sin and shame. This is the first mention of a “house” in connection with the patriarchs. …

God was the God of Bethel. He had said to him: “I am the God of Bethel.” He had not said: “I am the God of Succoth,” and if he moves from Succoth it is to buy land in a country in which he was to be a pilgrim. No doubt he erects an altar there, for the conscience is uneasy without religious forms, but the Divinely chosen place for the altar was Bethel and not Shechem. — Williams, page 34-35.

Mackintosh is in the same camp.

After all this manifestation of God’s goodness, we find Jacob settling down in Succoth, and, contrary to the spirit and principles of a pilgrim life, building a house, as if it were his home. Now, Succoth was evidently not his divinely-appointed destination. The Lord had not said to him, I am the God of Succoth; no; but, “I am the God of Bethel.” Bethel, therefore, and not Succoth, should have been Jacob’s grand object. …

Jacob then moves on to Shechem, and purchases ground, still falling short of the divine mark … — Mackintosh, pages 306-307

Morris, on the other hand, has nothing but good to say about Jacob.

No sooner had Jacob returned to his family after his night of prayer then he saw Esau and his army approaching in the distance. As one final precaution, Jacob arranged his wives and children in appropriate order, the two handmaids and their children first, then Leah and her children, then Rachel and Joseph. …

As was customary in those days (the Tell el Amarna tablets record that one approaching a king always bowed seven times in so doing), Jacob bowed low before Esau seven times as he came near him. This was not intended as an acknowledgment of servility on Jacob’s part, but as a token of respect and recognition of Esau as ruler of the region. — Morris, page 503.

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In the Authorized Version, both Esau and Jacob are reported as saying, “I have enough” (vs. 9, 11). However, the Hebrew words are different. Actually, Esau said, “I have much,” whereas Jacob said, “I have everything.” — Morris, page 505.

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Esau … headed on back to Seir. Jacob also planned to continue south, but went much more slowly, actually stopping for considerable intervals at both Succoth and Shechem, Succoth (meaning “booths”) is probably the same place mentioned later in the time of Joshua (Joshua 13:27) and Gideon (Judges 8:5-16). It was still east of the Jordan and probably north of the Jabbok, in a plain where there was pasture for the flocks and where they could rest awhile to regain their strength. — Morris, page 506.

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Jacob probably stayed longer in Succoth than he had originally anticipated, but eventually moved on. All of his company finally pulled up stakes and headed westward across the Jordan River. After crossing the Jordan, they came to a valley near the city of Shechem, and there Jacob pitched his tent. This was not very far from Succoth, but it was definitely in the land of Canaan and, actually, it was the place where God had first appeared to Abram as he entered the land (Genesis 12:6-7).

[Jacob dug a well near Shechem.] The well is not mentioned in Genesis but is referred to in the New Testament (John 4:6). Shechem was a prominent city throughout Biblical history, located on Mount Gerizim in what later became the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. It was very close to the future city of Samaria, which became the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.

When Jacob arrived there, the city was controlled by the Hivites, a Canaanite tribe, whose chieftain was a man named Hamor. Hamor had a son named Shechem, possibly named after the city in which they lived. (It is possible also that the city was later named after Shechem, with these early references to the city’s name being later editorial insertions for the benefit of readers in Moses’ day.)

[Jacob] soon arranged to purchase from Hamor and his sons a substantial tract of property for a goodly price, a hundred pieces of silver. Much later, Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph, would be buried on this same spot (Joshua 24:32). — Morris, pages 507-508.

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Patriarchal life at first was simple and the intercourse with the outer world was meager and few and far between. In their trade they bartered the produce of the ground and the lambs of the flock and the cattle. Later came the introduction of precious metals: these at first were not put out in coins but weighed out to the seller. The third step is the use of coin which seems to have been first put out in Egypt. Of Abraham we read … that he possessed “sheep and oxen, he-asses and she-asses, and camels” (Genesis 12:6), but subsequently, after he had returned from his residence in Egypt, at that time the hub of culture, we read that “he was rich in cattle, in silver and gold” (Genesis 13:2), but he still took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech (Genesis 21:27), and he also presented to the Philistine king “seven ewe lambs” (Genesis 21:30).

The first recorded purchase with money we find in Abraham buying the field of Ephron with the cave of Macpelah, in order that he might bury his beloved Sarah. Here we are told that Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver current money with the merchant (Genesis 23:16).

The first time that we read of pieces of money or coins is in Genesis 33:19 where Jacob buys an inheritance for his sons from the children of Hamor for one hundred pieces of money or as we would say, one hundred dollars. Here we find the expression weighed out omitted and the word employed for piece of money is “kesitah,” which suggests that the figure of a lamb was stamped upon it, undoubtedly because it stood for a lamb and had the worth of one lamb. Even to Job was given such a “kesitah,” (Job 42:11). The Athenians had a coin with a “bous” or ox stamped on it; it having perhaps the value of an ox. These simple points show the early progress of civilization. — Bultema, pages 62-63.

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El Elohe Israel (v.20) — This was an act of faith on Jacob’s part. In calling that altar El-elohe-Israel (God, the God of Israel), not only did he appropriate his new name but also claimed Elohim in a new sense, as the God through whom alone he could walk according to this new name. — Scofield, page 49.

²² And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.

²³ He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.

²⁴ Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

²⁵ Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.

²⁶ And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

²⁷ So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.”

²⁸ And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

²⁹ Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

³¹ Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.

³² Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.

Jabbok (v.22) = wrestler (a name probably given to it later in commemoration of the events in this passage)

The events of this passage are referred to in Hosea 12:2-6: The Lord also brings a charge against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his deeds He will recompense him. He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; he wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, and there He spoke to us—that is, the Lord God of hosts. The Lord is His memorable name. So you, by the help of your God, return; observe mercy and justice, and wait on your God continually.

The passage in Hosea helps to explain this crisis in Jacob’s life. God had a controversy with Israel because of her disobedience. She finds herself faced by great danger: this danger was God’s instrument of discipline for her, and the hand that was wounding her was, in effect, the Divine hand; but instead of clinging with weeping and supplication to that faithful God who would surely have delivered here, she sends for help to Syria and to Egypt. The prophet points back to Jacob, and reminds the nation that he did not act as they now are doing. When God had a controversy with him because of his faulty life; and when as a consequence Jacob found himself in deadly peril and realized that God Himself was behind that peril, and that it was not with Esau his brother that he had to contend, but with the Angel of Jehovah Himself; and when sore broken by that mighty hand he ceased to wrestle and clung with weeping and supplication to the very God that wounded him, then it was he got the victory and the glorious name of Israel. …

It is the broken heart that begins to experience what Divine power means. Better for the sun to rise upon a limping Israel than to set upon a lying Jacob. Jacob, for his misconduct was exiled from the promised land, having nothing but his staff. He returns a wealthy prince, but lamed. So Israel cast out of Jehovah’s land because of her sin will return with abundance, but broken and contrite in spirit. — Williams, page 34.

The King James Version uses the word “halted” for “limped” in v. 31, as does Bultema (below).

“I will assemble her that halteth,” says God in Micah 4:6. God promises great things in the context. Nothing less than a peaceful and converted world. We can make it a rule of prophetic interpretation, however, that when God says glorious things of the nations  of the earth, then He must speak in that connection of Israel’s restoration, and thus we find it here. He will think of His halting Jacob, for is He not the God of Jacob? He halted upon his thigh, we read of Jacob in Geneses 32:31-32; and with a direct allusion to that episode in Jacob’s life at Peniel, we read [in Michal 4:6]: I will assemble her that “halteth.” The same verb “tzala” is used and not “pesach” which also means “to limp,” “to halt.” The halting of Jacob that is finally saved will be the elect remnant, but that remnant will at the same time be representing the whole elect nation. A third time does Scripture allude to the halting Jacob of Peniel when it says in Zepheniah 3:19: “I will save her that halteth.” — Bultema, page 62.

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After dispatching the droves, Jacob remained behind with his family and the rest of his company to spend the night in the encampment by the river Jabbok, a stream which flows west into the Jordan, entering it about halfway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. They were at first north of the Jabbok, while of course Esau was approaching from the south. — Morris, page 498.

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In Jacob’s evaluation, his combatant was more than even an angel. It was none other than the Angel, the pre-incarnate Christ, because, according to Jacob’s testimony, he had “see God face-to-face.”

This experience must, therefore, have been an exceedingly important event in the history of man’s redemption. Jacob, whom God had chosen to be the father of the children of Israel, through whom He would finally come into the world not only in the form of man but as the very Son of Man, was facing the greatest opposition to the accomplishment of his divinely ordered mission. If Esau were to be victorious here, all of God’s plans and promises would be defeated, and the world would never have a Savior.

It was essential that Jacob receive both understanding and assurance concerning the supreme importance of his mission. He must learn clearly, as he began the establishment of that chosen nation, that God was all-sufficient and that he had been prepared by God to accomplish this incomparable task. He must know fully his own weakness, but even more he must know the power of God and his right to claim that power. …

As the day began to break, Jacob was still holding on, refusing to let go until God would give him full and final assurance of permanent blessing. According to Hosea’s commentary, this “wrestling” on Jacob’s part involved weeping and supplication, as well as physical tenacity. Hosea compared Jacob’s holding to the Angel with his tenacity in holding onto his brother’s heel as he was born, both testifying of his great desire to be the recipient of God’s greatest blessings and responsibilities.

When God saw that He could not prevail against Jacob, He finally gave him the blessing he sought. This, of course, does not suggest that God was weaker than Jacob, but does show that God desires men to persist in prayer. …

To remind Jacob perpetually of the experience, the Angel imposed a physical injury on him, which evidently consisted of a slight dislocation of the ball-and-socket joint in the thigh. This would inhibit Jacob from any undue presumption against God, since he would know that God really only allowed him to prevail; but at the same time it would never let him forget that God indeed had promised in this most unique encounter to bless him forever.

Before He pronounced the blessing, the Angel, to show the transition between Jacob’s time of preparation and his time of fulfillment, called attention to his name, Jacob, by asking him to state it. He is no longer to be the “Supplanter,” but the “Prevailer.” The name “Israel,” which Jacob received that night, and which has continued to be the name of his descendants for thirty-seven hundred years, means “One Who Fights Victoriously with God.” It has also been rendered “A Prince with God,” since it is derived from the two words Sarah-El with the word sarah meaning “fight, or rule, as a prince.” It is the word which, in this verse, is translated “as a prince hast thou power.”

Jacob then, after the Angel has asked his name, felt he must also ask the Angel’s name. … The Angel responded by a rhetorical question, “Why do you ask my name?” Jacob already knew who it was. he had been earnestly praying to Jehovah, and Jehovah had answered his prayer …

When the Lord had departed, and the sun had risen, Jacob found he had to limp because of his thigh. This was no mere dream he had experienced, but an actual physical struggle; and he would carry the resulting injury with him as a token of it all of his life. … Because of this, the children of Israel had adopted the practice of not eating that particular muscle (probably the portion of the hindquarter containing the sciatic nerve) when eating meat. God did not command such a practice … but it did indicate the importance of this event in the minds of those who practiced it.

Jacob named the place “Peniel,” meaning “The Face of God.” Jacob marveled greatly that he had actually been allowed to see and touch God, and that he had survived to tell the experience. This would have been utterly impossible, had not God veiled Himself in human form, of course (Exodus 33:20; 1 Timothy 6:16). The name of the place, as given by Jacob, was not forgotten. Though slightly changed in form, to Penuel, it continued to be known by that name until at least the days of the divided kingdom (1 Kings 12:25). — Morris, pages 500-502.

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Jacob’s spiritual struggle is here epitomized as well as brought to a climatic resolution by God when, being left alone, a man appears and wrestles with him until daybreak. That this “man” is in fact God Himself in human form—i.e., specifically, the Son of God—is evident from the collective evidence of (1) Jacob’s thigh being dislocated just by the man’s having touched it; (2) the man’s changing of Jacob’s name to one better suited to his covenant position (“Israel” meaning “God strives” [i.e., on behalf of Jacob]—not “he has striven with God,” which is incongruous with (a) the imperfect [i.e., ongoing] Hebrew tense, (b) the normative presentation of God as the verbal subject in theophoric names, and (c) the ongoing covenant reality of Jacob’s position as intended by God, the Namer, which hearkens back to God’s identically-motivated changing of Abram’s name to Abraham in Genesis 17:5 (and, more generally, with Christ’s changing of the names of those who submit to him in faith); (3) the man’s reference to Jacob having striven with God—which, while reflecting the overall trajectory of Jacob’s life to this point, also clearly refers to the present struggle/wrestling match between Jacob and the man himself; and (4) Jacob’s naming of the site of the wrestling match “Peniel,” meaning “The face (or the ‘presence’) of God,” for as Jacob himself explains (and the inspired narrator does not “correct” him), “I have seen God face to face” (v.30). In this respect a word should also be said about the typical translation of the man’s statement to Jacob in verse 28 that he (that is, Jacob) has prevailed: this does not mean that Jacob won the wrestling match by overpowering the man—which is hardly consistent with all that we have said above—but rather that, having in the end been forcibly subdued by God (who, after all, dislocated his thigh), Jacob has finally attained the “victorious” (i.e., beneficial) status of a true child of God—that is, not just a benefactor of the material promises of the Abraham Covenant, but also—and more importantly—of it’s more selective spiritual promise of the blessing of saving faith. Paradoxically, therefore—though completely consistent with the biblical (OT and NT) picture of true and growing faith, Jacob “prevails” (i.e., comes through victoriously in a more holistic material-spiritual sense) through submission. Indeed, this is precisely Jacob’s point at the end of verse 30, in which the statement usually translated “yet my life has been preserved” is properly (that is, literally, and much more consistently with the aforementioned), “and my soul has been rescued (or, ‘saved’).” In this case the picture with which we are presented is that of a man who, as C.S. Lewis has described the process leading up to his own turning point of faith, was brought to God (by God) “kicking and screaming.” Jacob’s spiritual “turnaround” (i.e., conversion) is further emphasized by his naming of the altar he erected outside of Shechem “El-Elohe-Israel” (Genesis 33:20), meaning “El (is) the God of Israel”—”Israel” at this point referring specifically to Jacob (as opposed to the later nation)—bringing us full-circle to the positive dénouement of his divine challenge in Genesis 28:20-21. — Wechsler, pages 239-241.

I copied a lot of quotes about this passage. First, I think my commentaries do a good job of explaining what was really happening here—the moment when Jacob actually personally trusted God and became the head of God’s chosen people not just physically but also spiritually. And second, I believe the coverage of this passage explains an important principle of Bible study. The Bible is not only a record of God’s plan to redeem humans, but also of His plan to redeem the Earth. He created the planet to be the dwelling place of humanity. When mankind fell, the world became broken. God will redeem the world (Romans 8:21—see also the verses included in the study of that verse), and He will do it through Israel—that’s the point of the Old Testament and the book of Revelation. The histories in the Old Testament of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, etc. aren’t just to give us good examples. They show how God plans to redeem the world itself—and humanity—through Israel and ultimately through His Son, Jesus Christ. The present dispensation of grace is a parenthesis in God’s plan. Of course, He knew all along that it would happen, but He didn’t reveal the fact until Israel had rejected Him and was set aside for a time. This all explains why the body of Christ (the Church, believers from this dispensation) will be raptured before God restores Israel and completes His plan to redeem the world through that nation. We aren’t part of the plan to redeem the world—our destiny is in heaven. We should always remember this when we study the Old Testament and try to figure out why God gave us all the history of Israel. The Old Testament is for us, but it isn’t to us or about us. We can learn a great deal about God from it, and we are supposed to use Israel as an example of how to relate to Him, but it’s a lot more than just illustrations of faith.

1 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

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

⁴ And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now.

⁵ I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”

⁶ Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

⁷ So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.

⁸ And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

⁹ Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’:

¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.

¹¹ Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children.

¹² For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

¹³ So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother:

¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.

¹⁶ Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.”

¹⁷ And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’

¹⁸ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ”

¹⁹ So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;

²⁰ and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”

²¹ So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

The second vision corresponds to that at Bethel in Genesis 28. Laban and his hostile host withdraw, and the angels of God appear to comfort Jacob and assure him of God’s overruling care for him. These, [may have been] the same angels that twenty years back had guarded him as he slept upon his stone pillow at Bethel. Then his possessions consisted of a staff, but now he has become a host; and he calls this place Mananaim, i.e., two camps—his feeble camp and the encircling camp of God’s mighty angels.

But although the angels visibly appear to him in order to convince him of the loving care which watched over him, yet he at once schemes how he may protect himself from his brother’s just anger. — Williams, page 34

Williams (above) and other commentators believe Jacob should have trusted God (especially in light of the appearance of the angels and what had just occurred with Laban) and therefore was wrong to split his group and send gifts ahead to Esau. Morris (below) gives Jacob the benefit of the doubt and says he did the right thing. Wechsler (bottom) gets deeper into the meaning of the words “afraid” and “distressed” and makes a convincing case that Jacob did lack faith and didn’t need to make his own plans.

Not knowing what to expect, Jacob decided it would be expedient to send a delegation ahead of him to interview Esau. He had learned that Esau lived in the region south of the Dead Sea, in the “land of Seir,” so named after a Horite chieftain who had apparently formerly inhabited the area (Genesis 36:20). It had also come to be known as the ‘field of Edom,” after Esau’s own nickname (Genesis 25:30).

Jacob [when he heard that Esau approached with 400 men] naturally jumped to the conclusion that Esau still intended to make good his threat to kill him, and he seems to have temporarily forgotten the encouragement he had received by the sight of the angels at Mahanaim. He knew his own small body of servants could not cope with four hundred men led by Esau. Following a custom often followed by endangered caravans, he divided his company into two divisions, hoping to give one a chance to escape while Esau’s army was busy subduing the other. He realized they would require God’s protection, and he fully intended to call on the Lord. But he also realized it was wise, as well as in keeping with God’s will, for him to take what natural precautions were open to him as quickly as possible, after which he could pray in good faith, knowing that he had done all he could and the Lord would have to take over the rest of the way. — Morris, pages 495-496.

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Jacob, in his prayer, acknowledged God as both “Elohim” (the God of Power who had so marvelously blessed and protected Abraham and Isaac) and “Jehovah” (the Lord who is faithful in His covenant promises, the merciful, redeeming One). — Morris, pages 496.

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The gift [Jacob] sent [to Esau] was very large, amounting to a total of 580 animals, a fact which in itself is a striking commentary on the degree to which God had blessed Jacob in material possessions. … He told his servants to keep a good distance between the [five] respective droves, so that in effect Esau would receive five separate gifts at different times. — Morris, page 497.

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As Jacob, on his way back to Canaan, draws close to the dwelling place of his brother Esau in the land of Seir—a mountainous region in the country of Edom (see also Genesis 36:21) southeast of the Dead Sea—he sends messengers before him to request that he find favor in his brother’s sight (since the main reason for Jacob’s departure was Esau’s plan to kill him; see Genesis 27:42). In response Esau sets out to meet his brother with four hundred men, the news of which causes Jacob, who assumes this to be a war party, to be greatly afraid and distressed (v.7). These latter two verbs imply the immaturity—or even complete lack—of Jacob’s true faith in the Lord and His covenant promises, for the same two verbs are elsewhere employed in the Hebrew Bible (as in Judges 10:9; 2 Kings 25:26; etc.) to describe inter alia the Israelite’s lack of faith in God’s covenant protection and command not to “fear or be dismayed” because He “is with” them (per Deuteronomy 31:8). Jacob thus implores the Lord to deliver him from the hand of his brother, noting that God must do so if He is to uphold His promise to prosper him (i.e., Jacob) and make his descendants as the sand of the sea (verses 11-12). Nonetheless, consistent with his pattern of behavior up to this point, Jacob jumps ahead with his own plan, not content to wait upon God, and, having already (before his prayer!) divided his household into two companies (that if Esau … attacks one, the other might escape), sends out a peace-offering of three droves of livestock. — Wechsler, pages 238-239.

³⁶ Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me?

³⁷ Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both!

³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.

³⁹ That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

⁴⁰ There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.

⁴¹ Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

⁴² Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”

⁴³ And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?

⁴⁴ Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.

⁴⁶ Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap.

⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

⁴⁸ And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed,

⁴⁹ also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.

⁵⁰ If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”

⁵¹ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me.

⁵² This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.

⁵³ The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain.

⁵⁵ And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

Six years [Jacob] had served [Laban] “in relation to his cattle”; that is, the cattle were not a price paid by Laban, but rather the result of God’s blessings on his labors. Because of Jacob’s faithful attention to the cattle when they were young, none had ever been lost by miscarriage—a frequent occurrence under less careful shepherds. Jacob had never even used any of Laban’s animals for his own food while caring for them, although this was considered the right of every shepherd. Furthermore, in a day when wild animals were a real danger to the flocks, Jacob had himself borne the cost of any losses due to this cause. It was customary that, when a shepherd brought a torn animal to his master, this was regarded as evidence that he had defended the sheep and had driven the beast away, that he had done all he could to save it; under these circumstances, the master bore the lose, rather than the shepherd. Jacob, however, had borne all the losses himself, evidently by replacing lost animals from Laban’s flock with animals from his own flocks.

He had given faithful service in the highest degree, through intense heat and intense cold, often spending sleepless nights in caring for the flocks. With all of this, Laban had no less than ten times changed his agreement with Jacob as to his payment, each time trying to prevent Jacob from prospering and trying to secure all he gains for himself. And finally, Laban was fully intending to send Jacob away completely empty-handed—if indeed he would even spare his life. — Morris, page 488

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Jacob’s increasing prosperity had been due to the Lord’s blessings, and now God had confirmed all this by His sharp rebuke to Laban the night before. Jacob pointed out that the God who had protected and intervened for him was the God who had led Abraham away from Haran in the first place and (lest Laban should suggest that he also served the God of Abraham) was the God whom Isaac (who had never set foot in Haran) had served with reverential fear. — Morris, page 489

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Laban, continuing [his] diversionary tactic, took the initiative in proposing the terms of the covenant after the pillar was erected. Implying that Jacob was the one not to be trusted, he demanded certain restrictions on his activities. Jacob must not afflict his daughters (Jacob had always treated them with kindness and consideration, and Laban had no cause to think that he ever would do otherwise); neither must he ever take any wives other than Laban’s daughters (Jacob had only wanted Rachel in the first place, but had been forced into a bigamous relationship by Laban’s own deception); finally, after Jacob had become strong in the land of Canaan (as Laban realized he inevitably would, under God’s blessing), he must not come back to Haran bent on revenge against Laban (Laban knew Jacob was not a vindictive man and would never think of such a thing, but he got a measure of vicarious satisfaction by imputing his own base motives to Jacob in this way). In return, Laban would promise not to come any further into Canaan to hurt Jacob (he no doubt would have, if he could, but knew God would not allow it; so he might as well appear noble by promising this restraint). Laban then also called the heap of stones “Mizpah” (meaning “watch tower:”), denoting it as a sort of sentry guarding the boundary between Laban’s sphere of activities and Jacob’s sphere of activities. — Morris, page 490

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The two men then make a covenant of peace, the “witness” to which they establish by making a mound of stones which Laban calls in Aramaic (his native tongue) Jegar-sahadutha (“a witness-mound”) and Jacob [calls it the same thing] in Hebrew (his own native tongue) Galeed. — Wechsler, page 238

There are various views on the actual oath sworn over the altar. The words “the God of their father” isn’t in some manuscripts. Laban may have meant “God of Abraham” and “God of Nahor” to refer to two separate deities. Morris takes this basic view.

Laban concluded his wordy proposal by invoking the names of “the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father.” The word used here, of course, is “Elohim,” which is basically a plural noun and can be used, when justified in the context, to mean “gods.” This was most probably Laban’s intent. The “God of Nahor” was probably Laban’s idol. The term “God of their father” probably referred to both “gods,” or else perhaps was an attempt to try to identify Laban’s “god” with the true God of Abraham.

Jacob, rather than trying to clear up Laban’s theological confusion, simply made his own oath in the name of the God who had been the “Fear of his father Isaac.” — Morris, page 491

It’s also possible that Laban, by the phrase ” the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father” wasn’t referring to the true God at all but to the false “god” or “gods” (the word can be plural in context) that Terah, Nahor, and Abraham worshiped when they were pagans in Haran, and that Laban still worshiped. Laban seems to be calling on his god to judge between him and Jacob, while Jacob replied by calling on the true God to be the judge. Each man swore by their own deities.

Laban did stick around long enough to say goodbye to his daughters and grandchildren in the morning before heading for home. This is the last time he appears in Scripture.

²² And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled.

²³ Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead.

²⁴ But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

²⁵ So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.

²⁶ And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword?

²⁷ Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp?

²⁸ And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing.

²⁹ It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’

³⁰ And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?”

³¹ Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’

³² With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³ And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.

³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them.

³⁵ And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.

Laban and his retinue were busy with the sheep-shearing, [perhaps] not only with the actual work itself, but also with the festivities which accompanies this annual event. Word did not reach them that Jacob and his family had departed until after they had already been on the trail for three days. …

As soon as they could leave, Laban and his men started the pursuit, and pushed it as hard as they could. In fact, they covered the entire three hundred miles in only seven days [42 miles a day!], an indication of the fast, hard traveling they did. Laban and his sons had no intention of letting Jacob take all his flocks to Canaan, and were resolved to take them from Jacob by whatever force was necessary. Quite likely they also intended to slay Jacob, especially if he tried to resist them.

They finally overtook Jacob’s caravan in the mountains of Gilead, probably soon after they had entered them. … But that night, Laban had a dream! In the dream, God spoke to him, giving him a sober warning against doing injury to Jacob in any way. He was not even to speak to him, if the intent of the conversation was to induce him to return or to reproach him for leaving. God made it plain to him that Jacob was under His protection and was following His directions. Though Laban did not know the Lord in any personal way, he did know enough about Him to know he had better do what He said. — Morris, pages 483-484

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The next morning, Laban broke came early and overtook Jacob before his party got under way. As they rode into camp, the atmosphere must have been very tense. … [Laban] immediately blurted out, when he met Jacob, a hypocritical speech of feigned concern over Jacob’s secret snatching-away of his daughters and grandchildren, without giving Laban an opportunity even to kiss them good-bye. He complained that he would have sent them away joyously with great festivities of music and laughter, had Jacob not slipped away unannounced.  Jacob, as well as Leah and Rachel, and no doubt the whole company, all knew Laban was lying; but Laban was afraid to say what was really on his mind, in view of God’s warning.

He then boasted that he was well able to do Jacob harm (though, in view of his dream, he knew this was an empty threat). Noting that his speech seemed to have produced neither fear nor sorrow in the hearts of Jacob and his daughters, … he then told of his dream, and of God’s warning. …

Trying to justify his actions in some measure, he told Jacob that he realized he wanted to return to his father’s house, and that this was a good enough reason for him to leave Haran. Why, however, had he stolen his teraphim? Laban was obviously trying now to excuse his pursuit of Jacob on this ground … Jacob would have had nothing whatever to do with them, even if they really did (as some have suggested) represent the inheritance rights of their owner. — Morris, pages 484-485

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Not only is Laban deceived, but so too is Jacob, since he does not know that Rachel has stolen her father’s idols—for had he known he would certainly not have vowed to Laban that “the one with whom you find your gods shall not live” (v.32).

The idols, in any event, are not found, since Rachel put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them, excusing herself from moving on the excuse that “the manner of women” (i.e., her menses) is upon her. Despite the potential volatility of the situation—fomented by Laban’s ire over the stealing of his “gods” and Jacob’s anger at being accused of such—God extends his blessing to both sides by warning Laban, who has the power to do Jacob harm, not to injure his cousin. In this way God’s covenant protection of Jacob is upheld and Laban is spared the inevitable curse of God that would follow from injuring the patriarch in His promised line (per Genesis 12:3). — Wechsler, pages 237-238

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Before answering Laban’s charge of theft of the teraphim, … Jacob said that, if he had proposed departing openly, he was afraid (and with good reason) that Laban would try to take his daughters (and their children, of course) back from him by force.

As far as Laban’s images were concerned, Jacob knew nothing of them, and was angry at the very thought. If, by chance, someone in his employ (he certainly had no reason to suspect anyone in his own family, least of all Rachel, his beloved wife) had taken them, thus embarrassing him and giving Laban an excuse for chasing him. Laban could feel free to take him and exact whatever penalty the law of the times would warrant (the laws of Hammurabi, for instance, cite the theft of temple gods as a capital crime). Furthermore, if Laban found anything that really belonged to him (Jacob has been most scrupulous on this point, as he gathered up his belongings for the flight), he was welcome to take it back. — Morris, page 486.