Genesis 33

Genesis 33

Genesis 33:1 And Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and noticed Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So, he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female slaves.

Genesis 33:2 And he put the slaves with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all.

Genesis 33:3 He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he drew near to his brother.

Genesis 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him and hugged him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

Genesis 33:5 And when Esau lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has favored[1] your slave.”

Genesis 33:6 Then the slaves drew near, they and their children, and bowed down.

Genesis 33:7 Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down.

Genesis 33:8 Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.”

Genesis 33:9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”

Genesis 33:10 Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my gift from my hand. Because I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have been pleased with me.

Genesis 33:11 Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has favored me, and because I have enough.” This is how he urged him, and he took it.

Genesis 33:12 Then Esau said, “Let us travel on our way, and I will go ahead of you.”

Genesis 33:13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a concern to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die.

Genesis 33:14 Let my lord pass on ahead of his slave, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

Genesis 33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”

Genesis 33:16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.

Genesis 33:17 But Jacob journeyed to Succoth and built himself a house and made shacks for his livestock. That is why the name of the place is called Succoth.

Genesis 33:18 And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-Aram, and he camped before the city.

Genesis 33:19 And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent.

Genesis 33:20 There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

[1] חָנָן = favor, seek favor. Genesis 33:5, 11; 42:21; 43:29.

Genesis 33 quotes:

“Jacob had to do business with God before he was ready to do business with Esau. More particularly, Jacob had to do business with God before he was ready to subject himself to Esau. Jacob had acknowledged to the divine wrestler that his name was Jacob, Supplanter, Cheat, and had been given a new name, Israel, Prince. In the confidence of that new name Jacob can deal with the brother who has suffered most from Jacob’s flaws of character. The limp Jacob had gotten from the previous night’s wrestling makes easier his bowing before Esau.”

Kalas, J. Ellsworth. Grace in a Tree Stump : Old Testament Stories of God’s Love. 1st ed., Westminster John Knox Press, 2005. p. 25.

“It seems God had been working in Esau’s life as well as Jacob’s. We ought never to feel that anyone’s life is beyond the power of God to change it for the better. “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear” says the old proverb, but it seems God is doing just that all the time. The Bible is full of instances where God takes a life that is ugly and distorted by sin and greed, and changes it into something that reflects His glory.”

Williams, Peter. From Eden to Egypt : Exploring the Genesis Themes. DayOne, 2001. p. 184.

“Jacob apparently did not journey to Seir, but, as verse 17 states, went to Succoth. We are not told how long he tarried at that location. The fact that he built a house at Succoth indicates that he stayed there some time, possibly even a few years. It is quite likely that there was good pastureland in the vicinity, and doubtless Jacob’s animals needed such after the long trail drive from Haran. Perhaps the availability of good grazing at Succoth explains why Jacob declined Esau’s offer of assistance, mentioned in Genesis 33:14-15. Eventually, however, Jacob and company journeyed on, to the land of Shechem.”

Flint, V. Paul. Strangers & Pilgrims : A Study of Genesis. 1st ed., Loizeaux Bros, 1988. p. 196.