Genesis 32:16
He entrusted them to his servants in separate herds and told them, "Go on ahead of me, and keep some distance between the herds."
He entrusted them to his servants
The phrase "He entrusted them" indicates a transfer of responsibility and care. In Hebrew, the root word for "entrusted" is "נתן" (natan), meaning to give or place. This act of entrusting reflects Jacob's strategic planning and his reliance on his servants to carry out his instructions faithfully. It underscores the importance of delegation and trust in leadership, a principle that resonates throughout Scripture, where leaders are often called to empower others to fulfill God's purposes.

in separate herds
The decision to place the animals "in separate herds" is a tactical move by Jacob. The Hebrew word for "separate" is "בדל" (badal), which means to divide or distinguish. This separation serves a dual purpose: it creates a buffer to protect the gifts from potential attack and enhances the presentation of the gifts to Esau, making them appear more substantial. This strategy reflects Jacob's wisdom and foresight, qualities that are essential for navigating complex situations.

and told them
The phrase "and told them" highlights the act of communication. In Hebrew, "אמר" (amar) is used, which means to say or speak. This emphasizes the importance of clear and direct communication in executing plans. Jacob's instructions to his servants are precise, ensuring that his intentions are understood and carried out. This mirrors the biblical principle that effective communication is vital in relationships and leadership.

Go on ahead of me
"Go on ahead of me" indicates a deliberate positioning. The Hebrew root "עבר" (avar) means to pass over or go before. Jacob's instruction for the herds to go ahead serves as a peace offering to Esau, softening his brother's heart before their encounter. This act of humility and reconciliation is a powerful example of seeking peace and restoration, aligning with the biblical call to pursue peace with others.

and keep some distance between the herds
The instruction to "keep some distance between the herds" is a strategic measure. The Hebrew word for "distance" is "רוחק" (ruach), which implies space or interval. This spacing not only enhances the visual impact of the gifts but also provides a safeguard against potential threats. It reflects Jacob's careful planning and his desire to ensure the safety and success of his mission. This principle of thoughtful preparation and protection is echoed throughout Scripture, where believers are encouraged to be wise and discerning in their actions.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jacob
The central figure in this passage, Jacob is preparing to meet his brother Esau after many years. He is concerned about Esau's reaction and is taking strategic steps to appease him.

2. Esau
Jacob's brother, whom Jacob is about to meet. Their relationship has been strained since Jacob deceived Esau out of his birthright and blessing.

3. Servants
These are the individuals Jacob entrusts with the herds. They play a role in executing Jacob's plan to pacify Esau.

4. Herds
The livestock that Jacob sends ahead as gifts to Esau. They are divided into separate groups to create a continuous offering.

5. The Journey
The event of Jacob's return to Canaan, which is a significant moment in his life as he reconciles with his past and his brother.
Teaching Points
Strategic Peacemaking
Jacob's actions demonstrate the importance of thoughtful and strategic efforts in making peace with others. We should consider how we can proactively address conflicts in our own lives.

Trust in God's Plan
Despite his fear, Jacob moves forward with trust in God's promises. We are reminded to trust God even when facing potentially hostile situations.

Generosity as a Bridge
Jacob's use of gifts to appease Esau highlights the role of generosity in mending relationships. We can apply this by using our resources to bless and reconcile with others.

Preparation and Prayer
Jacob's preparation is coupled with prayer (Genesis 32:9-12). This teaches us the importance of combining practical steps with spiritual reliance.

Facing the Past
Jacob's journey back to Esau is a journey of facing his past mistakes. We are encouraged to confront our past with courage and seek reconciliation.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jacob's approach to meeting Esau reflect his character development since leaving Canaan?

2. In what ways can we apply Jacob's strategy of sending gifts to Esau in our own efforts to reconcile with others?

3. How does the division of the herds into separate groups demonstrate wisdom and strategy in conflict resolution?

4. What role does prayer play in Jacob's preparation to meet Esau, and how can we incorporate prayer into our own preparations for difficult situations?

5. How does the account of Jacob and Esau's reconciliation inspire us to address unresolved conflicts in our own lives?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 33
The subsequent chapter where Jacob and Esau finally meet, providing the resolution to the tension built in Genesis 32.

Proverbs 21:14
This verse speaks to the power of a gift in pacifying anger, which is directly related to Jacob's strategy in sending gifts to Esau.

Matthew 5:23-24
Jesus teaches about reconciliation with others before offering gifts to God, paralleling Jacob's efforts to reconcile with Esau.
Jacob's Offering to EsauG. Hughes, B. D.Genesis 32:13-20
The Crisis At HandR.A. Redford Genesis 32:13-23
People
Esau, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Laban, Penuel, Seir
Places
Edom, Jabbok River, Jordan River, Mahanaim, Mizpah, Peniel, Penuel, Seir
Topics
Ahead, Betwixt, Delivered, Drove, Droves, Giveth, Hands, Herd, Herds, Itself, Pass, Servants, Space, Themselves
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Genesis 32:3-21

     5922   prudence

Genesis 32:13-21

     5325   gifts

Library
Mahanaim: the Two Camps
And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim' (i.e. Two camps).--GENESIS xxxii. 1, 2. This vision came at a crisis in Jacob's life. He has just left the house of Laban, his father-in-law, where he had lived for many years, and in company with a long caravan, consisting of wives, children, servants, and all his wealth turned into cattle, is journeying back again to Palestine. His road
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Twofold Wrestle --God's with Jacob and Jacob's with God
'And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast shewed unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

"And He Said, Let Me Go, for the Day Breaketh. " --Genesis xxxii. 26
"And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh."--Genesis xxxii. 26. Let me go, the day is breaking, Dear companions, let me go; We have spent a night of waking In the wilderness below; Upward now I bend my way, Part we here at break of day. Let me go, I may not tarry, Wrestling thus with doubts and fears, Angels wait my soul to carry, Where my risen Lord appears; Friends and kindred, weep not so, If you love me let me go. We have travell'd long together, Hand in hand, and heart in heart, Both
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Of the Name of God
Exod. iii. 13, 14.--"And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." We are now about this question, What God is. But who can answer it? Or, if answered, who can understand it? It should astonish us in
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Gen. xxxi. 11
Of no less importance and significance is the passage Gen. xxxi. 11 seq. According to ver. 11, the Angel of God, [Hebrew: mlaK halhiM] appears toJacob in a dream. In ver. 13, the same person calls himself the God of Bethel, with reference to the event recorded in chap. xxviii. 11-22. It cannot be supposed that in chap xxviii. the mediation of a common angel took place, who, however, had not been expressly mentioned; for Jehovah is there contrasted with the angels. In ver. 12, we read: "And behold
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Jacob-Wrestling
"Lord, teach us to pray."--Luke xi. 1. "Jacob called the name of the place Peniel."--Gen. xxxii. 30. ALL the time that Jacob was in Padan-aram we search in vain for prayer, for praise. or for piety of any kind in Jacob's life. We read of his marriage, and of his great prosperity, till the land could no longer hold him. But that is all. It is not said in so many words indeed that Jacob absolutely denied and forsook the God of his fathers: it is not said that he worshipped idols in Padan-aram: that
Alexander Whyte—Lord Teach Us To Pray

The Great Shepherd
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. I t is not easy for those, whose habits of life are insensibly formed by the customs of modern times, to conceive any adequate idea of the pastoral life, as obtained in the eastern countries, before that simplicity of manners, which characterized the early ages, was corrupted, by the artificial and false refinements of luxury. Wealth, in those
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Pleading
We shall consider our text, then, as one of the productions of a great master in spiritual matters, and we will study it, praying all the while that God will help us to pray after the like fashion. In our text we have the soul of a successful pleader under four aspects: we view, first, the soul confessing: "I am poor and needy." You have next, the soul pleading, for he makes a plea out of his poor condition, and adds, "Make haste unto me, O God!" You see, thirdly, a soul in it's urgency, for he cries,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Explanatory and Biographical
INTRODUCTION TO [202]BOOK I English lyrical religious poetry is less easily divisible than our secular verse into well-marked periods, whether in regard to matter or to manner. Throughout its long course it has in great measure the groundwork of a common Book, a common Faith, and a common Purpose. And although incidents from human life and aspects of nature are not excluded (and have in this selection, when possible, been specially gathered, with the view of varying the garland here presented)--yet
Francis Turner Palgrave—The Treasury of Sacred Song

The Worst Things Work for Good to the Godly
DO not mistake me, I do not say that of their own nature the worst things are good, for they are a fruit of the curse; but though they are naturally evil, yet the wise overruling hand of God disposing and sanctifying them, they are morally good. As the elements, though of contrary qualities, yet God has so tempered them, that they all work in a harmonious manner for the good of the universe. Or as in a watch, the wheels seem to move contrary one to another, but all carry on the motions of the watch:
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

The Angel of the Lord in the Pentateuch, and the Book of Joshua.
The New Testament distinguishes between the hidden God and the revealed God--the Son or Logos--who is connected with the former by oneness of nature, and who from everlasting, and even at the creation itself, filled up the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the creation;--who has been the Mediator in all God's relations to the world;--who at all times, and even before He became man in Christ, has been the light of [Pg 116] the world,--and to whom, specially, was committed the direction
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Meditations for the Morning.
1. Almighty God can, in the resurrection, as easily raise up thy body out of the grave, from the sleep of death, as he hath this morning wakened thee in thy bed, out of the sleep of nature. At the dawning of which resurrection day, Christ shall come to be glorified in his saints; and every one of the bodies of the thousands of his saints, being fashioned like unto his glorious body, shall shine as bright as the sun (2 Thess. i. 10; Jude, ver. 14; Phil. iii. 21; Luke ix. 31;) all the angels shining
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

St. Malachy's Apostolic Labours, Praises and Miracles.
[Sidenote: 1140, October] 42. (23). Malachy embarked in a ship, and after a prosperous voyage landed at his monastery of Bangor,[576] so that his first sons might receive the first benefit.[577] In what state of mind do you suppose they were when they received their father--and such a father--in good health from so long a journey? No wonder if their whole heart gave itself over to joy at his return, when swift rumour soon brought incredible gladness even to the tribes[578] outside round about them.
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

A Treatise of the Fear of God;
SHOWING WHAT IT IS, AND HOW DISTINGUISHED FROM THAT WHICH IS NOT SO. ALSO, WHENCE IT COMES; WHO HAS IT; WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS; AND WHAT THE PRIVILEGES OF THOSE THAT HAVE IT IN THEIR HEARTS. London: Printed for N. Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, over against the Stocks market: 1679. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "a fountain of life"--the foundation on which all wisdom rests, as well as the source from whence it emanates. Upon a principle
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Fragrant Spices from the Mountains of Myrrh. "Thou Art all Fair, My Love; There is no Spot in Thee. " --Song of Solomon iv. 7.
FRAGRANT SPICES FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF MYRRH. HOW marvellous are these words! "Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee." The glorious Bridegroom is charmed with His spouse, and sings soft canticles of admiration. When the bride extols her Lord there is no wonder, for He deserves it well, and in Him there is room for praise without possibility of flattery. But does He who is wiser than Solomon condescend to praise this sunburnt Shulamite? Tis even so, for these are His own words, and were
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

A Believer's Privilege at Death
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Phil 1:1I. Hope is a Christian's anchor, which he casts within the veil. Rejoicing in hope.' Rom 12:12. A Christian's hope is not in this life, but he hash hope in his death.' Prov 14:42. The best of a saint's comfort begins when his life ends; but the wicked have all their heaven here. Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.' Luke 6:64. You may make your acquittance, and write Received in full payment.' Son, remember that
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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