CHAPTER 33

(1739 B.C.)

RECONCILIATION

¹And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah (those who belonged to Leah), and unto Rachel (those who belonged to Rachel), and unto the two handmaids (etc.).

²And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost (those he considered his greatest love were at the rear).

³And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

⁴And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept (the action of Esau shows how groundless were Jacobs fears, and how needless his plans).

⁵And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with you? And he said, The children which God has graciously given your servant. (It is obvious that Esau is a powerful Chieftain. How so sad that this man did not see the great spiritual truths. In that case, it would have been the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Esau. But such was not to be!)

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

⁷And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

⁸And he said, What is the meaning of all these droves which I met? And he said (Jacob said), These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.

⁹And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that you have unto yourself.

¹⁰And Jacob said, No, I pray you, if now I have found grace in your sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen your face, as though I had seen the Face of God, and you were pleased with me.

¹¹Take, I pray you, my blessing that is brought to you; because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it. (Esau accepting the gift, as well, stated that he had accepted Jacob, and there were no hard feelings.)

¹²And he said (Esau said), Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before you.

¹³And he (Jacob) said unto him, My lord knows that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.

¹⁴Let my lord, I pray you, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goes before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir (Jacob never did get to Seir).

¹⁵And Esau said, Let me now leave with you some of the folk who are with me. And he said, There is no need! let me find grace in the sight of my lord.

¹⁶So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

CANAAN

¹⁷And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house (this is the first mention of a house as it regards the Patriarchs), and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. (Jacob went to Succoth. But the Lord had not said, I am the God of Succoth, but rather, I am the God of Beth-el. Events will prove that Jacob was not in the Will of God.)

¹⁸And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city (referred to the fact that he was claiming this area as his domicile).

¹⁹And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechems father, for an hundred pieces of money.

²⁰And he erected there an Altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel. (Jacob erects an Altar at Shechem, for the conscience is uneasy without religious forms, but the Divinely chosen place for the Altar was Beth-el.)