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When Yaakov was praying to Hashem in chapter 32, he points out in verse 11 how much Hashem has done for him by saying כי במקלי עברתי את הירדן הזה ועתה הייתי לשני מחנות, 'for with my stick I crossed this Jordan, and now I am two camps.'

Whether you learn like Targum that takes this as pointing out his growth from one person to many, or like Rashi that he is pointing to his growth monetarily, why would he mention the fact that he was now two camps? This was simply an escape plan as the Torah records in verses eight and nine. Had he been compelled to split his camp in order to accommodate his growth, akin to Avraham and Lot splitting in chapter 13, or Esav leaving the area because of Yaakov, chapter 36, than I would understand, but as it is presented, I do not.

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I had the opportunity today to pose this question to a certain Rov. He said the fact that Yaakov had enough, either in the number of people or possessions, to be able to split into two actual camps was what Yaakov was praising Hashem for. Irrespective of whether or not he did and for what reason. Had there only been two people that split up, this would not have been called two camps.

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