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JPS Torah Commentary *
32 ANGELS AT MAHANAIM (vv. 1 – 3)
CHAPTER
The next morning Jacob and Laban part forever. The patriarchal connection with Mesopotamia is finally severed. A new era in the life of Jacob and in the development of people of Israel is about to open. Just as Jacob’s outward journey was marked by the appearance of angels (28:12), s return to his native land. In neither case are a re the angels assigned any role in the narrative, in this instance there is not even an accompanying divine revelation. Perhaps their mere presence is intended to insinuate the notion of divine divine protection such as is formulated in Psalms 91:9 –11: ―Because you took took the LORD — my my refuge, / the Most High — as as your hav / no harm will befall you, / no disease touch your tent. / For He will order His angels / to guard you wherever you go.‖ A fuller story about Jacob and Mahanaim may have existed in popular tradition. At an rate, in their present form, the angelic appearances provide a literary framework for the Ja and Laban cycle of stories, which constitutes a dist inct unit within the larger biography of patriarch. That is, his grandsons, as in 31:28, 43. That 1. hi s sons sons 3. God’s camp In 1 Chronicles 12:22 this phrase connotes a vast throng. 8– 9 and Mahanaim The form is not necessarily dual, but the ―two camps‖ of verses 8– 9 seem to be a play on the word. The site of Mahanaim has not been identified. It later play significant role in Israelite history.1 It was one of the Levitical cities ci ties of refuge; Ishboshet, of Saul, was crowned king there; David fled thither during the revolt of Absalom; and in Solomon’s day, it became a district capital. Mahanaim may well have housed a sacred shr the founding of which popular legend associated with Jacob.
(32:4 (32:4 – 33:31) 33:31) Jacob an an d Esau Esau Once On ce A gain gai n Va-Yishlaḥ VaYishlaḥ
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useful G. A. Danell, Studies in the Name of Israel in the Old Testament (Uppsala: Appelbergs boktrycke Useful Not
1946); Y. Kaufmann, Toledot ha- ʾemunah –7 (Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1947 ʾemunah haha- yisreʾelit yisreʾelit , vols. 6 –7
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Freed from anxiety about Laban, Jacob resumes his homeward journey. But his relief is s lived. Long-suppressed memories from his ignoble past intrude upon his consciousness. T specter of a vengeful Esau looms before him. The action divides itself into two main parts: 32:4 –22 describe Jacob’s preparations fo his encounter with Esau; 33:1 – 17 relate the story of the actual meeting of the two brother between is the strange narrative of the struggle between Jacob and a powerful assailant (32:23 – 33).
JACOB’S PREPARATIONS (vv. 4 – 22)
Jacob, ever a man of action, takes precautionar y measures. First he gathers intelligence, th he prepares a stratagem of escape in the event of battle. This is followed by a prayer and, finally, by the dispatch of a handsome gift.
I NTELLIGENCE GATHERING (VV. 4 – 7)
4. Seir This presupposes that Esau-Edom had by this time migrated east of the Jorda
and had either dispossessed the Horites from Seir or was in the process of so doing. 2 Sei r , the coun tr y of Edom The three Hebrew words seʿir, sadeh, and ʾedom are
deliberately used to evoke memories of the hostile relations with Esau, the one covered w
hair ( seʿar ), a man of the outdoors ( sadeh), of ruddy complexion ( ʾadmoni), who came in
from the field ( sadeh) and begged for the red stuff ( ʾadom), and whose hairiness ( saʿir ) played a crucial role in the deception that precipitated Jacob’s flight to Laban.3 5. ‘To my lord Esau’ This ―prescriptio,‖ or introductory prepositional phrase identifying the recipient, is part of the message. 4 It conforms to the standard epistolary sty You're Reading a Preview of the ancient Near East. address, normally formal lord … servant This mode ofUnlock full access with a free trial. and deferential, becomes ingratiating in the mouth of Jacob, who repeatedly refers to Esau as ―my lord‖ and to him as Esau’s ―servant.‖ This language, used by a vassal to his lord, is motivated by fear and Download With Free Trial intended to be conciliatory. Rabbinic sources are divided in criticism or in defense of Jaco servility.5
Here the Hebrew verb g-w-r connotes both temporary residenc I stayed with L aban
and deprivation of protection, as explained in the Comment to 12:10. Jacob is tactfully sil on his reasons for going to Laban in the first place. This explains why he had not contacted Esau previously. and remained un til now Jacob obliquely hints that he has the wherewithal to pay off his 6. I have acqui r ed 7 brother, if need be. He cleverly lists each item in the singular, which functions asa Sign up to vote on this title
2
Cf. Gen. 14:6; 33:14; 36:8f., 30; Deut. 2:4, 12.
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collective. He omits mention of the camels, the most valuable of all his livestock, even though they are listed in verse 8 and part of the gift in verse 16. His purpose is to understa his possessions so that the present will be all that much more of a delightful and spectacul surprise to Esau. 7. The messengers report back that Esau —his ―brother,‖ not his ―lord‖— seems to h obtained independent intelligence about Jacob’s movements. He is ―coming to meet‖ him phrase that can convey either amity or enmity8 and so underlines the inability to decipher Esau’s intentions. To judge from such passages as 1 Samuel 22:2, 25:13, and 30:10 four hu ndred men 17, this seems to have been the standard size of a militia. The number is therefore ominou
DEFENSIVE MEASURES (VV. 8 – 9)
Jacob’s troubled conscience and the memory of Esau’s terrible resolve (27:41) lead him t imagine the worst. His fear is intensified by his awareness that retreat would violate his p with Laban. Flight is impractical because he is encumbered with small children and much livestock. In the event of an attack, the most he can do is to minimize his losses. See Comment to verse 3. two camps
PRAYER (VV. 10 – 13)
The prayer, an expression of absolute faith in a li ving God, comprises an invocation, a confession, a supplication, and a recollection. 10. The invocation skillfully combines quotations from 28:13 – 15 and 31:3, the divin declarations at Bethel and Haran, which mark the beginning and end of Jacob’s twenty exile. You're Reading Preview This phrase ahas no parallel in the divine promises. I I will deal bountif ull y with you clearly an interpretation of 31:3, ―I will be with you.‖ Unlock full access with a free trial. 11. The confession acknowledges God’s bounteous fidelity in t he past and humbly asserts the personal unworthiness and undeserving nature of the recipient. Download With Free Trial Standing on the banks of the Jabbok, he can point to the Jordan clearly thi s Jordan visible in the distance. 12. The supplication lays bare the overwhelming terror that seizes Jacob at this mom a terror doubtless exacerbated by his tormented conscience. 13. The prayer ends with a recollection of divine promises still to be redeemed. The desperate appeal is thereby grounded in God’s steadfast fealt y, not in the petitioner’s mer At the moment of crisis it is a concern with posterity that is uppermost in Jacob’s mind.
THE GIFT (VV. 14 – 22)
Sign uphostility to vote onisthis A diplomatic initiative aimed at softening Esau’s anticipated thetitle final tactic. A Not the useful that munificent gift that bears the stamp of paying tribute is so Useful arranged manner of presentation, a series of increasingly agreeable surprises, achieves the greatest psycholog impact through its incremental effect. Esau is bound to be overwhelmed by it all.
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– 16. There are 550 beasts in all, an extraordinarily lavish presentation. 15 Esau just has time to scrutinize and admire the animals and to 17. drove by drove
interrogate the men when the next drove arrives, and so forth.
21 – 22. The repeated use of Hebrew panim, obscured in the translation, and the men
of the night effect the transition to the next scene: the night encounter at Peniel.
THE MYSTERIOUS ASSAILANT (vv. 23 – 33)
The story of Jacob’s encounter with Esau is suddenly interrupted. The restless Jacob gets during the night and promptly decides to transfer his entire camp to the other side of the Jabbok. Left utterly alone, he is attacked by a mysterious assailant who wrestles with him until daybreak when, in desperation, he wrenches Jacob’s hip. The patriarch, however, stubbornly holds on to extract a blessing, whereupon the stranger changes Jacob’s name t Israel. Refusing to reveal his own name, he vanishes as the s un’s rays shed their first ligh a limping Jacob. In commemoration of the night’s events, the site of the encounter is nam Peniel, and a dietary restriction is instituted. For an interpretation of the narrative see Excursus 24. Only the principal actors in the evolution of the nation are 23. hi s el even chi l dren specified because Jacob is about to become Israel, the personification of the tribal confederation. That is why Dinah and the rest of his household are not mentioned. This river, called by the Arabs Nahr ez-Zarqa (―blue river‖), the for d of th e Jabbok one of the most important east of the Jordan. Flowing through a deep ravine on a meander course, it joins the Jordan River at right angles ab out 20 miles (32 km.) north of the Dead Sea. Before the construction of bridges, flat stepping-stones or timber would be laid acros You're Reading a Preview the shallowest and narrowest part to afford pass age. To cross at night with a vast entourag a difficult and dangerous operation, to be undertaken only by moonlight and only as a ma Unlock full access with a free trial. of great urgency. By moving from the northern to the southern side of the river, Jacob is placing himself all the more quickly in the path of Esau, who is advancing from Seir in th Download With Free Trial south. His tactic, apparently, is to reduce the interval between Esau’s encountering the gif and his own arrival heralded by his messengers, each in turn. He can thereby better explo the immediate psychological advantage gained from the mollifying effect of the tribute an the same time enhance his claim actually to be on his way to meet his brother. He does no want to convey the impression that he is trying to avoid or delay a face-to-face meeting. He made repeated crossings of the river until all persons an 25. Jacob was left alone goods had been safely transported. Now utterly alone in the dead of night, with no one to come to his aid, he must rely solely on his own resources.
updivine to vote on this title as ―a being‖ ( ʾelohim). In a man In verses 29 and 31 the person is describedSign
Useful Not useful The Hosea’s account he is identified as an angel (Hos. 12:4). interchangeability of these terms is frequent in passages dealing with angels. See Excursus 10.
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of Jaco b’s hip,‖ that is, to the acetabulum, the cup-shaped socket in the hipbone that recei the head of the thighbone. But Jacob still refuses to let go. Not dislocated, for then Jacob would have been unable even to limp (v was str ained 32). Only now does Jacob realize the supernatural nature of his 27. for dawn is breakin g opponent. – 29. What i s your name? A rhetorical question that affords opportunity for ―Jaco 28 and ―Israel‖ to be counterposed, thus bringing to mind the contrasting connotation of the names. Since names in the Bible are inextricably intertwined with personality and destiny
change here signifies a final purging of the unsavory character traits with which yaʿakov come to be associated. It is the bestowal of the new name that constitutes the essence of the blessing I sr ael the climax of the entire episode. Jacob had feared for his posterity; now he is tacit ly assur that he will become the patriarch of a nation named Israel. The meaning of the name Israel is discussed in Excursus 25. The humans would have been Esau and Laban, or th with bein gs divin e and hum an term may refer to incidents in the patriarch’s life that have not been preserved but once ha popular currency. Judges 9:13 suggests that, alternatively, the phrase may be a fossilized expression, a merism meaning ―all and sundry.‖ 11 and have pr evail ed The innovation of the name ―Israel‖ in the Bible is associated w struggle and triumph in the face of overwhelming odds. Curiously and instructively, the earliest extrabiblical document to mention Israel, the victory hymn of King Merneptah of Egypt (ca. 1207 B.C.E.), reports that ―Israel is laid awaste, his seed is not,‖ while the secon You're Reading Preview the victory inscription of King Mesha of Moab (ca. 830 B.C.E.), declares ―Israel has perish Unlock full access with a free trial. forever.‖ 30. In the preexilic period all angels remain anonymous. The story in Judges 13:17 Free Trial again illustrates how any attempt toDownload discover With the identit y of a divine being is turned aside 31. Peni el Literally, ―Face of God.‖ The name may already have belonged to the sit due to some grotesque rock formation. A promontory on the Phoenician coast that contain the profile of a monstrous face was called ―God’s Face.‖ Whatever the origin of the name our text it is invested with new meaning derived from Jacob’s experience. Peniel is most plausibly identified with Tulul adh-Dhahab, which stands on the Jabbo few miles from where it flows into the Jordan. It was a place of strategic importance. Hebrew ki. See Comment to 4:25. meaning Sign up to vote on this title
Hebrew ʾelohim. In Judges 13 the one repeatedly called ―an angel‖ is a divin e bein g
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also referred to as ʾelohim (v. 22). I have seen … face to face Two idioms are combined here, both inherently ambigu
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Presence — the utterly overwhelming nature of the mysterious contact with the awesome majesty of the transcendent yet immanent God. 32. The sun r ose Jacob’s ignominious flight from home was appropriately marked b the setting of the sun; fittingly, the radiance of the sunrise greets the patriarch as he cross back into his native land. In light of Malachi 3:20, the rising sun may also betoken the healing of Jacob’s injury. 33. Appended to the narrative is a historical note tracing the origin of an Israelite dietary abstention to the previously described episode. This is the first biblical usage of this phrase, which here refer the chi ldr en of I srael the entire people, not to Jacob’s sons. 12 This is written from the perspective of a later age. to thi s day Venerable Jewish tradition identifies this unique and cryptic term the thigh mu scle
hanasheh with the sciatic nerve (nervus ischiadicus). 1
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