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Genesis Chapter
Thirty-three
Genesis 33 Outlines
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 33
In
this chapter we find Esau meeting Jacob in a friendly manner, contrary to his
fears and expectation, having set his family in order in case of the worst, Genesis 33:1;
putting questions to Jacob concerning the women and children with him, who make
their obeisance to him as Jacob had done before, Genesis 33:5; and
concerning the drove he met, which was a present to him, and which he refused
at first to take, but at the urgency of Jacob accepted of it, Genesis 33:8;
proposing to travel with him, unto which Jacob desired to be excused, he, with
the women, children, and flocks, not being able to keep pace with him, Genesis 33:12, and
to leave some of his men with him to guard him, which Jacob judged unnecessary,
upon which they parted friendly, Genesis 33:15; and
the chapter is concluded with an account of Jacob's journey, first to Succoth,
then to Shalem, where he pitched his tent, bought a field and built an altar, Genesis 33:17.
Genesis 33:1. Now
Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were
four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two
maidservants.
YLT 1And Jacob lifteth up his
eyes, and looketh, and lo, Esau is coming, and with him four hundred men; and
he divideth the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two
maid-servants;
And Jacob
lifted up his eyes, and looked,....
After he had passed over
the brook, and was come to his wives and children; which was done either
accidentally or on purpose, to see if he could espy his brother coming: some
think this denotes his cheerfulness and courage, and that he was now not
distressed and dejected, as he had been before:
and, behold,
Esau came, and with him four hundred men;
see Genesis 32:6,
and he divided
the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids;
some think he made four
divisions of them; Leah and her children, Rachel and her son, Bilhah and hers,
and Zilpah and hers: but others are of opinion there were but three: the two
handmaids and their children in one division, Leah and her children in another,
and Rachel and her son in the third; which seems to be confirmed in Genesis 33:2,
though the word for "divide" signifies to halve or divide into two
parts; according to which, the division then must be of the two wives and their
children in one company, and of the two handmaids and theirs in the other: and
this Jacob did partly for decency and partly for safety.
Genesis 33:2. 2 And
he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children
behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.
YLT 2and he setteth the
maid-servants and their children first, and Leah and her children behind, and
Rachel and Joseph last.
And he put the
handmaids and their children foremost,....
In the first division, as
being less honourable and less beloved by him:
and Leah and
her children after;
still according to the
degree of honour and affection due unto them; Leah being a wife that was
imposed and forced upon him:
and Rachel and
Joseph hindermost;
being most beloved by him,
and therefore most careful of them; Rachel being his principal and lawful wife,
and who had the greatest share in his affection, and Joseph his only child by
her.
Genesis 33:3. 3 Then
he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until
he came near to his brother.
YLT 3And he himself passed over
before them, and boweth himself to the earth seven times, until his drawing
nigh unto his brother,
And he passed
over before them,....
At the head of them, as
the master of the family, exposing himself to the greatest danger for them, and
in order to protect and defend them in the best manner he could, or to
endeavour to soften the mind of his brother by an address, should there be any
occasion for it:
and bowed
himself to the ground seven times;
in a civil way, as was the
manner in the eastern countries towards great personages; and this he did to
Esau as being his elder brother, and as superior to him in grandeur and wealth,
being lord of a considerable country; and at the same time religious adoration
might be made to God; while he thus bowed to the ground, his heart might be
going up to God in prayer, that he would appear for him at this instant, and
deliver him and his family from perishing by his brother; and so the Targum of
Jonathan introduces this clause,"praying, and asking mercies of the Lord,
and bowed, &c.'seven times, perhaps, may not design an exact number, but
that he bowed many times as he came along:
until he came near
to his brother;
he kept bowing all the way
he came until they were within a small space of one another.
Genesis 33:4. 4 But
Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him,
and they wept.
YLT 4and Esau runneth to meet
him, and embraceth him, and falleth on his neck, and kisseth him, and they
weep;
And Esau ran to
meet him,....
If he rode on any
creature, which is likely, he alighted from it on sight of his brother Jacob,
and to express his joy on that occasion, and affection for him, made all the
haste he could to meet him, as did the father of the prodigal, Luke 15:20,
and embraced
him;
in his arms, with the
greatest respect and tenderness:
and fell on his
neck;
laid his head on his neck,
where it remained for a while, not being able to lift it up, and speak unto
him; the word is in the dual number, and signifies, as Ben Melech thinks, the
two sides of the neck, the right and the left; and he might lay his head first
on one side, and then on the other, to show the greatness of his affection:
and kissed him;
in token of the same:
there are three pricks over this word in the original more than ordinary,
directing the attention of the reader to it, as something wonderful and worthy
of observation: the Jewish writersF14Zohar in Gen. fol. 99. 1.
Bereshit Rabba, sect. 78. fol. 68. 3. Jarchi in loc. are divided about it; some
think that this points at the insincerity of Esau in kissing his brother when
he hated him; others, on the contrary, to his sincerity and heartiness in it,
and which was matter of admiration, that he who laid up hatred in his heart
against his brother, and had bore him a grudge for so many years, and it may be
came out now, with an intention to destroy him, should have his heart so turned
toward him, as to behave in this affectionate manner, which must be owing to the
power of God working upon his heart, changing his mind, and making him thus
soft, flexible, and compassionate; and to Jacob's humble submission to him,
subservient to divine Providence as a means; and thus as he before had power
with God in prayer on this same account, the effect of which he now perceived,
so he had power with men, with his brother, as it was intimated to him he
should:
and they wept;
they "both"
wept, as the Septuagint version adds, both Jacob and Esau, for joy at the sight
of each other, and both seriously; and especially there can be no doubt of
Jacob, who must be glad of this reconciliation, if it was only outward, since
hereby his life, and the lives of his wives and children, would be spared.
Genesis 33:5. 5 And
he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are
these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your
servant.”
YLT 5and he lifteth up his eyes,
and seeth the women and the children, and saith, `What [are] these to thee?'
And he saith, `The children with whom God hath favoured thy servant.'
And he lift up
his eyes, and saw the women and children,....
After the salutation had
passed between him and his brother Jacob, he looked, and saw behind him women
and children, Jacob's two wives and his two handmaids, and twelve children he
had by them:
and said, who are
those with thee?
who do those women and
children belong to that follow thee? for Jacob had made no mention of his wives
and children, when he sent his messengers to him, Genesis 32:5; and
therefore Esau might very well ask this question, which Jacob replied to:
and he said,
the children which God hath graciously given thy servant;
he speaks of his children
as gifts of God, and as instances and pledges of his favour and good will to
him, which he thankfully acknowledges; and at the same time speaks very
respectfully to his brother, and in great condescension and humility owns
himself his servant, but says nothing of his wives; not that he was ashamed, as
Abarbinel suggests, that he should have four wives, when his brother, who had less
regard for religion, had but three; but he mentions his children as being near
kin to Esau, and by whom he might conclude who the women were, and of whom also
he might give a particular account, though the Scripture is silent about it;
since Leah and Rachel were his own first cousins, Genesis 29:10; and
who they were no doubt he told him, as they came to pay their respects to him,
as follows.
Genesis 33:6. 6 Then
the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down.
YLT 6And the maid-servants draw
nigh, they and their children, and bow themselves;
Then the
handmaids came near, they and their children,....
Being foremost, and next
to, Jacob, as Bilhah and her two sons, Dan and Naphtali, and Zilpah and her two
sons, Gad and Asher:
and they bowed
themselves;
in token of respect to
Esau, as Jacob had done before them, and set them an example, and no doubt
instructed them to do it.
Genesis 33:7. 7 And
Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph
and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.
YLT 7and Leah also draweth nigh,
and her children, and they bow themselves; and afterwards Joseph hath drawn
nigh with Rachel, and they bow themselves.
And Leah also
with her children came near, and bowed themselves,....
Who were in the next
division or company; their children were seven, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah, six sons and one daughter:
and after came
Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves;
it is observed that Joseph
is mentioned before his mother; it may be, because they might put him before
her in the procession, for greater safety; or she might present him to Esau,
being a child of little more than six years of age, and teach him how to make
his obeisance to him, which she also did herself.
Genesis 33:8. 8 Then
Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” And
he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.”
YLT 8And he saith, `What to thee
[is] all this camp which I have met?' and he saith, `To find grace in the eyes
of my lord.'
And he said,
what meanest thou by all this drove which I met?....
Not as being ignorant of
the design of it; for no doubt the several drovers, according to their
instructions from Jacob, had acquainted him with it; but he chose not to take
the present on what they said, but was willing to have it from Jacob's own
mouth, and that he might have the opportunity of refusing it:
and he said, these
are to find grace in the sight of my lord;
to gain his favour and
good will; and which, as it was a token of Jacob's good will to him, so, by his
acceptance of it, he would know that he bore the same to him also. It was usual
in the eastern countries to carry presents to friends, and especially to great
men, whenever visits were paid, as all travellers in general testify to be
still the usage in those parts, to this day.
Genesis 33:9. 9 But
Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”
YLT 9And Esau saith, `I have
abundance, my brother, let it be to thyself that which thou hast.'
And Esau said,
I have enough, my brother,....
Or "I have much"F15יש לי רב
"est mihi multum", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; "plurima",
V. L. "quamplurima", Vatablus. , and stand in no need of this
present, or have much more than thou hast:
keep that thou
hast unto thyself;
for the use of himself and
family, which is large; in this Esau showed himself not only not a covetous
man, but that he was truly reconciled to his brother, and needed not anything
from him, to make up the difference between them.
Genesis 33:10. 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 have seen your face as though I had seen
the face of God, and you were pleased with me.
YLT 10And Jacob saith, `Nay, I
pray thee, if, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, then thou hast
received my present from my hand, because that I have seen thy face, as the seeing
of the face of God, and thou art pleased with me;
And Jacob said,
nay, I pray thee,....
Do not say so, as the
Targum of Jonathan supplies it, or do not refuse my present:
if now I have
found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand;
signifying, that the
acceptance of his present would be a token to him, and give him full
satisfaction that he bore a good will to him, and did not retain anger and
resentment against him:
for therefore I
have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God;
or of princes, as Onkelos,
as the face of some great personage, as he was; or as the face of an angel,
very pleasant and lovely; or as the face of God himself, he observing the love
and favour of God to him, in working upon the heart of Esau, and causing him to
carry it so lovingly to him; wherefore for this reason receive it, because I
have had such an agreeable sight of thee:
and thou wast
pleased with me;
accepted of me, and kindly
received me:
Genesis 33:11. 11 Please,
take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with
me, and because I have enough.” So he urged him, and he took it.
YLT 11receive, I pray thee, my
blessing, which is brought to thee, because God hath favoured me, and because I
have all [things];' and he presseth on him, and he receiveth,
Take, I pray
thee, my blessing that is brought to thee,....
The present he had sent
him, now carrying home to his house, which was a part of what God had blessed
Jacob with; and which he from a beneficent generous spirit gave his brother,
wishing the blessing of God to go along with it; it was an insinuation, and so
he would have it taken, that he wished him all happiness and prosperity:
because God
hath dealt graciously with me;
in giving him so much
substance, and now in giving him so much favour in the sight of Esau, whom he
dreaded:
and because I
have enough;
a sufficiency of all good
things, being thoroughly contented with his state and circumstance; or "I
have all things"F16יש לי כל "sunt mihi
omnia", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Vatablus, Drusius, Cartwright. , all
kind of good things, everything that was necessary for him; the expression is
stronger than Esau's; and indeed Jacob had besides a large share of temporal
mercies, all spiritual ones; God was his covenant God and Father, Christ was
his Redeemer, the Spirit his sanctifier; he had all grace bestowed on him, and
was an heir of glory:
and he urged
him, and he took it:
being pressing on him, or
importunate with him, he accepted of his present.
Genesis 33:12. 12 Then
Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.”
YLT 12and saith, `Let us journey
and go on, and I go on before thee.'
And he said,
let us take our journey, and let us go,....
To Seir, where Esau lived,
and whither he invited Jacob to stop a while, and refresh himself and his
family:
and I will go
before thee;
to show him the way to his
palace, and to protect him on the road from all dangers; or "besides
thee"F17לנגדך "e regione
tui", Montanus, Fagius, Drusius; "a latere tuo", Vatablus;
"juxta te", Cartwright. , alongside of him, keeping equal pace with
him, thereby showing great honour and respect, as well as in order to converse
with him as they, travelled.
Genesis 33:13. 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.
YLT 13And he saith unto him, `My
lord knoweth that the children [are] tender, and the suckling flock and the
herd [are] with me; when they have beaten them one day, then hath all the flock
died.
And he said
unto him, my lord knoweth the children are tender,....
The eldest being but
thirteen years of age, and the youngest about six; and Esau might easily
perceive by their stature that they were young and tender, and not able to bear
either riding or walking very fast:
and the flocks
and herds with young are with me;
or "upon me"F18עלי "super me", Montanus, Vatablus,
"incumbere mihi", Junius & Tremellius, so Aben Ezra. ; the charge
of them was upon him, it was incumbent on him to take care of them, and
especially in the circumstances in which they were, being big with young, both
sheep and kine; or "suckling", giving milk to their young, as the
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and so having lambs and calves, some of them
perhaps just yeaned and calved, they required more attendance and greater care
in driving them, not being able to travel far in a day:
and if men
should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die;
if he, and the servants
under him, should push them on too fast, beyond their strength, even but one
day, all in the above circumstances would be in danger of being lost through
overmuch fatigue and weariness.
Genesis 33:14. 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, are able to endure,
until I come to my lord in Seir.”
YLT 14Let my lord, I pray thee,
pass over before his servant, and I -- I lead on gently, according to the foot
of the work which [is] before me, and to the foot of the children, until that I
come unto my lord, to Seir.'
Let my lord, I
pray thee, pass over before his servant,....
He desired in a very
respectable manner that he would not keep his pace in complaisance to him, but
proceed on in his journey, and go on with his men, and he with his family and
flocks would follow after as fast as he could, and their circumstances would
admit of:
and I will lead
on softly;
slowly, gently, easily,
step by step:
according as
the cattle that goeth before me, and the children be able to endure;
or "according to the
foot"F19לרגל "ad pedem",
Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Cartwright. of them; of the cattle, whom
he calls the "work"F20המלאכה
"operis", Montanus, Munster, Fagius, Drusius, Cartwright, Schmidt. ,
because his business lay in the care of them, and these were the chief of his
substance; and of the children, as the feet of each of them were able to
travel; or because of them, for the sake of them, as Aben Ezra, consulting
their strength, he proposed to move on gently, like both a wise, careful, and
tender father of his family, and shepherd of his flock:
until I come
unto my lord unto Seir;
whither, no doubt, he
intended to come when he parted with Esau; but for reasons which after appeared
to him he declined it: or more probably he did go thither then, or quickly
after; though the Scripture makes no mention of it, he might go with some of
his servants directly, and send his family, flocks, and herds, under the care
of other servants, forward on their journey, and quickly come up to them again;
for that he should tell a lie is not likely, nor does he seem to be under any
temptation to it: and besides, it would have been dangerous to have disobliged
his brother when on his borders, who could easily have come upon him again with
four hundred men, and picked a quarrel with him for breach of promise, and
destroyed him and his at once.
Genesis 33:15. 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? Let me find favor in the sight of
my lord.”
YLT 15And Esau saith, `Let me, I
pray thee, place with thee some of the people who [are] with me;' and he said,
`Why [is] this? I find grace in the eyes of my lord.'
And Esau said,
let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me,....
To show him the way, and
guard him on the road, and he appear the more honourable when he entered into
Seir:
and he said,
what needeth it?
Jacob saw not the
necessity of it; he knew the direct way very probably; he thought himself in no
danger, since he was at peace with Esau, and he did not affect the grandeur of
an equipage:
let me find
grace in the sight of my lord;
having his favour and good
will, that was enough for him; and among the rest of the favours he received
from him, he begged this might be added, that he might be excused retaining any
of his retinue with him.
Genesis 33:16. 16 So
Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.
YLT 16And turn back on that day
doth Esau on his way to Seir;
So Esau
returned that day on his way unto Seir.
Took his leave of Jacob the
same day he met him, and proceeded on in his journey towards Seir; whether he
arrived there the same day is not certain, probably it was more than a day's
journey.
Genesis 33:17. 17 And
Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his
livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.[a]
YLT 17and Jacob hath journeyed to
Succoth, and buildeth to himself a house, and for his cattle hath made booths,
therefore hath he called the name of the place Succoth.
And Jacob
journeyed to Succoth,....
Perhaps after he had been
at Seir, and stayed there some little time. Succoth was on the other side of
Jordan, so called by anticipation, for it had its name from what follows; as
yet there was no city built here, or at least of this name; afterwards there
was, it lay in a valley, and belonged to Sihon king of Heshbon, and was given
to the tribe of Gad, Joshua 13:27; it is
mentioned along with Penuel, and was not far from it, Judges 8:8. It is
said to be but two miles distant from itF21Bunting's Travels, p. 72.
, but one would think it should be more:
and built him
an house, and made booths for his cattle;
an house for himself and
family, and booths or tents for his servants or shepherds, and for the cattle
they had the care of, some for one, and some for the other. This he did with an
intention to stay some time here, as it should seem; and the Targum of Jonathan
says he continued here a whole year, and Jarchi eighteen months, a winter and
two summers; but this is all uncertain:
therefore the
name of the place is called Succoth;
from the booths or tents
built here, which this word signifies.
Genesis 33:18. 18 Then
Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of
Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city.
YLT 18And Jacob cometh in to
Shalem, a city of Shechem, which [is] in the land of Canaan, in his coming from
Padan-Aram, and encampeth before the city,
And Jacob came
to Shalem, a city of Shechem,....
Not Salem, of which
Melchizedek was king, much less Jerusalem, for it was forty miles from itF23Bunting's
Travels, p. 75. ; more likely Salim near Aenon, where John was baptizing, John 3:23; though
it perhaps is the same with Shechem; for the words may be read, he "came
to Shalem, the city Shechem", a city which Hamor had built, and called by
the name of his son Shechem, the same with Sychar, John 4:5; this was
on this side Jordan, and therefore Jacob must have passed over that river,
though no mention is made of it; it is said to be about eight miles from
SuccothF24Ib. p. 72. : though some think Shalem is not the name of a
place, but an appellative, and to be rendered "safe and
sound", or "whole"; and so the JewishF25Targum Jon.
Jarchi, Aben Ezra & Ben Gersom in loc. writers generally understand it of
his coming in peace, health, and safety:
which is
in the land of Canaan;
it belonged to that tribe
of the Canaanites called Hivites; for Hamor, the father of Shechem, from whom
it had its name, was an Hivite, Genesis 34:2, so
that Jacob was now got into the land of Canaan, his own country, and where his
kindred dwelt:
when he came
from Padanaram;
from Mesopotamia, from
Haran there; Shechem was the first place in the land of Canaan he came to, when
he came from thence, and whither he came in the greatest safety, he himself,
wives, children, and servants, in good health, without any loss of any of his
cattle and substance; and without any ill thing befalling: him all the way
thither, being delivered from Laban and Esau, and from every danger, and from
every enemy: and to signify this is this clause added, which may seem otherwise
superfluous:
and pitched his
tent before the city;
the city of Shechem, not
in it, but near it.
Genesis 33:19. 19 And
he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children
of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money.
YLT 19and he buyeth the portion
of the field where he hath stretched out his tent, from the hand of the sons of
Hamor, father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitah;
And he bought a
parcel of a field,....
Not the whole, but a part
of it; this he did, though he was heir of the whole country, because, as yet,
the time was not come for him or his to take possession of it:
where he had
spread his tent;
the ground that it stood
upon, and what was adjoining to it, for the use of his cattle: this he bought
at the hand of
the children of Hamor;
of some one of them, in
whose possession it was, and perhaps with the consent of the rest, and before
them, as witnesses:
for an hundred
pieces of money;
Onkelos, the Septuagint,
Vulgate Latin, Samaritan, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it a hundred lambs
or sheep, cattle being used to be given in exchange for things in trade and
commerce; but as money was in use before the times of Jacob, and Stephen
expresses it as a "sum of money", Acts 7:16; and this
best agrees with the use of the word in Job 42:11, the only
place besides this, excepting Joshua 24:32, in
which it is used, it seems best so to interpret it here; and the pieces of
money might be such as were of the value of a lamb or sheep, or rather had the
figure of one impressed upon them. Laban, from whom Jacob might have them, or
his neighbours, and also Jacob himself, being shepherds, might choose thus to
impress their money; but the exact value of these pieces cannot be ascertained:
the Jewish writers generally interpret them of a "meah", which was
the value of one penny of our money, and twenty of them went to a shekel; so
that a hundred of these must make a very small and contemptible sum to purchase
a piece of ground with.
Genesis 33:20. 20 Then
he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.[b]
YLT 20and he setteth up there an
altar, and proclaimeth at it God -- the God of Israel.
And he erected
there an altar,....
To offer sacrifice upon to
God, by way of thanksgiving, for the many mercies he had received since he went
out of the land of Canaan, whither he was now returned; and especially for his
safety in journeying hither from Padanaram, and for deliverance from Laban and Esau,
and for all other favours that he and his had been partakers of. And this he
also erected for the sake of religious worship, to be continued in his family;
he intending to reside here for some time, as appears by the purchase he had
made, and as it is certain he did:
and called it
Elelohe-Israel:
God, the God of Israel;
that is, he called the altar the altar of God, who is the God of Israel, who
had been his God, his preserver and protector; and had lately given him the
name of Israel, and had made good what answered to it, and was designed by it,
that as he had had power with God, and prevailed, so he should with man; and as
a memorial of all these favours and mercies, he erected this altar, and devoted
it to God and his service, and called it by this name: or "he called upon
God, the God of Israel", as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions; he
prayed unto him at the time he offered sacrifice on the altar, and gave him
praise for all the great and good things he had done for him. Jacob must have stayed
at Succoth, and at this place, many years, especially at the latter; since,
when he came into those parts, Dinah was a child of little more than six years
of age, and Simeon and Levi were very young, not above eleven or twelve years
of age; and yet, before he left Shechem, Dinah was marriageable, and Simeon and
Levi were grown strong and able bodied men, and did a most strange exploit in
slaying all the males in Shechem, as recorded in the next chapter.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Genesis 33:17
Literally Booths
b.
Genesis 33:20
Literally God, the God of Israel