Exchange Of Messages Between Yacob And Esau
Yacob as a sensible man was going to try to find a compromise which would settle once and for all the difference between him and his brother Esau over the question of the inheritance. As he returned from Haran, Yacob hardly felt that he could push on peacefully into the land of Canaan with his fat flocks if Esau maintained his position and was still of a mind to kill his brother to satisfy his thirst for vengeance. It was not, however, by force of arms but by clever negotiation that Yacob intended to settle the matter.
He was careful not to make contact with Esau personally; at the outset, at least, he preferred to act through, intermediaries. The first messengers were instructed to inform Esau that Yacob was on his way back from Laban's house with oxen beasts of burden and flocks, and men and women slaves and that he hoped to win approval in the eyes of Esau. Having carried out their mission the messengers returned quickly to Yacob with the alarming news that Esau was on his way to meet him at the head of four hundred armed men.
Yacob's Plan To Appease Esau's Anger
Yacob sought a hasty solution: he would try to appease Esau's anger by loading him with gifts. This was his plan. A herd of two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty camels in milk with their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten donkeys was dispatched to Esau. To the servants in charge of these animals he gave the following orders: 'When my brother meets you and asks, 'To whom do you belong? Where are you going? Whose are the animals that you are driving?" [traditional questions asked of strangers on the steppes] you will answer, 'To your servant Yacob. They are a gift sent to my master Esau. Yacob himself is following". This was sure to produce a certain effect. But it was only intended as a beginning.
A short distance behind the first drove, followed a second made up in the same way: she-goats and he-goats, ewes and rams, camels with their calves, cows and bulls, she-asses and donkeys. Esau would certainly question the servant in charge of the drove; he was to answer in exactly the same terms as the first. Shortly afterwards came a third drove with similar instructions. All three were told to conclude their explanations with the remark, 'Yes, your servant Yacob himself is following'. That, then, was the carefully laid plan, for in this way Yacob thought 'I shall conciliate him by sending a gift in advance; so when I come face to face with him he may perhaps receive me favourably.'
As the three droves set off one after the other Yacob, still at Mahanaim, made a fervent prayer to YAHWEH; it was a moving, almost pathetic petition couched in terms that so far could hardly have been expected of Yacob. There were, so to say, four movements. Firstly, there was the reminder of his act of obedience: 'When I was at Paddan-aram you told me to return to my country; I have carried out your order. 'Then, an act of humility (as there should be in every prayer): 'I am unworthy of all the kindness and goodness you have shown your servant.' Thirdly, there was the feeling of panic in the face of imminent danger. He told YAHWEH that formerly he had only his staff when he crossed the Yardan there, and now he was rich and with his flocks he could form two companies or camps (mahanaim). But this wealth so patiently acquired would be reduced to nothing if his brother was filled with anger against him. 'YAHWEH, save me from the clutches of my brother, I am afraid of him.'
Fear -that is characteristic of Yacob. In conclusion, there was an appeal for mercy, by invoking the solemn Promise already made on different occasions to his grandfather Abraham, to his father Yitschaq and even to the grandson, Yacob himself.
Shortly there was to occur one of those profound transformations of which the Scriptures (and on occasion modern spiritual history) often provides examples, when YAHWEH, working on the souls of men who seem ill-prepared, for such an assault, makes them his own and incorporates them in HIS constructive plan.
Yacob Called Yisrael Index Yacob Sitemap Scripture History Through the Ages Yacob Called Yisrael Yacob and Esau Theft Of The Paternal Blessing Flight, The Only Solution For Yacob Yacob's Dream At Bethel Yacob Puts Up A Stele Named BethEl The Location Of Bethel Importance Of The Well, A Meeting Place Details Of The Mohar The Sons Of Yacob How Yacob Became Rich Yacob Leaves The Land Of The Fathers Treaty Between Yacob And Laban Messages Between Yacob And Esau Yacob Wrestles With YAHWEH Two Brothers, Yacob and Esau Meet Towards The Promised Land The Departure From Shechem The Conclusion Of Yacob