I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness … thy servant: I am not worthy of the least of all translates a Hebrew idiom meaning “I am too small from all…” and has the sense of being of little importance, insignificant, and so not worthy. For steadfast love see 24.12. For faithfulness see 24.27. Thy servant refers to Jacob and must often be translated as in Good News Translation, or “to me; I am the one who serves you.”

For with only my staff I crossed this Jordan: Jacob refers to the time twenty years earlier when he crossed the Jordan river going to Haran. We may translate, for example, “When I crossed the Jordan river last time, I had only my staff.” Staff here refers to a stick carried by travelers. It was used to lean on when tired and as an aid in walking. The same Hebrew word is used in 30.37-39, indicating the branches, or “rods,” that Jacob peeled and placed in front of the mating animals.

And now I have become two companies: Jacob compares his earlier condition with his present family and all his wealth now divided into two camps or companies. It is not that Jacob has literally become these but that his household is large enough and his wealth is great enough for them to be divided into two large camps. We may translate, for instance, “When I crossed the Jordan [going to Mesopotamia] I had nothing more than my staff. Now I have so much wealth and such a large household that they are divided into two camps.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .