Genesis 32

1 And Jacob went on his way. And looking up, he saw the camp of God encamped — and the messengers of God met him. 2 And when he saw them, Jacob said, “This is the Camp of God.” And he called the name of that place Encampments. [a] 3 Then Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau, to the land of Seir, to the country of Edom, 4 and he charged them, saying, “Say this to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob: I have been staying with Laban, and remained until now. 5 Oxen and donkeys and sheep have been born to me, and male and female servants. And I have sent to tell my lord Esau, so that your servant may find favor in your sight.’” 6 And the messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We came to your brother Esau — and look, he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men with him.” 7 And Jacob was terrified, and did not know what to do. He divided the people with him — and the oxen and the sheep — into two camps. [d] 8 And Jacob said, “If Esau comes against one camp and strikes it, the other camp will escape.”

9 And Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac — O Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go quickly back to the land of your birth, and I will do you good’ — 10 let it be enough for me, out of all the righteousness and all the truth you have shown your servant: for with only this staff of mine I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau — for I am afraid of him: that he may come and strike me down, and the mother with the children. 12 You said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your seed like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted for its multitude.’” 13 And he slept there that night. Then he took, from what he had with him, gifts to send to his brother Esau: 14 two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred sheep and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty donkeys and ten colts. 16 He handed them to his servants, each drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Go on ahead of me, and keep a space between drove and drove.” 17 And he charged the first one, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Whose are you? Where are you going? And whose are these animals walking ahead of you?’ — 18 you shall say, ‘Your servant Jacob’s. He has sent gifts to my lord Esau — and look, he himself is behind us.’” 19 And he charged the first, and the second, and the third, and all who went ahead behind the droves, saying, “Speak to Esau in this way when you find him, 20 and say: ‘Look, your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease his face with the gifts that go ahead of him, and after that I will see his face — perhaps he will receive me.” 21 So the gifts went on ahead of him, and he himself slept that night in the camp.

22 That night he rose, took his two wives and his two servant girls and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and brought them across the stream, and brought over everything that was his. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the morning. † 25 When the man saw that he could not prevail against him, he touched the broad part of Jacob’s thigh — and the broad part of Jacob’s thigh went numb as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said to him, “Let me go, for the day has dawned.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he answered, “Jacob.” 28 And he said to him, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name — for you have prevailed with God, and are mighty with men.” 29 And Jacob asked him, “Tell me your name.” And he said, “Why do you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of that place the Form of God — “for I have seen God face to face, and my life was preserved.” [b] 31 And the sun rose on him as he passed the Form of God — and he limped on his thigh. 32 That is why the children of Israel do not eat, to this day, the sinew that went numb, which is on the broad part of the thigh — because he touched the broad part of Jacob’s thigh, the sinew that went numb. [c]