וַיִּקְרָ֧א יַעֲקֹ֛ב שֵׁ֥ם הַמָּק֖וֹם פְּנִיאֵ֑ל כִּֽי־רָאִ֤יתִי אֱלֹהִים֙ פָּנִ֣ים אֶל־פָּנִ֔ים וַתִּנָּצֵ֖ל נַפְשִֽׁי׃

Jacob named the place Peniel: For I have seen God face-to-face and my life was saved. Other people who saw angels expressed fear that they might perish. In the book of Judges, after Mano’ah and his wife encounter an angel, he says: “We will die, because we have seen God.” Jacob, by contrast, knew that his life had been spared despite knowing for certain that he had met an angel face-to-face.

וַיִּֽזְרַֽח־ל֣וֹ הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר עָבַ֖ר אֶת־פְּנוּאֵ֑ל וְה֥וּא צֹלֵ֖עַ עַל־יְרֵכֽוֹ׃

The angel left Jacob at daybreak. The sun then rose upon him as he passed Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. Jacob was certainly shaken both by the encounter itself and from his injury.

עַל־כֵּ֡ן לֹֽא־יֹאכְל֨וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶת־גִּ֣יד הַנָּשֶׁ֗ה אֲשֶׁר֙ עַל־כַּ֣ף הַיָּרֵ֔ךְ עַ֖ד הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה כִּ֤י נָגַע֙ בְּכַף־יֶ֣רֶךְ יַעֲקֹ֔ב בְּגִ֖יד הַנָּשֶֽׁה׃

At this juncture, the Torah inserts a legal statement: Therefore, the children of Israel do not eat the sciatic nerve, which is upon the joint of the thigh, the large nerve that extends along the entire thigh and leg all the way to the heel, to this day, because he touched the joint of Jacob’s thigh, at the sciatic nerve, a vulnerable area of the body. Due to Jacob’s injury, his descendants are prohibited from eating the sciatic nerve of animals throughout their generations.

וַיִּשָּׂ֨א יַעֲקֹ֜ב עֵינָ֗יו וַיַּרְא֙ וְהִנֵּ֣ה עֵשָׂ֣ו בָּ֔א וְעִמּ֕וֹ אַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת אִ֑ישׁ וַיַּ֣חַץ אֶת־הַיְלָדִ֗ים עַל־לֵאָה֙ וְעַל־רָחֵ֔ל וְעַ֖ל שְׁתֵּ֥י הַשְּׁפָחֽוֹת׃

Jacob had fought with a mysterious man until dawn. After sunrise, when people began to move about the camp, Jacob lifted his eyes and saw, and behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. Opposed to Jacob’s relatively small family camp, which included slaves, maidservants, and possessions, he saw a large military procession. He divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. Jacob arranged his camp so that each mother could watch over her own children.

וַיָּ֧שֶׂם אֶת־הַשְּׁפָח֛וֹת וְאֶת־יַלְדֵיהֶ֖ן רִֽאשֹׁנָ֑ה וְאֶת־לֵאָ֤ה וִֽילָדֶ֙יהָ֙ אַחֲרֹנִ֔ים וְאֶת־רָחֵ֥ל וְאֶת־יוֹסֵ֖ף אַחֲרֹנִֽים׃

He placed the maidservants and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. Since Jacob was worried about Esau’s possibly hostile behavior, he positioned his family in the opposite order of their importance in his eyes. He placed the maidservants and their children in front, behind them Leah and her children, followed lastly by his most beloved wife, Rachel, and her son.

וְה֖וּא עָבַ֣ר לִפְנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיִּשְׁתַּ֤חוּ אַ֙רְצָה֙ שֶׁ֣בַע פְּעָמִ֔ים עַד־גִּשְׁתּ֖וֹ עַד־אָחִֽיו׃

And he, Jacob, passed before them, his family members, and prostrated himself earthward seven times, which is a symbolic number, until his approach to his brother. This manner of approaching, by stopping for several prostrations, was an expression of honor and submission toward Esau, even before a word had passed between them.

וַיָּ֨רָץ עֵשָׂ֤ו לִקְרָאתוֹ֙ וַֽיְחַבְּקֵ֔הוּ וַיִּפֹּ֥ל עַל־צַוָּארָ֖ו וַׄיִּׄשָּׁׄקֵ֑ׄהׄוּׄ וַיִּבְכּֽוּ׃

Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, fell upon his neck, and kissed him; and they wept together.

וַיִּשָּׂ֣א אֶת־עֵינָ֗יו וַיַּ֤רְא אֶת־הַנָּשִׁים֙ וְאֶת־הַיְלָדִ֔ים וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מִי־אֵ֣לֶּה לָּ֑ךְ וַיֹּאמַ֕ר הַיְלָדִ֕ים אֲשֶׁר־חָנַ֥ן אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃

He, Esau, lifted his eyes, saw the women and the children, walking behind Jacob, and said: Who are these to you? Although his brother could have guessed, he, Jacob, said: The children with whom God has graced your servant. These are my children. Jacob repeatedly referred to himself as Esau’s servant. He opted to flatter Esau in order to preserve their cordial relationship.