4265. Verses 16-23 And he gave them into the hand of his servants, drove by drove separately; and he said to his servants, Pass over in front of me and put a space between drove and drove. And he commanded the first, saying, When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, To whom do you belong, and where are you going; and whose are these in front of you? then you shall say, They belong to your servant Jacob; it is a gift sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us. And he commanded the second also, the third also, and all also following the droves, saying, In this manner ¹ shall you speak to Esau when you find him. And you shall also say, Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the gift that is going in front of me, and after that I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me. And the gift passed over in front of him, and he spent that night in the camp. And he rose up that night, and took his two wives (femina), and his two servant-girls, and his eleven sons, and passed over at the passage of Jabbok. And he took them and made them pass over the river, and made all that he had pass over.

'He gave them into the hand of his servants, drove by drove separately, and he said to his servants, Pass over in front of me and put a space between drove and drove' means an arrangement of them into the order in which they were to be introduced. 'And he commanded the first, saying, When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, To whom do you belong; and where are you going; and whose are these in front of you? then you shall say, They belong to your servant Jacob; it is a gift sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us' means submission. 'And he commanded the second also, the third also, and all also following the droves, saying, In this manner shall you speak to Esau when you find him' means a continuation. 'And you shall also say, Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the gift that is going in front of me, and after that I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me' means preparation for what follows. 'And the gift passed over in front of him' means being carried into effect. 'And he spent that night in the camp' means the things which follow. 'And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two servant-girls, and his eleven sons, and passed over at the passage of Jabbok' means the first instillation of the affections for truth, together with truths that had been acquired, 'the passage of Jabbok' meaning the first instillation. 'And he took them and made them pass over the river, and made all that he had pass over' means a further instillation.

Fußnoten: