Gênesis 32
John Chrysostom · Comentário Patrístico (catena)
Gênesis 32:1
You see, once fear of Laban faded and was no more, then fear of his brother took hold of Jacob; so the loving Lord wanted to give the good man heart and drive out all his apprehension. Thus he caused Jacob to see the angels' camp. "God's angels accosted him," the text says, remember. "Jacob said, 'This is God's camp,' and he called that place Camps," with the result that from the name there was a constant reminder of the vision that occurred to him there. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 58.2
Gênesis 32:3
See how great was Jacob's fear even after the vision had affected the good man. He was afraid of his brother's aggression and was concerned lest the memory of what had been done by him previously might provoke Esau into an attack on him. "Say to my lord Esau, 'Thus says your servant Jacob: I was dwelling with Laban and tarried until now; I acquired cattle and asses and sheep, servants male and female. I have sent word to my lord in the hope that your servant may find favor with you.' " Notice how Jacob was afraid of his brother, and hence out of a wish to placate him he sent word ahead alerting him to his coming, the wealth acquired by him and where he had spent all the time, so as to calm Esau's anger and succeed in making him gracious. This in fact happened, for God placated his heart, allayed his anger and rendered him gracious. After all, if by the words Jacob spoke to Laban, who had hunted him down in such awful rage, he caused him to suffer such great apprehension, much more did he cause his brother to be more affable to the good man. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 58.3
Gênesis 32:6
See how this was sufficient to aggravate the good man's fear. Far from realizing precisely his brother's intent, Jacob was terrified to learn the number of those approaching and suspected that they were bent on hostilities and so wanted to catch up with him. Note the text says, "Jacob was in a state of fear and perplexity." Fear disturbed his thinking, and instead of knowing what to do, he was at a loss; hence Jacob was terrified of almost everything, and, with the prospect of death before him, "he divided all the people with him into two camps." You see, he said, "If he comes upon one camp and attacks it, the other will have the chance of being saved." While it was Jacob's fear and great terror that suggested this, … seeing himself caught in a trap he had recourse to the invincible Lord and invoked the promises made him by the God of all, as if to say to him, "Now the time has come for a good man to enjoy your complete assistance on account of the virtue of his forebears and the promises made by you." — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 58.4
Gênesis 32:13
See the good man's godliness and proper sense of values in requesting nothing from the Lord other than fulfillment of his promises. After giving thanks for his former benefits by confessing that while naked and destitute he had been brought to such affluence, Jacob entreats God to snatch him from danger. Recall that Jacob says, "You told me, 'I will make your descendants to be like the sand of the sea, which in number will defy counting.' " Having made this appeal to the Lord, however, and having offered this supplication to the Lord, Jacob also made every effort on his own part. Selecting gifts from what he brought with him, the text says, Jacob sent them to his brother, spacing out what was sent and giving instructions with the aim of appeasing Esau by word and alerting him to his own arrival. Recall that the text says, " 'Behold, your servant is right behind us,' so as first to appease him, and then we can meet face to face." "After this," remember Jacob says, "I will meet him face to face; perhaps he will be pleased to see me." The gifts went ahead of him. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 58.6
Gênesis 32:28
Do you see how God revealed the complete explanation of why he demonstrated such considerateness? At the same time God taught this good man [Jacob] through the imposition of the name [Israel] who it was that he had seen and had been allowed to hold on to. Recall the text says, "You will no longer be called Jacob but Israel." Now Israel means "seeing God." "Since you are privileged to see God, insofar as it is possible for a human being to see him, hence I also give you this name so that it may be clear to everyone in future that you were accorded a vision." And he added, "For you have fought with God and will thus be powerful in dealing with human beings." No longer have any fear or expect to suffer any harm from anyone. Having gained such might in the first place as to succeed in wrestling with God, much more will you prevail over human beings and prove superior to all. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 58.10
Gênesis 32:30
Do you see how much confidence Jacob gained from the vision he had? That is to say, "my spirit survived," he is saying, "which had almost perished from fear. Since I was privileged to see God face to face, 'my spirit survived.' " Now the sun rose on him as he passed the sight of God.Do you see how the Lord shows considerateness for our human limitations in all he does and in arranging everything in a way that gives evidence of his characteristic love? Don't be surprised, dearly beloved, at the extent of his considerateness; rather, remember that with the patriarch as well, when Abraham was sitting by the oak tree, God came in human form as the good man's guest in the company of the angels, giving us a premonition from on high at the beginning that he would one day take human form to liberate all human nature by this means from the tyranny of the devil and lead us to salvation. At that time, however, since it was the very early stages, God appeared to each of them in the guise of an apparition, as he says himself through the inspired author, "I multiplied visions and took various likenesses in the works of the inspired authors." — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 58.11-12
Gênesis 32:32
Just as the truth is quite plain in this case, however, so with the good man a kind of apparition occurred that had the effect of convincing the good man of the degree of care he enjoyed from God and the fact that Jacob would be unvanquished by all those plotting against him. Then, in order that the vision he had would not be forgotten by anyone in the future, "his thigh made him limp. For this reason the sons of Israel do not eat the nerve that stiffened on the flat of his thigh, because he lay hold of the flat of Jacob's thigh, and it stiffened." You see, since the good man had completed his lifespan and was about to leave this life, and since the providence accorded him by God and the marvelous considerateness should be known to the whole human race, accordingly it says, "The sons of Israel do not eat the nerve that stiffened on the flat of his thigh." Aware of their ingratitude and the way, they forgot God's kindnesses; he therefore devised a constant reminder for them to have of the kindnesses done by him and arranged for these reminders to be preserved in their observances of this kind. You can find this throughout the whole of Scripture. In fact, this in particular is the explanation of the great number of observances. They represent God's wish that future generations would unfailingly meditate on God's kindnesses and, by consigning them to oblivion, not have recourse again to their own errors—a particular weakness of the Jewish people. I mean, those who give evidence of their typical ingratitude in the face of these very kindnesses would all the more readily, had this not happened, have banished from their mind all that had been done for them by God. — HOMILIES ON GENESIS 58.14