Genesis 33:1

1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and beheld, and lo! Esau his brother coming, and four hundred men with him; and Jacob divided the children to Lea and to Rachel, and the two handmaidens.

Genesis 33:1 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 33:1

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 33:1 In-Context

1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and beheld, and lo! Esau his brother coming, and four hundred men with him; and Jacob divided the children to Lea and to Rachel, and the two handmaidens.

2 And he put the two handmaidens and their children with the first, and Lea and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.

3 But he advanced himself before them, and did reverence to the ground seven times, until he drew near to his brother.

4 And Esau ran on to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they both wept.

5 And Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, and said, What are these to thee? And he said, The children with which God has mercifully blessed thy servant.

Footnotes

• [a]. Gr. looked up with.