33 4 Esau and Jacob meet and are agreed. 11 Esau receiveth his gifts. 19 Jacob buyeth a possession, 20 And buildeth an altar.

And as Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men: and he [a]divided the children to Leah, and unto Rachel, and to the two maids.

And he put the maids, and their children foremost, and Leah, and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.

So he went before them and [b]bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, and they wept.

And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women, and the children, and said, Who are these with thee? And he answered, They are the children whom God of his grace hath given thy servant.

Then came the maids near, they and their children, and [c]bowed themselves.

Leah also with her children came near and made obeisance: and after Joseph and Rachel drew near, and did reverence.

Then he said, What meanest thou by all this drove, which I met? Who answered, I have sent it, that I may find favor in the sight of my lord.

And Esau said, I have enough, my brother: keep that thou hast to thyself.

10 But Jacob answered, Nay, I pray thee, if I have found grace now in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for [d]I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, because thou hast accepted me.

11 I pray thee take my [e]blessing, that is brought thee: for God hath had mercy on me, and therefore I have all things: for he [f]compelled him, and he took it.

12 And he said, Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before thee.

13 Then he answered him, My lord knoweth, that the children are tender, and the ewes and kine with young under mine hand: and if they should overdrive them one day, all the flock would die.

14 Let now my lord go before his servant, and I will drive softly, according to the pace of the cattle, which is before me, and as the children be able to endure, until [g]I come to my lord unto Seir.

15 Then Esau said, I will leave then some of my folk with thee. And he answered, What needeth this? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.

16 ¶ So Esau returned, and went his way that same day unto Seir.

17 And Jacob went forward toward Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore he called the name of the place [h]Succoth.

18 Afterward, Jacob came safe to Shechem a city, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from [i]Padan Aram, and pitched before the city.

19 And there he bought a parcel of ground, where he pitched his tent, at the hand of the sons of Hamor Shechem’s father, for an hundred [j]pieces of money.

20 And he set up there an altar, and called [k]it, The mighty God of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 33:1 That if the one part were assailed, the other might escape.
  2. Genesis 33:3 By this gesture he partly did reverence to his brother, and partly prayed to God to mitigate Esau’s wrath.
  3. Genesis 33:6 Jacob and his family are the image of the Church under the yoke of tyrants which for fear are brought to subjection.
  4. Genesis 33:10 In that that his brother embraced him so lovingly, contrary to his expectation, he accepted it as a plain sign of God’s presence.
  5. Genesis 33:11 Or, gift.
  6. Genesis 33:11 By earnest entreaty.
  7. Genesis 33:14 He promised that which (as seemeth) his mind was not to perform.
  8. Genesis 33:17 Or, tent.
  9. Genesis 33:18 Or, Mesopotamia.
  10. Genesis 33:19 Or, lambs, or money so marked.
  11. Genesis 33:20 He calleth the sign, the thing which it signifieth, in token that God had mightily delivered him.

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men;(A) so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants.(B) He put the female servants and their children(C) in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph(D) in the rear. He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground(E) seven times(F) as he approached his brother.

But Esau(G) ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.(H) And they wept.(I) Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked.

Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.(J)

Then the female servants and their children(K) approached and bowed down.(L) Next, Leah and her children(M) came and bowed down.(N) Last of all came Joseph and Rachel,(O) and they too bowed down.

Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?”(P)

“To find favor in your eyes, my lord,”(Q) he said.

But Esau said, “I already have plenty,(R) my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”

10 “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes,(S) accept this gift(T) from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God,(U) now that you have received me favorably.(V) 11 Please accept the present(W) that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me(X) and I have all I need.”(Y) And because Jacob insisted,(Z) Esau accepted it.

12 Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”

13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord(AA) knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young.(AB) If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. 14 So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds(AC) before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.(AD)

15 Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.”

“But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.”(AE)

16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.(AF) 17 Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth,(AG) where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth.[a]

18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram,[b](AH) he arrived safely at the city of Shechem(AI) in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 19 For a hundred pieces of silver,[c] he bought from the sons of Hamor,(AJ) the father of Shechem,(AK) the plot of ground(AL) where he pitched his tent.(AM) 20 There he set up an altar(AN) and called it El Elohe Israel.[d]

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 33:17 Sukkoth means shelters.
  2. Genesis 33:18 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  3. Genesis 33:19 Hebrew hundred kesitahs; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value.
  4. Genesis 33:20 El Elohe Israel can mean El is the God of Israel or mighty is the God of Israel.