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1 As Jacob continued on his way, the angels of God met him.

2 And Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’s host!” and he called the name of that place Mahanaim[a].

3 And Jacob sent messengers ahead to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the field of Edom.

4 And he commanded them, saying, “Thus shall you say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now;

5 and I have oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, servants, and handmaids; and I have sent to tell you so I may find favor in your sight.’’”

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he will come to meet you, and four hundred men with him.”

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies;

8 and he said, “If Esau comes to one company and destroys it, then the company which is left shall escape.”

9 And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Return to your country, and to thy kindred, and I will help you;’

10 I am not worthy of the least of all the lovingkindnesses, and of all the truth, which you have shown to your servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I have become two companies.

11 Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come to attack me, and the mother with the children.

12 And you said, I will surely help you, and make your seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for it’s multitude.”

13 And he lodged there that night, and took from what he had with him a present for Esau his brother:

14 two hundred female and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

15 thirty milch camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty donkeys and ten foals.

16 And he gave them to his servants to manage, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me and put space between each drove.”

17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, “Who are you, and where do you go? And whose are these before you?”

18 then you shall say, “They are your servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent to my lord Esau; and know that he has also come behind us.”

19 And he commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;”

20 and you shall say, “Moreover, know that your servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face, such that maybe he will accept me.”

21 So they went ahead before him; and he himself lodged that night in the company.

22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven children, and passed over the ford of the Jabbok.

23 And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that which he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there he wrestled with a man until the break of dawn.

25 And when he saw that he could not prevailed against him, he grabbed the inside of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him.

26 And he said, “Let me go, for the dawn breaks. And he said, I will not you go unless you bless me.”

27 And he said unto him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”

28 And he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but [c]Israel: for you have [d]wrestled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

29 And Jacob asked him, and said, “Tell me, I pray you, your name.” And he said, “Why do you ask for my name?” And he blessed him there.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place [e]Peniel: for he said, “I have seen God faces to faces[30g], and my life is preserved.”

31 And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Penuel, and he limped because of his thigh.

32 Therefore the children of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh, to this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.

[2] That is, Two hosts, or, Companies.

[10,11] The unworthiness of Jacob was not that he split his camp into two groups in apparent forgetfulness of God’s promise. It is that he was truly unworthy of all the merits which God had given him (as a result of Abraham and Issac). Therefore he felt that a revoking may be due, and that God would deliver him into the hand of Esau for such a reckoning. Thus Jacob was right to turn to God and profess his unworthiness, and to pray for deliverance even though God had promised him his protection.

[28] That is, He who striveth with God, or, God striveth.

[28] Or, had power with

[30] See commentary re: ‘faces to faces’ i.e. as Moses had – Deu 5:4, Deu 34:10, Exodus 33:14-15, Num 12:18, others.

[32] ‘this is why’ and not for the secular reason of it having no taste or nutritional value; a revelation of one of the ‘unknown why’ commands, which can then be applied to any command we do not fully understand. It is not only kept when we understand it, but even when we don’t; but further, the reason why a commandment is kept is never because it makes sense to do so but always solely because God has issued such a commandment (one cannot know the mind of God).

The actual hebrew words here should not be translated 'face to face' because it is the idiom 'faces to faces' (pā-nîm bə-p̄ā-nîm) which has a different meaning“:

The phrase “face to face” in the Hebrew (פָּנִ֣ים אֶל־פָּנִ֔ים) uses the plural form of the word פָּנֶה (paneh; “face”).1 However, it would not necessarily be proper to translate it then “faces to faces,” because the word is always found in the plural form in Hebrew.2 This is because Hebrew uses plurality to express compound objects (“a single object that consists of several parts”).3

In the context of personal interaction, while the expression can mean literally facing one another to the face (e.g. Jer 32:4, 34:3), it also has the idea of “appearing before,”3 as when all Israel was “face to face” with God at Sinai (Dt 5:4). But the term “face” more figuratively was simply an expression of the “presence” of a person,4 including God (e.g. Ex 33:14-15).https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/8935/why-does-jacob-say-because-i-saw-god-face-to-face-gen-3230

• “The Lord spoke with you face to face (pā-nîm bə-p̄ā-nîm) [Plural] at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire,” (Deu 5:4 ESV)
  • The expression pā-nîm bə-p̄ā-nîm means 'faces to faces' [Plural] and means presence and not physical presence. This can be seen by cross referencing directly with the text:
    • “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, (Deu 4:15 ESV)

• “11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face (pā-nîm ’el-pā-nîm) [Plural], as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.” (Exo 33:11 NIV)
  • “With him I speak face to face (peh ’el-peh – ESV mouth to mouth) [Singular], clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.” (Num 12:8 ESV) (See: Did Moses see the form of the Lord)

• “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face (pā-nîm ’el-pā-nîm) [Plural].” (Deu 34:10 NIV)

• “Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face (pîw ‘im-pîw) [Singular] and see him eye to eye.” (Jer 32:4 ESV)
• “You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face (p̄î-hū ’eṯ-pî-ḵā) [Singularn]. And you shall go to Babylon.’”

Also, 'face' is often used to mean presence:

• “And he said, “My presence (pā-nay “face”) will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence (pā-ne-ḵā “face:”) will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” (Exo 33:14-15 ESV)
  • Here the word 'face' is used to mean 'presence'.

It is universally accepted that, whatever Jacob said he saw, he saw an angel.

• “29 And Jacob asked him, and said, “Tell me, I pray you, your name.” And he said, “Why do you ask for my name?” And he blessed him there.” (Genesis 32:29 ESV)

This would indicate an angel – see Rashi. Also cross-reference with Hosea 12:5:

• “In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God. 4 He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor.” (Hosea 12:5 ESV)

“He strove with an angel…” this as described in Hosea show it was a universal acceptance among the Hebrews that Jacob wrestled with an angel and not “directly” with God (ex. in the shape of a man).

Selected commentary.

h.ויפגעו בו מלאכי אלהים AND THE ANGELS OF GOD MET HIM — The angels who minister in the Land of Israel came to meet him in order to escort him into the Holy Land (see Genesis Rabbah 74:17).

h.מחנים means two camps — the one consisting of the angels ministering outside the Holy Land who had come with him thus far, the other, of those ministering in the Land of Israel who had come to meet him (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayishlach 3).

h.וישלח יעקב מלאכים AND JACOB SENT MESSENGERS (Heb. מלאכים angels) — actually angels (Genesis Rabbah 75:4).

h.ארצה שעיר means TO THE LAND OF SEIR — A word that requires a ל as prefix has a ה placed as a suffix (Yevamot 13b).

h.גרתי I HAVE SOJOURNED — I have become neither a prince nor other person of importance but merely a sojourner. It is not worth your while to hate me on account of the blessing of your father who blessed me (27:29) “Be master over thy brethren”, for it has not been fulfilled in me (Tanchuma Yashan 1:8:5). Another explanation: the word גרתי has the numerical value of 613 - תרי״ג - it is as much as to say, “Though I have sojourned with Laban, the wicked, I have observed the תרי״ג מצות, the 613 Divine Commandments, and I have learned naught of his evil ways.

h.ויהי לי שור וחמור AND I HAVE OXEN AND ASSES — Our father promised me, (27:28) “[God will give thee] of the dew of heaven and of the fat places of the earth” — these are neither of the heaven nor of the earth

h.שור וחמור (literally, an ox and an ass) — It is the customary thing to speak of many oxen as an ox (Genesis Rabbah 75:6) — a man says to his fellow, “During the night the cock crowed”; he does not say “the cocks crowed”

h.ואשלחה להגיד לאדוני AND I HAVE SENT TO TELL MY LORD — to announce that I am coming to you.

h.למצא חן בעיניך THAT I MAY FIND FAVOUR IN THY EYES, for I am at peace with you and seek your friendship.

h.באנו אל אחיך אל עשו WE CAME TO THY BROTHER, TO ESAU — to him of whom you said he is my brother, but he behaves towards you as Esau, the wicked — he is still harbouring hatred (Genesis Rabbah 75:7).

h.ויירא…ויצר HE FEARED GREATLY AND WAS DISTRESSED — He was afraid lest he be killed, and he was distressed that he might have to kill someone (Genesis Rabbah 76:2).

h.המחנה האחת והכהו TO THE ONE CAMP AND SMITE IT — The word מחנה is treated grammatically as masculine or feminine: in (Psalms 27:3) “Though a camp should encamp (תחנה) against me” it is feminine; in (Genesis 33:8) “this (הזה) camp” it is masculine. Similarly there are other words treated grammatically as both masculine and feminine. For example, the word שמש in (Psalms 19:23) “The sun was risen (יצא) upon the earth” and in (Psalms 19:7) “His (the sun’s) going forth (מוצאו) is from the end of the heaven”; here it is masculine, but in (2 Kings 3:22) “and the sun shone (זרחה) upon the water” it is feminine. Similarly with רוח: in (Job 1:19) “and behold there came (באה) a great wind” it is feminine, and in the same verse “and smote (ויגע) the four corners of the house” it is masculine; in (1 Kings 19:11) “and a great (גדולה) and strong (וחזק) wind rent (מפרק) the mountains” it is both masculine and feminine. So also in the case of אש: in (Numbers 16:35) “and fire came forth (יצאה) from the Lord” it is feminine, and in (Psalms 104:4) “The flaming (להט) fire” it is masculine.

h.והיה המחנה הנשאר לפליטה THEN THE REMAINING CAMP MAY ESCAPE in spite of him, for I will fight against him He prepared himself for three things: to give him a present — as it states (Genesis 32:22) “So, the present passed before him”; for prayer — as it states (Genesis 32:10), “And he said, ‘O God of my father Abraham”; for war — as it states in this verse, “then the remaining camp may escape”, for I will fight against him (Tanchuma Yashan 1:8:6).

h.ואלהי אבי יצחק AND GOD OF MY FATHER ISAAC — But in another place (Genesis 31:42) he said, “And the Dread of Isaac”! Then also why did he again mention the Proper Name of God (first invoking him as God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and then continuing “O Lord, who saidst unto me”)? It should have been written “O God of Abraham and God of Isaac (omitting ‘O Lord’) who saidst unto me, “Return unto thy country” etc. But the explanation is as follows: Jacob said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “You made me two promises. One was when I left my father’s house at Beersheba when You said to me (Genesis 28:3) “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham thy father and the God of Isaac”, and on that occasion you promised me (Genesis 28:15) “and I will keep thee whithersoever thou goest”. Then again in Laban’s house You said to me (Genesis 31:3) “Return unto the land of thy fathers and to thy kindred and I will be with thee”. There You revealed Yourself to me by Your Proper Name alone, as it is said (Genesis 31:3) “And the Lord said unto Jacob “Return unto the land of thy fathers etc.” Relying upon these two promises I now come before You invoking you as “the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac” and also simply as “the Lord” under which names You made me these two promises respectively.

h.קטנתי מכל החסדים I AM TOO UNWORTHY OF ALL THE MERCIES (This may be rendered “I am small — unworthy — because of all the kindnesses) — My merits are diminished in consequence of all the kindness and truth which You have already shown me. For this reason I am afraid: perhaps, since You made these promises to me, I have become depraved (נתקלקלתי) by sin (another version of Rashi has נתלכלכתי, I have become defiled by sin) and this may cause me to be delivered unto Esau’s power (Shabbat 32a).

h.ומכל האמת [my merits are diminished in consequence] OF ALL THE TRUTH — of the true fulfillment (אמיתת) of Your promises — because You have already kept all the promises You made me

h.כי במקלי FOR WITH MY STAFF — I had with me neither silver nor gold nor cattle — only this staff of mine. The Midrashic explanation is, that he had placed his staff in the Jordan and Jordan had divided for him to pass over.

h.מיד אחי מיד עשו FROM THE HAND OF MY BROTHER, FROM THE HAND OF ESAU — from the hand of my brother who does not treat me as a brother should, but as Esau, the wicked.

h.היטב איטיב I WILL SURELY DO [THEE] GOOD — The use of two words denoting “doing good” is intended to signify: היטב doing good to thee on account of your own merits, איטיב I will also do good to thee on account of your father’s merits (Genesis Rabbah 76:7).

h.ושמתי את זרעך כחול הים AND I WILL MAKE THY SEED AS THE SAND OF THE SEA — Where, indeed, did God promise him this? Did he not promise him only (Genesis 28:14) “And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth”? But the explanation is that He had at the same time promised him (Genesis 28:15) “for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken about thee”, and to Abraham he had promised (Genesis 22:17) “and I will greatly multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is upon the seashore”.

h.הבא בידו AND TOOK OF THAT WHICH CAME TO HIS HAND (literally, in his hand) — in his possession, similar to (Numbers 21:26) “and he had taken all his land out of his possession (מידו).” A Midrashic explanation is: מן הבא בידו — precious stones and jewels which a person ties up in a package and carries in his hand. Another explanation is: מן הבא בידו THAT WHICH A MAN MAY TAKE INTO HIS OWN POSSESSION — of that which no longer has a sacred character — for he had set aside the tithe, just as you read (28:22) “[And Jacob vowed] … I will surely give the tenth unto Thee”. Only afterwards did he take the present of what was left after the tithe had been set aside, and this was that which he might rightly take into his own possession.

h.עזים מאתים ותישים עשרים TWO HUNDRED SHE GOATS AND TWENTY HE GOATS — Two hundred she goats have need of twenty he goats, and so too in the case of all the various species the males were in number according to the need of the females. In Genesis Rabbah an inference is made from here as regards the minimum period imperative for the marital duty imposed by the Torah. I am unable however to show exactly how this inference is arrived at. But it appears to me that we may learn from here at least that this period is not the same for every person, but that it depends upon the amount of labour imposed upon him by his occupation.

h.גמלים מיניקות MILCH CAMELS שלשים THIRTY, ובניהם means AND THEIR COLTS with them — A Midrashic explanation of ובניהם is that it is the same as וּבַנָּאֵיהֶם their builders (those that build them up) i.e., one male for each female. Because, however, it (the camel) is chaste in its ways Scripture does not state this plainly (Genesis Rabbah 76:7) but employs a term from which it may be inferred. ועירים means MALE ASSES.

h.עדר עדר לבדו EVERY DROVE BY ITSELF — each species forming a drove by itself.

h.עברו לפני PASS ON BEFORE ME, a day’s journey or less and I shall follow you).

h.ורוח תשימו AND PUT A SPACE — one drove before the other at a distance as far as the eye can see, in order to satisfy the eye (the cupidity) of that wicked man and to amaze him by the size of the gift (Genesis Rabbah 76:8).

h.למי אתה means TO WHOM DO YOU BELONG, implying who has sent thee? The Targum should be דמאן את “of whom are you” and not למאן את as some editions have.

h.ולמי אלה לפניך means and these which are before you whose are they; i.e. to whom is this present being sent? The letter ל is used as a prefix in place of של “belonging to”; e.g., (31:43) “and all that thou seest is mine (לי)” i.e. belongs to me; (Psalms 24:1) “The earth is the Lord’s (לה') and the fullness thereof” i.e. belongs to the Lord.

h.ואמרת לעבדך ליעקב THEN SHALT THOU SAY THEY ARE THY SERVANT JACOB’S — You shall answer the first question first and the last question last, saying :”In reply to what you have asked”, “Whose art thou?”, “I belong to thy servant Jacob” — and it should be rendered in the Targum דעבדך דיעקב belonging to your servant, belonging to Jacob” —and in reply to what you have asked, “And whose are these before thee?” “It is a present sent etc.”

h.והנה גם הוא AND, BEHOLD, ALSO HE IS BEHIND US — The word “he” refers to Jacob.

h.אכפרה פניו I WILL APPEASE HIM — I will remove his anger. Similarly, (Isaiah 28:18) “and your covenant with death shall be annulled (וכפר)”; (Isaiah 47:11) “Thou shalt not be able to put it away (וכפרה”. I am of the opinion that wherever the verb כפר is used in association with iniquity and sin and in association with anger (פנים), it always signifies wiping away, removing. It is an Aramaic expression occurring frequently in the Talmud: “He wiped his hand off (כפר ידיה)”, and (Gittin 56a) ‘‘he wants to wipe (לכפורי) his hands off on this man” (i.e. he desires to put the responsibility upon me). In Biblical Hebrew, also, the bowls of the Sanctuary are called, (Ezra 1:10) “כפורי of gold” — and they are so called because the priest wiped his hands on them — on the rim of the bowl (Zevachim 93b).

h.The Midrash connects the word פניו in על פניו with פנים anger — he (Jacob) was also in an angry mood that it should be necessary for him to do all this (Genesis Rabbah 76:8).

h.ואת אחד עשר ילדיו AND HIS ELEVEN CHILDREN — But where was Dinah? He placed her in a chest and locked her in so that Esau should not set his fancy upon her (desire to marry her). On this account Jacob was punished — because he had kept her away from his brother for she might have led him back to the right path; she therefore fell into the power of Shechem (Genesis Rabbah 76:9).

h.יבק JABBOK — the name of the river.

h.את אשר לו [HE MADE PASS] THAT WHICH WAS HIS — the cattle and movables. He acted as a ferry-man taking them from one side and setting them down on the other.

h.ויותר יעקב AND JACOB WAS LEFT ALONE — He had forgotten some small jars and he returned for them (Chullin 91a).

h.ויאבק איש AND A MAN WRESTLED — Menachem (ben Seruk) explains: “a man covered himself with dust”, taking the verb as connected in sense with אבק “dust”. It would mean that they were raising the dust with their feet through their movements. I, however, am of opinion that is means “he fastened himself on”, and that it is an Aramaic word, as (Sanhedrin 63b) “after they have joined (אביקו) it”, and (Menachot 42a) “and he twined (the “Fringes”) with loops”. It denotes “intertwining”, for such is the manner of two people who make strong efforts to throw each other — one clasps the other and twines himself round him with his arms. Our Rabbis of blessed memory explained that he was Esau’s guardian angel (Genesis Rabbah 77:3).

h.ויגע בכף ירכו HE TOUCHED THE HOLLOW OF HIS THIGH — The upper thigh-bone that is sunk in the hip is called כף because the flesh on it (on this bone) has the form of the hollow part of a pot-ladle (כף).

h.ותקע AND WAS STRAINED — It was violently torn from its joint. Similar in meaning is (Jeremiah 6:8) “Lest My soul be alienated (תקע) from thee” — i.e. removed from thee; and in the Mishna, לקעקע בצתם, which means to remove violently (לשרש) their roots.

h.כי עלה השחר FOR THE DAY BREAKETH, and I have to sing God’s praise at day (Chullin 91b; Genesis Rabbah 78:1).

h.ברכתני [EXCEPT] THOU BLESS ME — admit my right to the blessings which my father gave me and to which Esau lays claim.

h.לא יעקב [THY NAME SHALL] NO MORE BE CALLED JACOB [BUT ISRAEL] (literally, “not Jacob — supplanting — shall any more be said to thee”) — It shall no longer be said that the blessings came to you through supplanting and subtlety but through noble conduct (שררה) and in an open manner. Because later on the Holy One, blessed be He, will reveal Himself to you at Bethel and will change your name. There He will bless you, and I shall be there and admit your right to them (the blessings). It is to this that the passage refers (Hosea 12:5), “And he strove with an angel and prevailed; he wept and made supplication unto him” — it means the angel wept and made supplication unto him (Jacob). What was the subject of his supplication? This is stated in the next verse: “At Bethel He will meet us and there He will speak with us — implying the request. “Wait until he will speak with us there, and then I will admit your right to the blessings.” Jacob, however, would not agree to this, and against his own wish he had to admit his right to the blessings. That is what is meant when it states (v. 30) “And he declared him blessed there”, that he begged him to wait and he did not agree to do so (cp. Genesis Rabbah 78:2).

h.ועם אנשים AND WITH MEN — Esau and Laban.

h.ותוכל AND HAST PREVAILED over them.

h.למה זה תשאל WHEREFORE IS IT THAT THOU DOST ASK [AFTER MY NAME]? — We have no fixed names; our names change, all depending upon the service we are commanded to carry out as the errand with which we are charged (Genesis Rabbah 78:4).

h.ויזרח לו השמש AND THE SUN SHONE UPON HIM— This is the expression that people use: “When we reached such-and-such a place the dawn broke upon us”. This is its literal sense. But the Midrash says that לו means, “for his needs” — to heal his lameness. Thus, too, you read in Scripture a similar metaphor (Malachi 3:20) “the sun of righteousness with healing in its wings”. The hours that it had set before its time for his sake when he left Beer-Sheba (cp. Genesis [18]:11) it now rose before its time for his sake (Sanhedrin 75b).

h.והוא צלע AND HE LIMPED — He was limping when the sun rose.

h.גיד הנשה THE SINEW OF THE THIGH-VEIN — Why is its name called גיד הנשה? Because it sprang נשה) and rose from its proper position. The word has the meaning of “springing”. Other examples are: (Jeremiah 51:30) “Their strength sprang away (נשתה)” and (41:51) “for God hath made all my trouble spring away from me נַשַּׁנִי)”.