1 And on his way Jacob came face to face with the angels of God. 2 And when he saw them he said, This is the army of God: so he gave that place the name of Mahanaim. 3 Now Jacob sent servants before him to Esau, his brother, in the land of Seir, the country of Edom; 4 And he gave them orders to say these words to Esau: Your servant Jacob says, Till now I have been living with Laban: 5 And I have oxen and asses and flocks and men-servants and women-servants: and I have sent to give my lord news of these things so that I may have grace in his eyes. 6 When the servants came back they said, We have seen your brother Esau and he is coming out to you, and four hundred men with him. 7 Then Jacob was in great fear and trouble of mind: and he put all the people and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two groups; 8 And said, If Esau, meeting one group, makes an attack on them, the others will get away safely. 9 Then Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you: 10 I am less than nothing in comparison with all your mercies and your faith to me your servant; for with only my stick in my hand I went across Jordan, and now I have become two armies. 11 Be my saviour from the hand of Esau, my brother: for my fear is that he will make an attack on me, putting to death mother and child. 12 And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered. 13 Then he put up his tent there for the night; and from among his goods he took, as an offering for his brother Esau, 14 Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred females and twenty males from the sheep, 15 Thirty camels with their young ones, forty cows, ten oxen, twenty asses, and ten young asses. 16 These he gave to his servants, every herd by itself, and he said to his servants, Go on before me, and let there be a space between one herd and another. 17 And he gave orders to the first, saying, When my brother Esau comes to you and says, Whose servant are you, and where are you going, and whose are these herds? 18 Then say to him, These are your servant Jacob's; they are an offering for my lord, for Esau; and he himself is coming after us. 19 And he gave the same orders to the second and the third and to all those who were with the herds, saying, This is what you are to say to Esau when you see him; 20 And you are to say further, Jacob, your servant, is coming after us. For he said to himself, I will take away his wrath by the offering which I have sent on, and then I will come before him: it may be that I will have grace in his eyes. 21 So the servants with the offerings went on in front, and he himself took his rest that night in the tents with his people. 22 And in the night he got up, and taking with him his two wives and the two servant-women and his eleven children, he went over the river Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them over the stream with all he had. 24 Then Jacob was by himself; and a man was fighting with him till dawn. 25 But when the man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob, he gave him a blow in the hollow part of his leg, so that his leg was damaged. 26 And he said to him, Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said, I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. 27 Then he said, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel: for in your fight with God and with men you have overcome. 29 Then Jacob said, What is your name? And he said, What is my name to you? Then he gave him a blessing. 30 And Jacob gave that place the name of Peniel, saying, I have seen God face to face, and still I am living. 31 And while he was going past Peniel, the sun came up. And he went with unequal steps because of his damaged leg. 32 For this reason the children of Israel, even today, never take that muscle in the hollow of the leg as food, because the hollow of Jacob's leg was touched.
Genesis · Bible in Basic English
Genesis 32 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Jacob
He wrestled with God through the night and rose as Israel, father of twelve tribes.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 25–35; 46–49
Cross references (27)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Psalm 91:11; Psalm 34:7; Ephesians 3:10; Hebrews 1:4; 2 Kings 6:16–17
- 2 2 Samuel 2:8; Joshua 5:14; Joshua 21:38; 1 Kings 2:8; Luke 2:13
- 3 Joshua 24:4; Genesis 25:30; Genesis 14:6; Genesis 33:14; Deuteronomy 2:5
- 4 1 Peter 3:6; 1 Kings 20:32; Genesis 33:8; Genesis 32:18; Genesis 27:37
- 5 Genesis 33:8; Genesis 33:15; Job 6:22; Genesis 33:11; 2 Samuel 16:4
- 6 Genesis 33:1; Amos 5:19; Genesis 32:11; Genesis 27:40–41; Genesis 32:8
- 7 Genesis 35:3; Genesis 32:11; Psalm 107:6; Proverbs 2:11; 2 Corinthians 1:8–10
- 8 Genesis 33:1–3; Matthew 10:16
- 9 Genesis 31:42; Psalm 34:4–6; Genesis 31:3; Genesis 28:13; Genesis 31:13
- 10 Psalm 18:35; Genesis 24:27; 2 Samuel 7:18; 1 Timothy 1:12–15; Job 42:5–6
- 11 Psalm 59:1–2; Proverbs 18:19; Matthew 6:13; Psalm 31:2; Daniel 3:17
- 12 Genesis 28:13–15; Hebrews 6:17; Titus 1:2; Genesis 22:17; Genesis 46:3–4
- 13 Proverbs 18:16; Genesis 43:11; Proverbs 17:8; Proverbs 19:6; Proverbs 21:14
- 14 Job 1:3; Deuteronomy 8:18; Job 42:12; Genesis 31:16; Genesis 31:9
- 16 Isaiah 28:26; Matthew 10:16; Proverbs 2:11; Genesis 33:8–9; Psalm 112:5
- 17 Genesis 33:3
- 18 Genesis 32:4–5
- 20 Job 42:8–9; Proverbs 21:14; Proverbs 16:14; 2 Timothy 2:25; Genesis 43:11
- 22 Deuteronomy 3:16; Deuteronomy 2:37; Joshua 12:2; 1 Timothy 5:8; Genesis 35:22–26
- 24 Hosea 12:3–5; Ephesians 6:12; Genesis 32:28; Luke 13:24; Genesis 32:30
- 25 2 Corinthians 12:7–9; Hosea 12:3–4; Genesis 32:32; Matthew 26:41; Isaiah 45:11
- 26 Hosea 12:4; Psalm 115:12–13; 2 Corinthians 12:8–9; Psalm 67:1; 1 Chronicles 4:10
- 28 Revelation 2:17; Genesis 35:10; Isaiah 62:2–4; Hosea 12:3–5; Genesis 27:33–36
- 29 Job 11:7; Isaiah 9:6; Judges 13:16–18; Hosea 6:1; Genesis 27:28–29
- 30 Exodus 24:10–11; Numbers 12:8; Isaiah 6:5; Deuteronomy 5:24; Genesis 16:13
- 31 2 Corinthians 12:7; Malachi 4:2; Genesis 19:15; Psalm 38:17; Genesis 32:25
- 32 1 Samuel 5:5
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… eternal, and of right belongs eternally to Jerusalem the free mother, where the genuine people of Israel shall be: for this name is interpreted "Seeing God;" in the desire of which reward a pious life is to be led through faith in this miserable pilgrimage.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
And said to Him, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me." When the conqueror was blessed by the Conquered, Christ was figured.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
But this Jacob, when he received another name, heard the same words, "Thou shalt not be called Jacob, but Israel shalt thou be called." Search the Scriptures, and see how that he was always called both, both Jacob and Israel.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)