in the morning, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them, and went ; and Laban returned to his place. And Jakob went on his way, and the angels of the Lord met him. And when Jakob saw them, he said. This is a host from before the Lord; and he called the name of the place Mahanaim.

6

SECTION VIII.

VAYISHLACH.

And

AND Jakob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother to the land of Seir,7 in the region of Edom; and he instructed them, saying, So shall you tell to my lord, to Esau: Thus saith thy servant Jakob, With Laban I have dwelt, and have tarried, until now. I have oxen, and asses, sheep, and servants, and handmaids, and have sent to show my lord, to find grace in thine eyes. And the messengers returned to Jakob, saying, We came to thy brother, to Esau; and he cometh also to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. And Jakob feared greatly, and it distressed him. And he divided the people that were with him, and the sheep, and oxen, and camels, into two hosts, and said, If Esau come to the one host and smite it, the host that is left may escape. And Jakob said, God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Izhak, the Lord, who didst say to me, Return to thy country and to thy native place, and I will do thee good; less are my righteousnesses than all the mercies and all the benefits which Thou hast performed unto Thy servant: for alone I passed this Yardena, and now I have become two bands. Deliver me now from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I am afraid of him, 6 Or, "camp," 7 Sam. Vers., gabla, (gebel,) "the mountain."

lest he come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And Thou hast said, In doing good I will do good with thee, and will make thy sons many as the sand of the sea which cannot be numbered for number. And he housed there that night, and took of that which came to his hand, an offering for Esau his brother; goats two hundred, rams twenty, ewes two hundred, and rams twenty, camels giving milk and their young ones thirty, cows forty, and bulls ten, she-asses twenty, and colts ten. And he gave them into the hand of his servants, herd by herd separately, and said to his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space between herd and herd. And he commanded the foremost, saying, If Esau my brother meet thee, and ask thee, saying, Whose art thou? and, Whither goest thou? and, Whose are these that are before thee? thou shalt say, They are an offering of thy servant Jakob, which he hath sent to my lord, to Esau; and, behold, he also cometh after us. And he instructed also the second and the third, and all of them who followed the herds, saying, According to this word you shall speak with Esau, when you find him; and say also, Behold, thy servant Jakob cometh after. For he said, I will quiet his anger by the offering that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me. And the offering went over before his face, and he himself lodged that night in the camp. And he arose in the night, and took his two wives, and

his two concubines, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jubeka; and he took them and made them pass over the torrent, and made what was his to pass over.

And Jakob remained alone; and a Man wrestled with him till the morning ascended. And he saw that he prevailed not with him, and he touched the hollow of his 8 Or, "the palm."

thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was dislocated in wrestling with him. And he said, Let me go;1 for the morning ascendeth. And he said, I will not let Thee go, unless Thou bless me. And He said to him, What is thy name? And he said, Jakob. And He said, Thy name shall be no longer Jakob, but Israel; for a prince art thou before the Lord, and with men, and thou hast prevailed. And Jakob asked Him, and said, show me now Thy Name! And He said, Why dost thou ask My Name? And He blessed him there. And Jakob called the name of the place Peniel: because I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face, and my soul hath been saved! And the sun arose upon he passed over Penuel, and he went lame upon his thigh. Therefore the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day, because He touched the hollow of Jakob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.

him as

XXXIII. And Jakob lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men; and he divided the children with Leah, and with Rahel, and with the two concubines. And he set the concubines and their children first, and Leah and her children after, and Rahel and Joseph after them. And he passed over before them, and bowed to the earth. seven times, until he came nigh to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell upon his neck, and kissed him; and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children, and said, What are these to thee? And he said, The children whom the Lord hath given to thy servant. And the concubines approached, they and their children, and bowed. And Leah also approached and her children, 9 Or, "moved." 1 "Send me away."

2

2 Or, "to prevent him."

and bowed; and afterward Joseph and Rahel approached, and bowed. And he said, What to thee is all this troop which I have met ? And he said, To find mercy in the eyes of my lord. And Esau said, I have much, my brother; let what is thine own profit thee. And Jakob said, I pray thee, if I have now found mercy in thine eyes, that thou wouldst accept the present from my hand, because I have now seen thy face as the vision of the face of the Great, and thou art pleased with me. Receive, I pray, my offering which is brought to thee, because the Lord hath been merciful to me, and because I have all. And he was urgent on him, and he took it. And he said, Let us journey and go, and I will go along with thee. And he said, My lord knoweth that the little ones are tender, and the sheep and kine giving milk are with me; and if they overdrive them one day, all the flock may die. Let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will lead on quietly, according to the foot of the little ones, according to the foot of the work that is before me, and according to the foot of the sucklings, until I come to my lord at Seir. And Esau said, Let me leave with thee of the people who are with me. And he said, Why should this be? Let me find grace in the eyes of my lord. And Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. And Jakob journeyed to Succoth, and builded him an house, and made tabernacles for his cattle; therefore he called the name of the place Succoth.5

And Jakob came in peace to the city of Shekem, which is in the land of Kenaan, in his coming from Padan Aram, and he abode near the face of the city. And he bought the possession of the field where he had spread his tent, of the hand of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shekem, for a hundred lambs. And he raised

3 Or,
"prosper with thine own."
5 "Tabernacles."

4 Sam. Vers., "Gabla."

there an altar, and offered service upon it before God, the God of Israel.

XXXIV. And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bare to Jakob, went forth to see the daughters of the land. And Shekem bar Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, and took her, and lay with her, and humbled her. And his soul took pleasure in Dinah the daughter of Jakob, and he loved the damsel, and spake to the heart of the damsel. And Shekem spake to Hamor his father, saying, Take to me this damsel for a wife. And Jakob heard that he had polluted Dinah his daughter. And his sons were with his flocks in the field; and Jakob was silent until they were come. And Hamor the father of Shekem came forth to Jakob to speak with him. And the sons of Jakob came up from the field when they heard. And the men were indignant and very angry, because shame had been wrought in Israel by his lying with the daughter of Jacob; for so it should not have been done. And Hamor spake with them, saying, The soul of Shekem my son hath pleasure in your daughter; give her now to him to wife. And marry with us, and take our daughters to you; and the land shall be before you; inhabit and do business in it, and possess it. And Shekem said to her father and to her brethren, Let me find favour in your eyes, and what you shall tell me I will give. Multiply upon me dowry and present, and I will give as you may tell me ; but give me the damsel to wife. And the sons of Jakob answered Shekem and Hamor his father, and with subtlety they spake, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. And they said to them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a man uncircumcised; for that (would be) a reproach to Nevertheless in this we will agree with you, if you will be as we are, by circumcising every male among

us.