Jacob and the angel

Hand colored stencil print on washi by Sadao Watanabe (1970).

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

The following artwork is part of a series of 56 paintings on biblical themes by Kazakh artist Nelly Bube (born 1949):

Copyright by Norwegian Bible Society , used with permission.

For other images of Nelly Bube in TIPs, see here.

The following is a stained glass window in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Chiang Mai, Thailand:

Photo by Jost Zetzsche

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

complete verse (Genesis 32:23)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 32:23:

  • Kankanaey: “Then he also had-cross-over all his remaining possessions” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “After they had crossed the river, he also sent all the cattle he had brought.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Jacob also had- all of his possessions -cross-over.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “After he had done that, he sent other slaves, carrying all his possessions, across the river.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 32:23

He took them and sent them across the stream: this repeats what was said in verse 22, except that the verb sent has the meaning in English that Jacob himself did not go across. The Hebrew verb translated sent is a causative form, “he caused them to cross,” which does not indicate whether Jacob himself crossed or not. The majority of translations agree with Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, and this interpretation is recommended to translators. However, some translations have “After he had taken them across,” which would mean that Jacob did go across the river; and this could also be understood to mean that he returned to the other side before he sent across everything that he had. One translation, for example, translates verse 23 as “He took them to the other side of the river, then he went back and told his workers to take all his possessions across.”

Good News Translation retains the repetition of the verb from verse 22 with “After he had sent them across….” Bible en français courant gives another model. It numbers this verse together with the previous verse and does not repeat the verbs “took” and “crossed.” Thus after “his eleven children” we read “He made them cross the ford of the Jabbok with everything he possessed.”

And likewise everything that he had: the Hebrew text says “what belonged to him,” which Hebrew Old Testament Text Project rates as {B}. “All that belonged to him” is found in one Hebrew manuscript and in the ancient versions. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends the Hebrew text, but most modern versions prefer “all….” The difference in meaning is not significant, and translators may follow either form.

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 .