Genesis 33
33
Jacob Shows His Bravery
1Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming. With him were 400 men. So Jacob divided his children among Leah, Rachel and the two slave girls. 2Jacob put the slave girls with their children first. Then he put Leah and her children behind them. And he put Rachel and Joseph last. 3Jacob himself went out in front of them. He bowed down flat on the ground seven times as he was walking toward his brother.
4But Esau ran to meet Jacob. Esau put his arms around him and hugged him. Then Esau kissed him, and they both cried. 5Esau looked up and saw the women and children. He asked, “Who are these people with you?”
Jacob answered, “These are the children God has given me. God has been good to me, your servant.”
6Then the two slave girls and their children came up to Esau. They bowed down flat on the earth before him. 7Then Leah and her children came up to Esau. They also bowed down flat on the earth. Last of all, Joseph and Rachel came up to Esau. And they, too, bowed down flat before him.
8Esau said, “I saw many herds as I was coming here. Why did you bring them?”
Jacob answered, “They were to please you, my master.”
9But Esau said, “I already have enough, my brother. Keep what you have.”
10Jacob said, “No! Please! If I have pleased you, then please accept the gift I give you. I am very happy to see your face again. It is like seeing the face of God because you have accepted me. 11So I beg you to accept the gift I give you. God has been very good to me. And I have more than I need.” And because Jacob begged, Esau accepted the gift.
12Then Esau said, “Let us get going. I will travel with you.”
13But Jacob said to him, “My master, you know that the children are weak. And I must be careful with my flocks and their young ones. If I force them to go too far in one day, all the animals will die. 14So, my master, you go on ahead of me, your servant. I will follow you slowly. I will let the animals and the children set the speed at which we travel. I will meet you, my master, in Edom.”
15So Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.”
“No, thank you,” said Jacob. “I only want to please you, my master.” 16So that day Esau started back to Edom. 17But Jacob went to Succoth. There he built a house for himself. And he made shelters for his animals. That is why the place was named Succoth.# This name means “shelters.”
18Jacob left Northwest Mesopotamia. And he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan. He camped east of the city. 19He bought a part of the field where he had camped. He bought it from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem for 100 pieces of silver. 20He built an altar there and named it after God, the God of Israel.
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Genesis 33
33
1Jacob saw Esau in the distance, coming towards him with four hundred men. So he split up the children between Leah, Rachel and the two personal maids. 2He placed the two personal maids with their children first, then Leah and her children, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3Then Jacob went ahead of them and bowed low to the ground seven times before approaching his brother. 4Esau ran over to him and hugged him. He put his arms around his neck and kissed him. The two of them wept.
5Then Esau looked around at the women and children. “Who are these people with you?” he asked.
“They are the children God graciously gave your servant,” Jacob replied.
6The personal maids and their children came over and bowed down. 7Then Leah and her children came over and bowed down. Lastly Joseph and Rachel came over and bowed down.
8“What were all the livestock for that I met on the way?” Esau asked.
“They're a gift to you my lord so you'd treat me well,” Jacob answered.
9“I have more than enough, my brother! You keep what you have,” said Esau.
10“No, please!” Jacob insisted. “If you're happy with me, then please accept the gift I'm giving you. Now I've seen your face again it's like seeing the face of God, and you have welcomed me so kindly! 11Please take the gift I've brought to you because God has treated me so well and I have so much.” So Esau accepted it.
12“Let's get on our way,” Esau said. “I'll go ahead of you.”
13“My lord can see that the children are weak,” Jacob responded. “Also, the goats, sheep, and cattle are nursing their young, and if I push them too hard, they'll all die. 14You go on, my lord, and your servant will come along slowly, walking with the children, and I'll meet you at Seir.”
15“Fine, but let me leave some of my men with you,” said Esau.
“You're very kind, but there's no need to do that,” Jacob replied.
16So Esau started on his way back to Seir that day. 17But Jacob headed to Succoth, where he built himself a house and shelters for the livestock. That's why the place is called Succoth.#33:17. “Succoth” means “shelters” or “stalls.”
18Later Jacob continued his journey from Paddan-aram. He arrived safely at Shechem in the country of Canaan where he camped outside the town. 19He bought the plot of ground where he was camping from the sons of Hamor, the founder of Shechem, for 100 pieces of money.#33:19. “Pieces of money”: literally, “kesitah,” whose value is unknown. 20He built an altar there and called it El-Elohe-Israel.#33:20. “El-Elohe-Israel”: meaning “God is the God of Israel.”
Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com