What did Jacob see?

Jacob’s dream explained

20 years earlier, in his dream, Jacob saw the angels going up and down the ladder between heaven and earth. Why did they first ascend and only then descend? Jewish medieval commentator Rashi explains: Outside of the Land, Jacob needed different guardians from those that protected him in his birthplace. The angels that accompanied Jacob in Canaan don’t leave and therefore ascend to Heaven. Then another group of angels descends to accompany him outside the Land.

A dual form

The brief account of chapter 32 fits perfectly with this approach. There is an intriguing detail here that you can see only in Hebrew. “When Jacob saw them, he said, ‘This is God’s camp’, so he named that place Mahanaim” (Gen. 32:2). However, Mahanaim is a dual construction of the word “mahane” (camp), so Jacob, in fact, called this place “Two camps”! Why? Did Jacob see two camps; two teams of angels exactly like in his dream? 

Discover the hidden details of the Bible

According to Rashi, Jacob indeed saw two camps: one of the angels outside the Land, who came with him and one of the angels of Israel, who came to greet him. It is only when you read the Bible in Hebrew that you realize that “Mahanyim” means “Two camps” – not one! Many other Biblical names have secret meanings; to understand more of these lost-in-translation, hidden details of the Scriptures - enroll in our live online Biblical Hebrew course today.