יעקב ועשו - הפגישה

And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the field of Edom. And 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. And 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 favour in thy sight.’

Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed. And he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two camps. And he said: ‘If Esau come to the one camp, and smite it, then the camp which is left shall escape.’ And Jacob said: ‘O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who saidst unto me: Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will do thee good; I am not worthy of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast shown unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two camps. Deliver 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.

And he lodged there that night; and took of that which he had with him a present for Esau his brother: two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milch camels and their colts, forty kine and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals. And 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.’ And 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? then thou shalt say: They are thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord, even unto Esau; and, behold, he also is behind us.’ And he commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying: ‘In this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him; and 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.’ So the present passed over before him; and he himself lodged that night in the camp.

And 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. And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that which he had.

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And 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. And he said: ‘Let me go, for the day breaketh.’ And he said: ‘I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.’ And he said unto him: ‘What is thy name?’ And he said: ‘Jacob.’ And he said: ‘Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.’ And 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. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: ‘for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.’ And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Peniel, and he limped upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the thigh-vein which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh, even in the sinew of the thigh-vein.

And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he himself passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said: ‘Who are these with thee?’ And he said: ‘The children whom God hath graciously given thy servant.’ Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and they bowed down. And Leah also and her children came near, and bowed down; and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed down. And he said: ‘What meanest thou by all this camp which I met?’ And he said: ‘To find favour in the sight of my lord.’ And Esau said: ‘I have enough; my brother, let that which thou hast be thine.’ And Jacob said: ‘Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found favour in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand; forasmuch as I have seen thy face, as one seeth the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my gift that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.’ And he urged him, and he took it.

And he said: ‘What meanest thou by all this camp which I met?’ And he said: ‘To find favour in the sight of my lord.’