Kejadian 32:4

32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant ¹  Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now.

Kejadian 32:18

32:18 then you must say, ²  ‘They belong ³  to your servant Jacob. ⁴  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ⁵  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ⁶ 

Kejadian 32:20

32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ⁷  Jacob thought, ⁸  “I will first appease him ⁹  by sending a gift ahead of me. ¹⁰  After that I will meet him. ¹¹  Perhaps he will accept me.” ¹² 

Kejadian 33:5

33:5 When Esau ¹³  looked up ¹⁴  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ¹⁵  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ¹⁶  your servant.”

[32:4]  ¹ sn Your servant. The narrative recounts Jacob’s groveling in fear before Esau as he calls his brother his “lord,” as if to minimize what had been done twenty years ago.

[32:18]  ² tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.

[32:18]  ³ tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”

[32:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”

[32:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”

[32:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.

[32:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ¹² tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[33:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[33:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”