Genesis 33:14

14 praecedat dominus meus ante servum suum et ego sequar paulatim vestigia eius sicut videro posse parvulos meos donec veniam ad dominum meum in Seir

Genesis 33:14 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 33:14

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" F19 of them; of the cattle, whom he calls the "work" F20, 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.


FOOTNOTES:

F19 (lgrl) "ad pedem", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Cartwright.
F20 (hkalmh) "operis", Montanus, Munster, Fagius, Drusius, Cartwright, Schmidt.

Genesis 33:14 In-Context

12 ait gradiamur simul eroque socius itineris tui
13 dixit Iacob nosti domine mi quod parvulos habeam teneros et oves ac boves fetas mecum quas si plus in ambulando fecero laborare morientur una die cuncti greges
14 praecedat dominus meus ante servum suum et ego sequar paulatim vestigia eius sicut videro posse parvulos meos donec veniam ad dominum meum in Seir
15 respondit Esau oro te ut de populo qui mecum est saltem socii remaneant viae tuae non est inquit necesse hoc uno indigeo ut inveniam gratiam in conspectu domini mei
16 reversus est itaque illo die Esau itinere quo venerat in Seir
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.