Bible-Center
РУ
EN
FR
Bible
Notes
FAQ
Links
About

Search

Search Search
search in current section [Notes]

NOTES for Gen 33:1-20

Printable version
1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, 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.
2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
5 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 which God hath graciously given thy servant.
6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
8 And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.
9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.
10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. 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 knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.
14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be 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 needeth it? 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 him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city.
19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.
20 And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel.
Hide

Approaching the land where his brother Esau lives, Jacob fears the unknown. The day before, we read how carefully he prepared gifts for his brother. He was ready for everything, for any kind of meeting - apparently thinking that his brother would remember both the birthright and the blessing obtained by deceit. There are grounds for fear, but everything happens peacefully. It is possible that Jacob trembled before meeting his brother because he judged him by himself. For Jacob, the blessing and the birthright were matters of life and death, and he was ready to sacrifice everything for them. But Esau once again shows himself to be a person for whom all this does not have great importance. What matters more to him is his everyday life in peace and prosperity, the return of his younger brother with rich gifts, and a calm division of who lives where and who pastures his herds where.

Other notes

 
For Gen 33:1-20
1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, 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.
2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
5 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 which God hath graciously given thy servant.
6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
8 And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.
9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.
10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. 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 knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.
14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be 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 needeth it? 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 him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city.
19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.
20 And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel.
Hide
Wrestling with God for a blessing, Jacob expected to receive from Him strength for the meeting with his brother, supernatural strength that he thought could be very useful to him. Instead of strength he receives a new name, becoming a different, new person...  Read more

Wrestling with God for a blessing, Jacob expected to receive from Him strength for the meeting with his brother, supernatural strength that he thought could be very useful to him. Instead of strength he receives a new name, becoming a different, new person. It would seem that for the meeting with Esau this has no special significance. It turns out, however, that inward changes can sometimes lead to outward changes, and very significant ones at that. In any case, the meeting with Esau takes place quite peacefully, without the bloodshed Jacob so feared. Esau too had changed during the time Jacob was away; it is hard to say with certainty. One thing is clear: much time had passed, and if Jacob had managed over the years of absence to become a different person, the same thing could have happened to Esau as well.

God worked with Jacob in a special way, but He does not leave anyone, ever, at least as long as a person himself has not said to Him an unambiguous and decisive "no." It is hard to think that God had completely forgotten Esau. After all, while caring for Isaac, for example, He did not abandon Ishmael either. In any case, the brothers meet peacefully. Jacob is now different; he lays claim to nothing.

Now he undoubtedly looks differently at all the things he did in his youth in his native house. He also understands that Esau is stronger, just as he understands that Esau has more right to the authority he holds in his native tribe. Jacob is ready to acknowledge his brother's rights. But this is not only because he now sees the situation more realistically and is not building risky, far-reaching plans. Jacob has simply learned to trust God. This is not only the ability to wait; it is precisely confidence that God will be able to show him the right path, that He will do what Jacob himself could never have achieved by his own strength and his own plans. Jacob truly became a man of God. This took more than one decade and cost him great labor and risk, but God made Jacob what He wanted to see. Jacob's plan was ready to be fulfilled, though not in the way Jacob himself had thought.

Hide
Bible
Notes
FAQ
Links
About
Site map
Design and development:  © 2001–2026 W-M v:2.0.3.107

After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan.

Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free.