a messenger · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
returned
וַיָּשֻׁ֙בוּ֙vai.ya.Shu.vu
H7725
to turn back (hence · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Jacob
יַעֲקֹ֖בya.'a.Ko
H3290
Jaakob · proper noun, a man's name
saying
לֵאמֹ֑רle.Mor
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
came
בָּ֤אנוּBa.nu
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common plural
brother
אָחִ֙יךָ֙'a.Chi.kha
H251
a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Esau
עֵשָׂ֔ו'e.Sav
H6215
Esav · proper noun, a man's name
cometh
הֹלֵ֣ךְho.Lekh
H1980
to walk (in a great variety of applications · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
thee
קִרְאָהqirʼâh
H7125
an encountering
hundred
מֵא֥וֹתme.'ot
H3967
a hundred · cardinal number, feminine plural absolute
men
אִ֖ישׁ'ish
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
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
Genesis 33:1 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…
Genesis 27:40-41 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt…
Genesis 32:8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
Genesis 32:11 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 mother…
Amos 5:19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 32:3-8
Now that Jacob was re-entering Canaan God, by the vision of angels, reminded him of the friends he had when he left it, and thence he takes occasion to remind himself of the enemies he had, particularly Esau. It is probable that Rebekah had sent him word of Esau's settlement in Seir, and of the continuance of his enmity to him. What shall poor Jacob do? He longs to see his father, and yet he dreads to see his brother. He rejoices to see Canaan again, and yet cannot but rejoice with trembling because of Esau.
I. He sends a very kind and humble message to Esau. It does not appear that his way lay through Esau's country, or that he needed to ask his leave for a passage; but his way lay near it,…
The messengers returned to Jacob--Their report left Jacob in painful uncertainty as to what was his brother's views and feelings. Esau's studied reserve gave him reason to dread the worst. Jacob was naturally timid; but his conscience told him that there was much ground for apprehension, and his distress was all the more aggravated that he had to provide for the safety of a large and helpless family.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 32:6
Esau - cometh - and four hundred men with him - Jacob, conscious that he had injured his brother, was now apprehensive that he was coming with hostile intentions, and that he had every evil to fear from his displeasure. Conscience is a terrible accuser. It was a fine saying of a heathen,
Hic murus aheneus esto,
Nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa.
Hor. Ep., l. i., E. i., v. 60.
Be this thy brazen bulwark of defense,
Still to preserve thy conscious innocence,
Nor e'er turn pale with guilt.
Francis.
In other words, He that has a good conscience has a brazen wall for his defense; for a guilty conscience needs no accuser; sooner or later it will tell the truth, and not only make the man tu…
(Verse 6) Hear us, O Lord, you are our king from God, bury your dead in our chosen sepulcher. For a king is called a prince in Hebrew, or a leader. For a leader is called not a king, but a duke.
See how this was sufficient to aggravate the good man's fear. Far from realizing precisely his brother's intent, Jacob was terrified to learn the number of those approaching and suspected that they were bent on hostilities and so wanted to catch up with him. Note the text says, "Jacob was in a state of fear and perplexity." Fear disturbed his thinking, and instead of knowing what to do, he was at a loss; hence Jacob was terrified of almost everything, and, with the prospect of death before him, "he divided all the people with him into two camps." You see, he said, "If he comes upon one camp and attacks it, the other will have the chance of being saved." While it was Jacob's fear and great terror that suggested this, … seeing himself caught in a trap he had recourse to the invincible Lord and invoked the promises made him by the God of all, as if to say to him, "Now the time has come for a good man to enjoy your complete assistance on account of the virtue of his forebears and the promises made by you."
FEAR OF JACOB BEFORE ESAU. — When Jacob received the announcement that his brother was coming to meet him with four hundred men, he was troubled and distressed. Indeed, fear seized him. And as a man might be troubled as he was, he divided his people, dividing them into two camps. When we arrive here we can ask how he could have faith in the promises of God if he said: If Esau should come to one camp, and destroy it, the other camp shall be in safety (Gen. 32:8). But it could also happen that Esau destroyed his camps, and yet, after that affliction, God would help him and deliver him and fulfill what he had promised. This example should serve as a warning to us, so that, even if we believe in God, let us, however, do what men must do to protect their lives, lest by omitting these measures it seems that we tempt God. Finally, after this we must meditate on the words that Jacob himself said: God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you are he that said to me, Depart quickly to the land of your birth, and I will do you good. Let there be to me a sufficiency of all the justice and all the truth which you have wrought with your servant; for with this my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two camps. Deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him, unless he gladly should come and kill me, and the mother upon the children. But you said, I will do you good, and will make your seed as the sand of the sea, which shall not be numbered for multitude (Gen. 32:9-12). In these words appear both and the weakness of man and pious faith. [
Dictionary and topics
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).
And the messengers returned to Jacob,.... After they had delivered their message, with the answer they brought back:
saying, we came to thy brother Esau; which, though not expressed, is implied in these words, and is still more manifest by what follows:
and also he cometh to meet thee; and pay a friendly visit, as they supposed:
and four hundred men with him; partly to show his grandeur, and partly out of respect to Jacob, and to do honour to him; though some think this was done with an ill design upon him, and which indeed seems probable; and it is certain Jacob so understood it, as is evident by the distress it gave him, and by the methods he took for his safety, and by the gracious app…
And the messengers returned. Esau advances to meet his brother with a feeling of benevolence: but Jacob, reflecting on his cruel ferocity, inflated spirits, and savage threats, expects no humanity from him. And the Lord willed that the mind of his servant should be oppressed by this anxiety for a time, although without any real cause, in order the more to excite the fervor of his prayer. For we know what coldness, on this point, security engenders. Therefore, lest our faith, being stirred up by no stimulants, should become torpid, God often suffers us to fear things which are not terrible in themselves. For although he anticipates our wishes, and opposes our evils, he yet conceals his remedi…
From this point Jacob sent messengers forward to his brother Esau, to make known his return in such a style of humility ("thy servant," "my lord") as was adapted to conciliate him. אחר (Gen 32:5) is the first pers. imperf. Kal for אאחר, from אחר to delay, to pass a time; cf. Pro 8:17, and Ges. 68, 2. The statement that Esau was already in the land of Seir (Gen 32:4), or, as it is afterwards called, the field of Edom, is not at variance with Gen 36:6, and may be very naturally explained on the supposition, that with the increase of his family and possessions, he severed himself more and more from his father's house, becoming increasingly convinced, as time went on, that he could hope for no c…
