Discovery BoxGenesis 32:17 
Context32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, 1 “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? 2 Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ 3
Genesis 32:30
Context32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, 4 explaining, 5 “Certainly 6 I have seen God face to face 7 and have survived.” 8
1 tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “to whom are you?”
3 tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”
4 sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.
5 tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 tn Or “because.”
7 sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.
8 tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”
sn I have survived. It was commonly understood that no one could see God and live (Gen 48:16; Exod 19:21, 24:10; and Judg 6:11, 22). On the surface Jacob seems to be saying that he saw God and survived. But the statement may have a double meaning, in light of his prayer for deliverance in v. 11. Jacob recognizes that he has survived his encounter with God and that his safety has now been guaranteed.
