Genesis 32:17
in Genesis 32He instructed the one in the lead, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong, where are you going, and whose animals are these before you?’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
KJV
And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
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This verse in Genesis 32
Commentary
4 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.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he commanded the foremost,....
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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְצַ֥ו | vaytzav | and he commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָרִאשׁ֖וֹן | harishon | the first | H7223 → | 182 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִֽפְגָּשְׁךָ֞ | yifgashekha | he will meet you | H6298 → | |
| עֵשָׂ֣ו | ʾesav | Esau | H6215 → | 97 times |
| אָחִ֗י | ʾachi | brother my | H251 → | 630 times |
| וִשְׁאֵֽלְךָ֙ | vishelekha | and he will ask you | H7592 → | 171 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְמִי־ | lemi- | [belong] to whom? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אַ֙תָּה֙ | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וְאָ֣נָה | veanah | and where? | H575 → | 41 times |
| תֵלֵ֔ךְ | telekh | are you going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וּלְמִ֖י | ulemi | and [belong] to whom? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אֵ֥לֶּה | ʾeleh | these [animals] | H428 → | 746 times |
| לְפָנֶֽיךָ׃ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
וַיְצַ֥וand he commanded
vaytzavH6680 →494 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָרִאשׁ֖וֹןthe first
harishonH7223 →182 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
יִֽפְגָּשְׁךָ֞he will meet you
yifgashekhaH6298 →
עֵשָׂ֣וEsau
ʾesavH6215 →97 times
אָחִ֗יbrother my
ʾachiH251 →630 times
וִשְׁאֵֽלְךָ֙and he will ask you
vishelekhaH7592 →171 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
לְמִי־[belong] to whom?
lemi-H4310 →423 times
אַ֙תָּה֙you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
וְאָ֣נָהand where?
veanahH575 →41 times
תֵלֵ֔ךְare you going
telekhH1980 →1546 times
וּלְמִ֖יand [belong] to whom?
ulemiH4310 →423 times
אֵ֥לֶּהthese [animals]
ʾelehH428 →746 times
לְפָנֶֽיךָ׃<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 33:3But Jacob himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
it leads to
- Genesis 42:6
Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the…
- Genesis 18:2
And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
- Luke 14:11
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Genesis 43:26
When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought, and they bowed to the ground before him.
- John 10:4
When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
- Genesis 42:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.