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33 ¶ And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, Esau came and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah and unto Rachel and unto the two handmaids.

And he put the handmaids and their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.

And he passed over in front of them and 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 those with thee? And he said, The children whom God hath graciously given thy slave.

Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.

And Leah also with her children came near and bowed themselves; and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they also bowed themselves.

And he said, What meanest thou by all these droves which I met? And he said, To find grace in the sight of my lord.

And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep what thou hast unto thyself.

10 And Jacob said, No, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present from my hand, that for this I have seen thy face as though I had seen the face of God; and do me the pleasure.

11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee because God has dealt graciously with me, and all that is here is mine. And he urged him, and he took it.

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

13 And he said unto him, My lord knows that the children are tender, and the sheep and cows with young are with me; and if men should overdrive them, in one day all the sheep will die.

14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass before his slave; and I will lead on softly, according as the property that goes before me and the children are able to endure until I come unto my lord unto Seir.

15 And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What for? Let me find grace in the sight of my lord.

16 ¶ So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

18 And Jacob came safe and sound to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram, and pitched his tent before the city.

19 And he bought part of the field where he had spread his tent, from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred ewes.

20 And there he erected an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel (the Strong God of Israel).

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.