When Jacob saw them: them refers to the angels that had appeared where he was.

He said: what Jacob says is probably in the form of an exclamation, as their appearance would be a surprise. It may be better in that case to say something equivalent to “he exclaimed,” or “he shouted.” In some languages it may be natural to make the expression of he said include how Jacob was feeling; for example, “he had a good feeling [literally ‘good insides’] and said.”

This is God’s army!: army translates the Hebrew mahaneh, which refers to a (military) camp. It is used, for example, in Exo 16.13 and 19.16 of the camp of the Israelites in the wilderness. See also Judges 7.1, 8, 9. English translations use such terms as “camp,” “army,” “company.” No doubt Jacob understood the appearance of these angels as the protecting presence of God on his homeward journey.

So he called the name of that place Mahanaim: the strict sense of this name is “two camps” or “twin camps.” See Good News Translation footnote. If translations use footnotes they may follow Good News Translation. Otherwise it may be best to keep the proper noun in the text and to add “which means ‘two camps.’ ” It is not immediately evident why Jacob gave the place this name. However, in verse 7 we will see Jacob divide his people and animals into two camps or companies as he plans his escape from Esau. In later history a town by this name was a place of refuge. For example, David fled there during Absalom’s revolt (2 Sam 17.24, 27). It is also referred to as a city in Gilead in the territory of Gad, near its border with Manasseh (Josh 13.26). According to Harper’s Bible Dictionary it was “strategically situated near the confluence of the [rivers] Jordan and … Jabbok.” See a Bible atlas.

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 .