Genesis 33
33
Jacob Meets Esau
1 Jacob looked up#tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.” and saw that Esau was coming#tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes. along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them.#sn This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable. 3 But Jacob#tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached#tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause. his brother. 4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 5 When Esau#tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity. looked up#tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.” and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob#tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. replied, “The children whom God has graciously given#tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.” your servant.” 6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down.#tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.” 7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.
8 Esau#tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity. then asked, “What did you intend#tn Heb “Who to you?” by sending all these herds to meet me?”#tn Heb “all this camp which I met.” Jacob#tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said.#tn Heb “and Jacob said, ‘No, please.’” The words “take them” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons. “If I have found favor in your sight, accept#tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, expressing a contingent future nuance in the “then” section of the conditional sentence. my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me,#tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here. it is as if I have seen the face of God.#tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”sn This is an allusion to the preceding episode (32:22-31) in which Jacob saw the face of God and realized his prayer was answered. 11 Please take my present#tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier. that was brought to you, for God has been generous#tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity. to me and I have all I need.”#tn Heb “all.” When Jacob urged him, he took it.#tn Heb “and he urged him and he took.” The referent of the first pronoun in the sequence (“he”) has been specified as “Jacob” in the translation for clarity.
12 Then Esau#tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said, “Let’s be on our way!#tn Heb “let us travel and let us go.” The two cohortatives are used in combination with the sense, “let’s travel along, get going, be on our way.” I will go in front of you.” 13 But Jacob#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young,#tn Heb “weak.” and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young.#tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.” If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children,#tn Heb “and I, I will move along according to my leisure at the foot of the property which is before me and at the foot of the children.” until I come to my lord at Seir.”
15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.”#tn The cohortative verbal form here indicates a polite offer of help. “Why do that?” Jacob replied.#tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why this?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. “My lord has already been kind enough to me.”#tn Heb “I am finding favor in the eyes of my lord.”
16 So that same day Esau made his way back#tn Heb “returned on his way.” to Seir. 17 But#tn The disjunctive clause contrasts Jacob’s action with Esau’s. Jacob traveled to Succoth#sn But Jacob traveled to Succoth. There are several reasons why Jacob chose not to go to Mt. Seir after Esau. First, as he said, his herds and children probably could not keep up with the warriors. Second, he probably did not fully trust his brother. The current friendliness could change, and he could lose everything. And third, God did tell him to return to his land, not Seir. But Jacob is still not able to deal truthfully, probably because of fear of Esau. where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called#tn Heb “why he called.” One could understand “Jacob” as the subject of the verb, but it is more likely that the subject is indefinite, in which case the verb is better translated as passive. Succoth.#sn The name Succoth means “shelters,” an appropriate name in light of the shelters Jacob built there for his livestock.
18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near#tn Heb “in front of.” the city. 19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it#tn The words “he bought it” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 19 is one long sentence. from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money.#tn The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qÿsitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value is unknown. (However, cf. REB, which renders the term as “sheep”). 20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.”#tn Heb “God, the God of Israel.” Rather than translating the name, a number of modern translations merely transliterate it from the Hebrew as “El Elohe Israel” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB). It is not entirely clear how the name should be interpreted grammatically. One option is to supply an equative verb, as in the translation: “The God of Israel [is] God.” Another interpretive option is “the God of Israel [is] strong [or “mighty”].” Buying the land and settling down for a while was a momentous step for the patriarch, so the commemorative naming of the altar is significant.
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Genesis 33: NET
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Genesis 33
33
Jacob and Esau Make Peace
1Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and his two servant wives. 2He put the servant wives and their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times before him. 4Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.
5Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, “Who are these people with you?”
“These are the children God has graciously given to me, your servant,” Jacob replied. 6Then the servant wives came forward with their children and bowed before him. 7Next came Leah with her children, and they bowed before him. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed before him.
8“And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?” Esau asked.
Jacob replied, “They are a gift, my lord, to ensure your friendship.”
9“My brother, I have plenty,” Esau answered. “Keep what you have for yourself.”
10But Jacob insisted, “No, if I have found favor with you, please accept this gift from me. And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God! 11Please take this gift I have brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted the gift.
12“Well,” Esau said, “let’s be going. I will lead the way.”
13But Jacob replied, “You can see, my lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, even for one day, all the animals could die. 14Please, my lord, go ahead of your servant. We will follow slowly, at a pace that is comfortable for the livestock and the children. I will meet you at Seir.”
15“All right,” Esau said, “but at least let me assign some of my men to guide and protect you.”
Jacob responded, “That’s not necessary. It’s enough that you’ve received me warmly, my lord!”
16So Esau turned around and started back to Seir that same day. 17Jacob, on the other hand, traveled on to Succoth. There he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was named Succoth (which means “shelters”).
18Later, having traveled all the way from Paddan-aram, Jacob arrived safely at the town of Shechem, in the land of Canaan. There he set up camp outside the town. 19Jacob bought the plot of land where he camped from the family of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver.#33:19 Hebrew 100 kesitahs; the value or weight of the kesitah is no longer known. 20And there he built an altar and named it El-Elohe-Israel.#33:20 El-Elohe-Israel means “God, the God of Israel.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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