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Genesis 32:19

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 32:19 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And 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;” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And 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;
Genesis 32:19 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 32

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
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.
← Genesis 32:18Genesis 32:20 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And so commanded he the second and third, etc.] Those who had the care of the second and third droves, he ordered them to say the same things, and in the same words as he had the first: and all that followed the droves; either all that were with the principal driver; that if any of them should happen to be interrogated first, they might know what to answer; or those that followed the other droves, besides the three mentioned, which countenances Aben Ezra’s notion of five droves, before observed: saying, on this manner shall you speak to Esau, when you find him; that is, when they met him and perceived it was he that put questions to them.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- Jacob Wrestles in Prayer 3. מחנים machănāyı̂m, Machanaim, “two camps.” 22. יבק yaboq, Jabboq; related: בקק bāqaq “gush or gurgle out” or אבק 'ābaq in niphal, “wrestle.” Now Wady Zurka. 29. ישׂראל yı̂śrā'ēl, Jisrael, “prince of God.” 31. פניאל penı̂y'ēl = פנוּאל penû'ēl, Peniel, Penuel, “face of God.” After twenty years spent in Aram, Jacob now returns to Kenann. As his departure was marked by a great moment in his spiritual life, so he is now approaching to a crisis in his life of no less significance Genesis 32:1-3 Jacob has a vision of the heavenly host. This passage, recording Laban’s farewell and departure, closes the connection of Jacob with Haran and all its toils of…”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification