Wayfinding Bible - Flipbook - Page 57
Genesis 32
your brother, Esau, and he is already on his
way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!”
7
Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his
household, along with the flocks and herds
and camels, into two groups. 8 He thought, “If
Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps
the other group can escape.”
9
Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grand
father Abra
ham, and God of my father,
Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your
own land and to your relatives.’ And you
promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ 10 I am
not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant.
When I left home and crossed the Jordan River,
I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now
my household fills two large camps! 11 O Lord,
please rescue me from the hand of my brother,
Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack
me, along with my wives and children. 12 But
you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until
they become as numerous as the sands along
the seashore—too many to count.’”
13
Jacob stayed where he was for the night.
Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to
pre
sent to his brother, Esau:
200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes,
20 rams, 15 30 female camels with their young,
40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and
10 male donkeys. 16 He divided these animals
into herds and assigned each to different servants. Then he told his servants, “Go ahead of
me with the animals, but keep some distance
between the herds.”
17
He gave these instructions to the men
leading the first group: “When my brother,
Esau, meets you, he will ask, ‘Whose servants
are you? Where are you going? Who owns
these animals?’ 18 You must reply, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, but they are a gift
for his master Esau. Look, he is coming right
behind us.’”
19
Jacob gave the same instructions to the
second and third herdsmen and to all who
followed behind the herds: “You must say the
same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And
be sure to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is
right behind us.’”
Jacob thought, “I will try to appease him by
sending gifts ahead of me. When I see him in
person, perhaps he will be friendly to me.” 21 So
the gifts were sent on ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp.
14
Haran
JACOB RETURNS
TO CANAAN
Aleppo
an S
ea
Eu
ph
ra
te
s
Ri
Me
JA
dit
err
CO B
r
ane
ve
When Jacob traveled
back to Canaan with
his family, he knew
the route well. It was
probably the same
route he had taken
nearly two decades
earlier, escaping
from his brother
Esau. Now Jacob was
returning, unsure of
what lay ahead.
Damascus
Succoth?
Jacob and Esau
reunited here
Dead Sea
ESAU
Shechem
Canaan
ARABIAN
DESERT
Jabbok
River
EDOM
0
0
200 mi.
100
100
200
300 km
Gen 31:3
PADDANARAM
Hamath
51
