Genesis 32:18
in Genesis 32then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift, sent to my lord Esau. And behold, Jacob is behind us.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
then thou shalt say, They are thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, he also is behind us.
KJV
Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.
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This verse in Genesis 32
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
He entrusted them to his servants
on Genesis 32:16-18
Each herd goes over separately with a space kept between them, so Esau meets the gift again and again. Every servant is handed the same script, and it ends every time on one line, that Jacob is behind us. The lead servant is given Esau's questions in advance. This is the staging of a man who has prayed and is still arranging the answer.
This site's exposition
They are a gift, sent to my lord Esau
Gift is minchah, the word for the offerings of Cain and Abel at Genesis 4:3 and 4 and for the grain offering of Leviticus 2. It is also the tribute a lesser man brings a greater, as Ehud carries Israel's tribute to Moab at Judges 3:15. Jacob sends it as a servant to his lord.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Note, We ought to continue instant in prayer, always to pray and not to faint: frequency and importunity in prayer prepare us for mercy. While Jacob was earnest in prayer, stirring up himself to take hold on God, an angel takes hold on him. Some think this was a created angel, the angel of his presence ( Isa. lxiii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Then thou shall say, they be thy servant Jacob's,....
They must call Esau their lord, and Jacob his servant; they must tell him the cattle they had was a small present which Jacob had sent him, as a specimen of his acquisitions while he was abroad.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
took . . . a present for Esau--Jacob combined active exertions with earnest prayer; and this teaches us that we must not depend upon the aid and interposition of God in such a way as to supersede the exercise of prudence and foresight. Superiors are always approached with presents, and the respect expressed is estimated by the quality and amount of the gift.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְעַבְדְּךָ֣ | leavdekha | to servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| לְיַעֲקֹ֔ב | leyaako | to Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| מִנְחָ֥ה | minchah | [is] a gift | H4503 → | 211 times |
| הִוא֙ | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| שְׁלוּחָ֔ה | sheluchah | [which has] been sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| לַֽאדֹנִ֖י | ladoni | to lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| לְעֵשָׂ֑ו | leesav | to Esau | H6215 → | 97 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֥ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| גַם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אַחֲרֵֽינוּ׃ | ʾachareinu | [is] behind us | H310 → | 715 times |
וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
לְעַבְדְּךָ֣to servant your
leavdekhaH5650 →799 times
לְיַעֲקֹ֔בto Jacob
leyaakoH3290 →350 times
מִנְחָ֥ה[is] a gift
minchahH4503 →211 times
הִוא֙it
hi'H1931 →1879 times
שְׁלוּחָ֔ה[which has] been sent
sheluchahH7971 →845 times
לַֽאדֹנִ֖יto lord my
ladoniH113 →333 times
לְעֵשָׂ֑וto Esau
leesavH6215 →97 times
וְהִנֵּ֥הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
גַם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
ה֖וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
אַחֲרֵֽינוּ׃[is] behind us
ʾachareinuH310 →715 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.