Genesis 33:6

6 Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.

Genesis 33:6 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 33:6

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 33:6 In-Context

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 these with thee? And he said, The children whom God hath graciously given thy servant.
6 Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
7 And Leah also and 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 company which I met? And he said, To find favor in the sight of my lord.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.