Genesis 32:20

And say ye 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 of me.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
ye	וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֕ם va.'a.mar.Tem	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
moreover	גַּ֗ם Gam	H1571	properly · adverb
servant	עַבְדְּךָ֥ 'av.de.Kha	H5650	a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Jacob	יַעֲקֹ֖ב ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · proper noun, a man's name
us	אַחֲרֵ֑ינוּ 'a.cha.Rei.nu	H310	properly · cardinal number, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
said	אָמַ֞ר 'a.Mar	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
appease	אֲכַפְּרָ֣ה 'a.kha.pe.Rah	H3722	to cover (specifically with bitumen) · verb, piel infinitive construct, 1st person common singular
him	פָנָ֗יו fa.Nav	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
present	בַּמִּנְחָה֙ ba.min.Chah	H4503	a donation · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
goeth	הַהֹלֶ֣כֶת ha.ho.Le.khet	H1980	to walk (in a great variety of applications · definite article + verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
me	לְפָנָ֔י le.fa.Nai	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
afterward	וְאַחֲרֵי ve.'a.cha.rei-	H310	properly · conjunction + cardinal number, masculine plural construct
see	אֶרְאֶ֣ה 'er.'Eh	H7200	to see · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
face	פָנָ֔יו fa.Nav	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
accept	יִשָּׂ֥א yi.Sa'	H5375	to lift · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
me	פָנָֽי fa.Nai	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Job 42:8-9 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my se…
Proverbs 21:14 A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.
Genesis 43:11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down t…
1 Samuel 6:5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: p…
1 Samuel 25:17-35 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such…
1 Kings 20:31 And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put…
Proverbs 6:35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
Proverbs 15:18 A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 32:13-23

Jacob, having piously made God his friend by a prayer, is here prudently endeavouring to make Esau his friend by a present. He had prayed to God to deliver him from the had of Esau, for he feared him; but neither did his fear sink into such a despair as dispirits for the use of means, nor did his prayer make him presume upon God's mercy, without the use of means. Note, When we have prayed to God for any mercy, we must second our prayers with our endeavours; else, instead of trusting god, we tempt him; we must so depend upon God's providence as to make use of our own prudence. "Help thyself, and God will help thee;" God answers our prayers by teaching us to order our affairs with discretion.…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 32:17

he commanded the foremost--The messengers were strictly commanded to say the same words [Gen 32:18, Gen 32:20], that Esau might be more impressed and that the uniformity of the address might appear more clearly to have come from Jacob himself.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 32:15

Ten bulls - The Syriac and Vulgate have twenty; but ten is a sufficient proportion to the forty kine. By all this we see that Jacob was led to make restitution for the injury he had done to his brother. Restitution for injuries done to man is essentially requisite if in our power. He who can and will not make restitution for the wrongs he has done, can have no claim even on the mercy of God.

John Gill on Genesis 32:20

And say ye moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us,.... This is repeated to impress it upon their minds, that they might be careful of all things, not to forget that, it being a point of great importance; for the present would have signified nothing, if Jacob had not appeared in person; Esau would have thought himself, at best, but slighted; as if he was unworthy of a visit from him, and of conversation with him: for he said: that is, Jacob, or "had said" (a), in his heart, within himself, as might be supposed from the whole of his conduct; for what follows are the words of Moses the historian, as Aben Ezra observes, and not of Jacob to his servants, nor of them to Esau: I will ap…

The Church Fathers

THE PRESENTS OF JACOB TO ESAU. — The Latin manuscripts say about Jacob: For he said, I will appease his face with the gifts that precede him . But these words are to be understood as follows: The writer of the book puts this in the mouth of Jacob: For he said, "I will appease his face," and then adds of his harvest: “with the gifts that precede him.” It is as if he said, “With the gifts that preceded Jacob I will appease the face of my brother.” The order of the words of Jacob is thus the following, “I will appease his face and then I will see his face, and he may welcome me favorably." The author inserted the words of his harvest with the gifts that precede him. [
— Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 102 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Presents · Were given: To appease the angry feelings of others — Were given: To appease the angry feelings of others
Prudence · .Jacob, in his conduct toward Esau — .Jacob, in his conduct toward Esau

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 32:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 32:13-23

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 32:17

Adam Clarke on Genesis 32:15

John Gill on Genesis 32:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 32:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 32:13-23

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 32:17

Adam Clarke on Genesis 32:15

John Gill on Genesis 32:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 32:14-21

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 32:14-22

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 32:13-21

Rashi on Genesis 32:15