Genesis 33

After years away and a night of wrestling with God, Jacob finally meets the brother he cheated. Esau greets him with tears and an embrace instead of the violence Jacob feared. Jacob then settles near Shechem, buys land, and builds an altar to God.

Genesis 33:1-2

Jacob sees Esau and four hundred men coming, and he still fears the worst. He arranges his family in order, with the servants and their children first and Rachel and Joseph last. The order shows whom he feared losing most and whom he loved best.

BSA: divided (“to cut or split, to separate”): Jacob splits his family into groups, hoping some would survive if Esau attacked.

See also: Genesis 32:6-8.

Genesis 33:3

Jacob walks ahead of his family and bows seven times as he draws near. This was the respect a humble servant paid to a king. The man who once schemed to rule over his brother now lowers himself before him, and he takes the first risk himself.

BSA: bowed (“to prostrate himself, to worship”): The word means lying low with the face to the ground, a posture of complete humility.

Hebrew: וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ (vayishtachu, H7812) — “and he bowed down.” The word pictures a full bow to the ground. It is the same word used for bowing before a king or before God.

See also: Genesis 27:29.

Genesis 33:4

Esau runs to meet him. He embraces him, kisses him, and they both weep. The reconciliation Jacob dreaded turns out to be a gift of mercy. Years of bitterness melt in a moment, and a wronged brother forgives freely.

BSA: ran (“with urgency and haste”): Esau does not wait to be approached. He hurries to welcome his brother. wept (“shed tears, mourned with sorrow”): Both brothers weep, which shows how deep the old wound and the relief of healing were.

See also: Luke 15:20.

Genesis 33:5

Esau asks about the women and children. Jacob answers that they are the children God has graciously given. He credits God, not himself, for his family. He also calls himself Esau’s servant, keeping the humble tone.

BSA: graciously given (“shown kindness to, favored”): Jacob sees his children as undeserved kindness from God.

Hebrew: חָנַן (chanan, H2603) — “to show favor, to be gracious.” This is the root behind the word for grace. Jacob calls each child an undeserved gift.

Genesis 33:6-7

Each group comes forward in turn and bows: the servants, then Leah, and last Rachel and Joseph. The family shows honor to Esau as Jacob had done. Joseph, still a boy, is the one who will later find his own brothers bowing to him.

See also: Genesis 37:7.

Genesis 33:8-9

Esau asks what the whole company of gifts was meant for. Jacob says it was to find favor with him. Esau answers warmly that he already has plenty and tells Jacob to keep his own. Esau’s generous spirit shows no trace of grudge.

BSA: favor (“graciousness, kindness”): Jacob wants Esau’s kind welcome, not merely peace. He seeks real acceptance. plenty (“more than enough, an abundance”): Esau says he has abundance and needs nothing from Jacob.

Genesis 33:10-11

Jacob presses Esau to accept the gift as a sign of true acceptance. He says that seeing Esau’s gracious face is like seeing the face of God. Having been wrestled into humility by God, he now knows mercy when he meets it. He is content because God has been gracious to him.

BSA: face (“presence, countenance”): To meet Esau’s kind face is, for Jacob, like meeting God’s own favor. gracious (“dealt graciously, shown kindness”): Jacob sees all his possessions as God’s kindness, and so he needs nothing more.

See also: Genesis 32:30.

Genesis 33:12-14

Esau offers to travel alongside and lead the way. Jacob politely declines, since the children are tender and the nursing animals could not be pushed hard. He promises to follow slowly and meet Esau at Seir. His concern for the weak shows a shepherd’s care.

BSA: frail (“tender, weak”): The children and young animals cannot keep a fast pace, so Jacob must lead gently.

See also: Isaiah 40:11.

Genesis 33:15-16

Esau offers some of his men as an escort, but Jacob again asks only for his goodwill. Esau returns to Seir that day. Jacob may have been wary of being too close to Esau. We are not told whether he ever went to Seir as promised.

BSA: Seir (“a mountain in Idumaea, a place of hairy or shaggy terrain”): Seir is the hill country south of the Dead Sea where Esau’s family settled.

See also: Genesis 36:8.

Genesis 33:17

Jacob goes to Succoth instead and builds a house for himself and shelters for his animals. The place is named after the shelters. For a man used to tents, this is a sign of staying for a season, though not yet reaching his father’s home.

BSA: Succoth (“a place of booths, temporary shelters”): The name means huts made of branches. It records Jacob’s stay there.

Hebrew: סֻכֹּת (sukkot, H5523) — “booths, huts.” The word means simple shelters of branches. Israel later built the same kind of booths at a yearly feast to remember their journeys.

See also: Leviticus 23:42-43.

Genesis 33:18-19

Jacob arrives safely at Shechem in Canaan, the land God promised him. He camps outside the city and buys a piece of ground from Hamor’s sons for a hundred pieces of silver. This is the first land he owns in the promised country. Later, Joseph’s bones would be buried there.

BSA: safely (“in peace, without harm”): God brought Jacob through danger from Laban and Esau to arrive unharmed. purchased (“bought, acquired”): Jacob pays a fair price, which gave him lawful claim to the ground.

See also: Joshua 24:32; Acts 7:16.

Genesis 33:20

On the land he bought, Jacob builds an altar and names it El-Elohe-Israel, meaning God, the God of Israel. Israel is the new name God gave him at Peniel. He openly claims the Lord as his own God and worships him in the land of promise.

BSA: El-Elohe-Israel (“The God of Israel, the mighty God of the covenant”): Jacob uses his new name and ties it to the mighty God who made covenant with him.

See also: Genesis 32:28; Genesis 28:20-21.