Two Camps – Genesis 32:1-21

Today is, in a sense, a guest post, since I am quoting the excellent remarks by John Walton in his commentary on Genesis.

[1] Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. [2] And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God’s camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

[3] And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, [4] instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. [5] I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.’”

[6] And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” [7] Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, [8] thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will 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 your kindred, that I may do you good,’ [10] I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. [11] Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. [12] But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

[13] So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau, [14] two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, [15] thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. [16] These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.” [17] He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ [18] then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’” [19] He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, [20] and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.” [21] So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp. (Genesis 32:1–21, ESV)

The chapter opens with another indication that God is directing the events of Jacob’s return. Just as his dream twenty years earlier had led him to name a place Bethel (“House of God,” 28:17 – 19), so this second encounter with God’s messengers produces the name Mahanaim (“Two Camps”). Just as he recognizes two realities here, he had acknowledged the two at Bethel (the house of God and the gate of heaven joined by the stairway).

Jacob decides that it is best to inform Esau of his return. He probably assumes that his father has died by now, though the text does not mention that (in fact, he has not yet died, 35:27). If his father has died, Esau may have come into the entire inheritance, Jacob’s status or whereabouts being undetermined. We find, then, that in Jacob’s initial communication (32:4 – 5) he makes three basic points:

“I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now.” Implication, “I have not been hiding, avoiding you, or sneaking around behind your back.”

“I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants.” Implication, “I am not coming to try to take anything from you. I have plenty. I am not going to try to trick you out of anything or lay claim to anything that you have acquired.”

“I am sending this message . . . that I may find favor in your eyes.” Implication, “Why don’t we let bygones be bygones; forget the past and start over?”

This is a good start and a worthy gesture that Jacob reasonably expects will succeed. But the answer he receives makes him ill at ease in its ambiguity, for Esau is coming to meet him with four hundred men. Obviously Esau has also enjoyed some success, but it is disturbingly unclear whether his intentions are friendly or not. It is therefore not surprising to find Jacob in “great fear and distress” (32:7).

In these difficult straits we finally find Jacob resorting to prayer. The only prayer (if it can be called that) previously recorded coming from Jacob’s lips was when he made his vow in 28:20 – 22. Here he begins by referring to his roots. Yahweh is the God who had directed and provided for Abraham and Isaac. He does not yet call him “Yahweh, my God.” The prayer is further compromised as the next sentence sounds a little whiny and can easily be interpreted as throwing God’s promise back in his face. He sounds as if he is collecting on a debt and that God needs to be held to his word.

Jacob is at his best in verse 10 as he acknowledges his unworthiness and God’s faithfulness in providing for his prosperity. That leads into his actual petition in verse 11: He wants deliverance for himself and his family. Unfortunately, however, rather than throwing himself on the mercy of God, verse 12 finds him again sounding as if he has to hold something over God’s head to persuade him to act on his behalf. If concern for God’s interests over one’s own interests were a criterion for the maturity of a prayer, Jacob’s would barely register on the scale. Yet at least he realizes something that is significant and that will eventually put him where God can do something with him: He cannot rely on his own skills to assure the safety of his family.

This realization, however, does not prevent him from doing all he can to secure an advantage for himself. The course he pursues shows all of the strategic planning we have come to expect from Jacob. In verses 13 – 21 he selects the gifts he sends to Esau:  220 goats, 220 sheep/rams, 30 camels plus their young, 50 cows/bulls, 30 donkeys.  This gift is larger than towns were likely to pay in tribute to foreign kings. It would be sufficient for Esau to get a good start on a herding operation of his own or, probably more to the point, to reward any mercenaries in his employ who may have been anticipating booty. In addition to seeking Esau’s favor as a response to his generosity, Jacob plans three strategic advantages.

(1) The five distinct groups of animals arriving in succession will wear down the military readiness of Esau’s band. If they were planning an ambush, they would have to set it up each time a group arrives. When they discover that Jacob is not in the group, they would all gather again and proceed on their way. After five times it is unlikely that they are as alert for combat as they may have been at first. By that time Esau and his men will probably have given up the idea of an ambush altogether.

(2) As the gifts arrive, Esau becomes more and more encumbered in his travel. The animals will force him to move more slowly and will make his band much noisier. It will be difficult to take Jacob by surprise given the unavoidable cacophony from the livestock.

(3) As Jacob’s servants bring the gifts, they join the march of Esau’s band. How effective can any of Esau’s intended military strategies be if he has to cope with members of Jacob’s household mixed in among his own retinue of soldiers?

These tactics along with the divisions of his camp using the river as strategically as possible exhaust all of Jacob’s reserve, yet he still feels vulnerable to Esau’s attack. This is precisely where God wants him — feeling in need with no recourse left but to rely on God. Now the real struggle begins.