Four Companies of Angels Wage War on Esau for Jacob

(Genesis 32:25:) "And Jacob was left alone." What is written above the matter? "And Jacob feared greatly, and he was distressed." When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw how Jacob was in anguish, Rabbi Berekhyah said: He sent four companies of angels to wage war with Esau all night. The first company came; it said to them, "To whom do you belong?" They said to him, "We are the children of Isaac," and they began striking him. He said to them, "We are of the children's children of Abraham"; they began striking him. When they said, "We are the brothers of Jacob," they began leaving them: "For the sake of the honor of Jacob we will leave you." This is "And Jacob was left alone." And Jacob did not know how many miracles the Holy One, blessed be He, had done with him. He did nothing; but when he came in the morning, Esau his brother said to him, "What is all this camp which I met?" (Genesis 33:8). It is not written here "which I saw," but rather "which I met." And Jacob did not know that the Holy One, blessed be He, had sent him angels; rather, he supposed that he was occupied with that present which he had sent him. Therefore he said to him, "to find favor in the eyes of my lord" (ibid.). And when the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that he was afraid, He sent him Michael to make strife with him. What did the angel do to him? He appeared to him in the likeness of a shepherd, as it is said, "And a man wrestled with him, etc.," "and he saw that he could not prevail against him, etc.," "and he said, Send me away, etc." (Genesis 32:25, 26, 27).