Kejadian 32:20

32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ¹  Jacob thought, ²  “I will first appease him ³  by sending a gift ahead of me. ⁴  After that I will meet him. ⁵  Perhaps he will accept me.” ⁶ 

Kejadian 32:1

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God ⁷  met him.

1 Samuel 9:7

9:7 So Saul said to his servant, “All right, ⁸  we can go. But what can we bring the man, since the food in our bags is used up? We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”

[32:20]  ¹ tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[32:1]  ⁷ sn The phrase angels of God occurs only here and in Gen 28:12 in the OT. Jacob saw a vision of angels just before he left the promised land. Now he encounters angels as he prepares to return to it. The text does not give the details of the encounter, but Jacob’s response suggests it was amicable. This location was a spot where heaven made contact with earth, and where God made his presence known to the patriarch. See C. Houtman, “Jacob at Mahanaim: Some Remarks on Genesis XXXII 2-3,” VT 28 (1978): 37-44.

[9:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “look.”