After Jacob and Laban make their peace and go their separate ways, Jacob decides to continue cleaning up his act and make nice with Esau. He and his whole parade of family and livestock head back towards his homeland. But when Jacob realizes that his caravan has attracted some early attention, namely Esau's... and Esau's army, he decides to head the whole thing off with a sizable bribe. He also takes extra precautions by splitting up his family and goods into two separate groups so that if one section gets attacked, the other faction can escape. Using messengers and aforementioned bribery, Jacob tries to lull Esau into a state of forgiveness by asserting Esau's birthright... which he doesn't actually have anymore... Jacob tries to coerce some divine influence for the impending battle by reminding God that he and his whole family can't be wiped out because his descendants are supposed to eventually outnumber grains of sand. Smooth. Either way, Jacob sends ahead the bribe of incredible amounts of livestock with the messengers.
That night, when the two family factions have gone their separate ways, "Jacob was left alone" (Gen 32:24). During this solitary time, he wrestles with an unnamed man. The whole scene feels like a dream sequence or a visual play-out of a wholly internal struggle. About how he took his brother for everything he had, ran the heck away, and doesn't really want to go back and face the music perhaps. During the wrestling match, pronouns are loosely assigned and we aren't sure who is doing what when until Jacob gets wailed in the "hip socket" (a.k.a. the gonads). This injury is what seems to knock some sense and maturity into him. When day breaks, Jacob finally asks the man what his name is. You would think that the man would answer, giving his own name in response to the query. Instead, Jacob is given a new name, Israel. Unlike when Abram became Abraham, Jacob's new name is used more as a sometimes name. Anyway, we also find out as sort of an aside that in reverence to Jacob/Israel's "hip" injury, Israelites don't eat the meat from the hip socket of animals.
Daybreak has come and so has Esau plus army. Jacob gets everyone ready for battle, but Esau, that crazy dude, runs right up and greets his long lost brother with love and affection. What? I mean, I guess twenty years is enough to let bygones be bygones. I think it helps, too, that Jacob keeps "trying" to assert Esau's firstborn-ness. Let's face it, though. What's done is done. Oh, P.S. Jacob ends up with all of the livestock he had gifted to Esau because Esau insists. So they decide to travel on together, aaaaand... Jacob ducks out. Instead of going back to his homeland, he skulks off to Succoth and eventually Shechem as opposed to chillin' with Esau and his harems like he promised. Oh, Jacob...
<3 Agnostic in the Pews
