Genesis 33
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 33
Jacob and Esau Meet.[a] 1 Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and with him four hundred men. So he divided his children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants, 2 putting the maidservants and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 He himself went on ahead of them, bowing to the ground seven times, until he reached his brother. 4 Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, and flinging himself on his neck, kissed him as he wept.
5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children and asked, “Who are these with you?” Jacob answered, “They are the children with whom God has graciously favored your servant.” 6 Then the maidservants and their children came forward and bowed low; 7 next, Leah and her children came forward and bowed low; lastly, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed low. 8 Then Esau asked, “What did you intend with all those herds that I encountered?” Jacob answered, “It was to gain my lord’s favor.” 9 Esau replied, “I have plenty; my brother, you should keep what is yours.” 10 “No, I beg you!” said Jacob. “If you will do me the favor, accept this gift from me, since to see your face is for me like seeing the face of God—and you have received me so kindly. 11 Accept the gift I have brought you. For God has been generous toward me, and I have an abundance.” Since he urged him strongly, Esau accepted.
12 Then Esau said, “Let us break camp and be on our way; I will travel in front of you.” 13 But Jacob replied: “As my lord knows, the children are too young. And the flocks and herds that are nursing are a concern to me; if overdriven for even a single day, the whole flock will die. 14 Let my lord, then, go before his servant, while I proceed more slowly at the pace of the livestock before me and at the pace of my children, until I join my lord in Seir.” 15 Esau replied, “Let me at least put at your disposal some of the people who are with me.” But Jacob said, “Why is this that I am treated so kindly, my lord?” 16 So on that day Esau went on his way back to Seir, 17 and Jacob broke camp for Succoth.[b] There Jacob built a home for himself and made booths for his livestock. That is why the place was named Succoth.
18 Jacob arrived safely at the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram. He encamped in sight of the city.(A) 19 The plot of ground on which he had pitched his tent he bought for a hundred pieces of money[c] from the descendants of Hamor, the father of Shechem.(B) 20 He set up an altar there and invoked “El, the God of Israel.”(C)
Footnotes
- 33:1–20 The truly frightening confrontation seems to have already occurred in Jacob’s meeting the divine stranger in the previous chapter. In contrast, this meeting brings reconciliation. Esau, impulsive but largehearted, kisses the cunning Jacob and calls him brother (v. 9). Jacob in return asks Esau to accept his blessing (berakah, translated “gift,” v. 11), giving back at least symbolically what he had taken many years before and responding to Esau’s erstwhile complaint (“he has taken away my blessing,” 27:36). Verses 12–17 show that the reconciliation is not total and, further, that Jacob does not intend to share the ancestral land with his brother.
- 33:17 Succoth: an important town near the confluence of the Jabbok and the Jordan (Jos 13:27; Jgs 8:5–16; 1 Kgs 7:46). Booths: in Hebrew, sukkot, of the same sound as the name of the town.
- 33:19 Pieces of money: in Hebrew, qesita, a monetary unit of which the value is unknown. Descendants of Hamor: Hamorites, “the people of Hamor”; cf. Jgs 9:28. Hamor was regarded as the eponymous ancestor of the pre-Israelite inhabitants of Shechem.
Genesis 33
New King James Version
Jacob and Esau Meet
33 Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, (A)Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. 2 And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then he crossed over before them and (B)bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
4 (C)But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, (D)and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these with you?”
So he said, “The children (E)whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down. 7 And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.
8 Then Esau said, “What do you mean by (F)all this company which I met?”
And he said, “These are (G)to find favor in the sight of my lord.”
9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”
10 And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I (H)have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. 11 Please, take (I)my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt (J)graciously with me, and because I have [a]enough.” (K)So he urged him, and he took it.
12 Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.”
13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. 14 Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, [b]are able to endure, until I come to my lord (L)in Seir.”
15 And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.”
But he said, “What need is there? (M)Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 And Jacob journeyed to (N)Succoth, built himself a house, and made [c]booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called [d]Succoth.
Jacob Comes to Canaan
18 Then Jacob came [e]safely to (O)the city of (P)Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. 19 And (Q)he bought the parcel of [f]land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. 20 Then he erected an altar there and called it (R)El[g] Elohe Israel.
Footnotes
- Genesis 33:11 Lit. all
- Genesis 33:14 can stand
- Genesis 33:17 shelters
- Genesis 33:17 Lit. Booths
- Genesis 33:18 Or to Shalem, a city of
- Genesis 33:19 Lit. the field
- Genesis 33:20 Lit. God, the God of Israel
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
