John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
Read attributed excerpt →Genesis Chapter 32
What is Genesis 32 about?
The book of beginnings — creation, the Fall, Noah's flood, and the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.
Text — American Standard Version (1901)
American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2And Jacob said when he saw them, This is God`s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the field of Edom.
4And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau: Thus saith thy servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now:
5and I have oxen, and asses, [and] flocks, and men-servants, and maid-servants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in thy sight.
6And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
7Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed: and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies;
8and he said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the company which is left shall escape.
9And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, who saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will do thee good:
10I am not worthy of the least of all the lovingkindnesses, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two companies.
11Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he come and smite me, the mother with the children.
12And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
13And he lodged there that night, and took of that which he had with him a present for Esau his brother:
14two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
15thirty milch camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals.
16And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
17And 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?
18then thou shalt say [They are] thy servant Jacob`s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, he also is behind us.
19And he commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him;
20and ye shall say, 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 me.
21So the present passed over before him: and he himself lodged that night in the company.
22And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven children, and passed over the ford of the Jabbok.
23And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that which he had.
24And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
25And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob`s thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him.
26And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29And 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.
30And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, [said he], I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
31And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Penuel, and he limped upon his thigh.
32Therefore the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob`s thigh in the sinew of the hip.
What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
Read attributed excerpt →Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
Read attributed excerpt →Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 1
Read attributed excerpt →Related study paths
Sources and verification
- Scripture text: American Standard Version (1901), public domain.
- Commentary excerpts are attributed to their named historical source and are not presented as a BibleWord.ai doctrinal position.