And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
20. I will appease him ] Lit. “I will cover his face,” in the sense of “I will propitiate.” The present will so “cover his face,” that Esau cannot look upon Jacob’s offence; cf. Gen 20:16. LXX renders . Cf. Pro 16:14 (the pacifying of a king’s wrath with a gift).
accept me ] Lit. “lift up my face.” Cf. Gen 4:7, Gen 19:21; Mal 1:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will appease him; Heb. appease or allay his anger; for the Hebrew word panim signifies both anger, as Psa 21:9; 34:16, and face, as every where, because a mans anger is most discernible in his face or countenance, Pro 21:14.
He will accept of me; Heb. will lift up my face or countenance, which now is dejected with the sense of his displeasure; compare Gen 4:6; or, will accept of my person, as this phrase is oft used.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And say ye moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us,…. This is repeated to impress it upon their minds, that they might be careful of all things, not to forget that, it being a point of great importance; for the present would have signified nothing, if Jacob had not appeared in person; Esau would have thought himself, at best, but slighted; as if he was unworthy of a visit from him, and of conversation with him:
for he said: that is, Jacob, or “had said” a, in his heart, within himself, as might be supposed from the whole of his conduct; for what follows are the words of Moses the historian, as Aben Ezra observes, and not of Jacob to his servants, nor of them to Esau:
I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterwards I will see his face: he hoped the present would produce the desired effect; that it would turn away his wrath from him, and pacify him; and then he should be able to appear before him, and see his face with pleasure: or, “I will expiate his face” b, as some render the words, or make him propitious and favourable; or cover his face, as Aben Ezra interprets it, that is, cause him to hide his wrath and resentment, that it shall not appear; or cause his fury to cease, as Jarchi; or remove his anger, wrath, and displeasure, as Ben Melech; all which our version takes in, by rendering it, “appease him”; and then,
peradventure he will accept of me: receive him with marks of tenderness and affection, and in a very honourable and respectable manner.
a “dicebat enim”, Vatablus, Junius Tremellius, Drusius. b “expiabo faciem ejus”, Montanus “propitium reddam”, Drusius, Munster.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(20) I will appease him.The Heb. literally is, he said I will cover his face with the offering that goeth before my face, and afterwards I will see his face; peradventure he will lift up my face. The covering of the face of the offended person, so that he could no longer see the offence, became the usual legal word for making an atonement (Lev. 9:7, &c). For the offering (Heb., minchah) see Gen. 4:3; and for the lifting up of the face, Gen. 4:7.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. I will appease him Here is a notable instance of metaphorical language . Literally, he says: “I will cover his face with the present which goes before me, and afterwards I will see his face; perhaps he will lift up my face . The word cover ( ) is that so often used afterwards in connexion with expiation and atonement for sin . He would cover Esau’s face, so that he whom he had sinned against might cease to see the transgressions of the past . Those past offences hidden, he hopes himself to look on Esau’s face, as on one so far appeased as not to turn away from him, and refuse to see him . Then he hopes that there will come the further favour of Esau condescending to lift up his (Jacob’s) face the downcast face of one prostrate in humility and contrition before him.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“For he said, “I will make reconciliation with him (‘cover his face”) with the present that goes before me (‘goes before my face’), and afterwards I will see his face. It may be that he will accept me (‘his face will be towards me’).” So the present passed over before him and he himself stayed that night in the company.’
Jacob is quite clear that the purpose of the gifts is appeasement and reconciliation so that when they meet there will be no trouble. He hopes that they will make him acceptable to Esau. So the presents move on and he himself awaits in his camp along with one of the ‘companies’ he has set up.
Note in the Hebrew the constant reference to ‘face’. He is concerned with the face to face situation between the two. But this will pale into insignificance when he meets God face to face (Gen 32:30).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 32:20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
Ver. 20. Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. ] This he requires them all to insist on, lest Esau should think he meant, meanwhile, to escape some other way.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
will appease him. Hebrew “cover his face”, i.e. hide my offence from him: “face” being put by Synecdoche (of the Part), for himself.
of me. Hebrew my face. Synecdoche (of the Part), App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I will appease: Gen 43:11, 1Sa 25:17-35, Job 42:8, Job 42:9, Pro 15:18, Pro 16:14, Pro 21:14
peradventure: 1Sa 6:5, 1Ki 20:31, Jon 3:9, 2Ti 2:25
of me: Heb. my face, Job 42:8, Job 42:9, Pro 6:35
Reciprocal: Gen 32:13 – a present Gen 32:16 – space 1Sa 25:19 – Go 2Ki 18:31 – Make an agreement with me 2Ch 20:26 – the name Est 5:4 – the banquet Pro 18:16 – General Pro 19:6 – and Isa 36:16 – Make an agreement with me by a present Dan 10:17 – talk
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
32:20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us. For he said, I {g} will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
(g) He thought it no less to depart with these goods with the intent that he might follow the vocation to which God called him.