Bereshis 33

1 3 And Ya’akov lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, hinei, Esav came, and with him arba me’ot ish (four hundred men). And he divided the yeladim unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two shefachot.

2 And he put the shefachot and their yeladim rishonah, and Leah and her yeladim acharonim, and Rachel and Yosef acharonim.

3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground sheva pe’amim, until he came near to achiv (his brother).

4 And Esav ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his tzavar (neck), and kissed him; and they wept.

5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the nashim and the yeladim; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The yeladim which Elohim hath graciously given thy eved.

6 Then the shefachot came near, they and their yeladim, and they bowed themselves.

7 And Leah also with her yeladim came near, and bowed themselves; and after came Yosef near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

8 And he said, What meanest thou by all this machaneh which I met? And he said, These are to find chen (grace) in the eyes of adoni.

9 And Esav said, I have enough, achi (my brother); keep that thou hast unto thyself.

10 And Ya’akov said, No, now, if I have found chen (grace) in thy sight, then receive my minchah at my yad inasmuch as I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the p’nei Elohim (the face of G-d) vatirtzeini (and thou wast pleased to accept me, thou wast appeased by me).

11 Accept, now, my brocha that is brought to thee; because Elohim hath dealt graciously with me, and because yesh li khol (there is to me all, my needs are met). And he urged him, and he accepted.

12 And he said, Nise’ah (let us take our journey), and let us go, I will go next to thee.

13 And he said unto him, Adoni knoweth that the yeladim are tender and the nursing tzon and bakar are upon me; and if men should overdrive them yom echad, all the tzon will die.

14 Let now adoni, pass over before his eved; and I will lead on slowly, according to the pace of the drove that goeth before me and the pace the yeladim are able to endure, until I come unto adoni at Seir.

15 And Esav said, Let me now leave with thee some of HaAm that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? Let me find chen in the sight of adoni.

16 So Esav returned that day on his derech unto Seir.

17 And Ya’akov journeyed to Sukkot, and built him a bais, and made sukkot for his mikneh; therefore the shem of the makom is called Sukkot.

18 And Ya’akov came shalem to Ir Shechem, which is in eretz Kena’an, when he came from Padan Aram; and encamped before the Ir.

19 And he bought a chelkat hasadeh (piece of land), where he had pitched there his ohel, from the yad Bnei Chamor Avi Shechem, for a hundred pieces of kesitah (money).

20 And he erected there a Mizbe’ach, and called it El Elohei Yisroel.

Bereshis 33 Commentary

Chapter 33

The friendly meeting of Jacob and Esau. (1-16) Jacob comes to Succoth and Shalem, He builds an altar. (17-20)

Verses 1-16 Jacob, having by prayer committed his case to God, went on his way. Come what will, nothing can come amiss to him whose heart is fixed, trusting in God. Jacob bowed to Esau. A humble, submissive behaviour goes far towards turning away wrath. Esau embraced Jacob. God has the hearts of all men in his hands, and can turn them when and how he pleases. It is not in vain to trust in God, and to call upon him in the day of trouble. And when a man's ways please the Lord he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Esau receives Jacob as a brother, and much tenderness passes between them. Esau asks, Who are those with thee? To this common question, Jacob spoke like himself, like a man whose eyes are ever directed towards the Lord. Jacob urged Esau, though his fear was over, and he took his present. It is well when men's religion makes them generous, free-hearted, and open-handed. But Jacob declined Esau's offer to accompany him. It is not desirable to be too intimate with superior ungodly relations, who will expect us to join in their vanities, or at least to wink at them, though they blame, and perhaps mock at, our religion. Such will either be a snare to us, or offended with us. We shall venture the loss of all things, rather than endanger our souls, if we know their value; rather than renounce Christ, if we truly love him. And let Jacob's care and tender attention to his family and flocks remind us of the good Shepherd of our souls, who gathers the lambs with his arm, and carries them in his bosom, and gently leads those that are with young, ( Isaiah 40:11 ) . As parents, teachers or pastors, we should all follow his example.

Verses 17-20 Jacob did not content himself with words of thanks for God's favour to him, but gave real thanks. Also he kept up religion, and the worship of God in his family. Where we have a tent, God must have an altar. Jacob dedicated this altar to the honour of El-elohe-Israel, God, the God of Israel; to the honour of God, the only living and true God; and to the honour of the God of Israel, as a God in covenant with him. Israel's God is Israel's glory. Blessed be his name, he is still the mighty God, the God of Israel. May we praise his name, and rejoice in his love, through our pilgrimage here on earth, and for ever in the heavenly Canaan.

Chapter Summary

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, Ge 33:1-4; putting questions to Jacob concerning the women and children with him, who make their obeisance to him as Jacob had done before, Ge 33:5-7; 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, Ge 33:8-11; 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, Ge 33:12-14, and to leave some of his men with him to guard him, which Jacob judged unnecessary, upon which they parted friendly, Ge 33:15,16; 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, Ge 33:17-20.