Genesis 33

Jacob Meets Esau

¹Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two slave women.²³He put the slaves and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.⁴⁵He himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times until he approached his brother.⁶

⁷But Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. Then they wept.⁸⁹When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?” He answered, “The children God has graciously given your servant.”¹⁰¹¹Then the slaves and their children approached him and bowed down.¹²¹³Leah and her children also approached and bowed down, and then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down.¹⁴

¹⁵So Esau said, “What do you mean by this whole procession I met?” “To find favor with you, my lord,” he answered.¹⁶

¹⁷“I have enough, my brother,” Esau replied. “Keep what you have.”¹⁸

¹⁹But Jacob said, “No, please! If I have found favor with you, take this gift from me. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing God’s face, since you have accepted me.²⁰²¹Please take my present that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have everything I need.” So Jacob urged him until he accepted.²²

²³Then Esau said, “Let’s move on, and I’ll go ahead of you.”²⁴

²⁵Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and I have nursing flocks and herds. If they are driven hard for one day, the whole herd will die.²⁶²⁷Let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a pace suited to the livestock and the children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”²⁸

²⁹Esau said, “Let me leave some of my people with you.” But he replied, “Why do that? Please indulge me, my lord.”³⁰

³¹That day Esau started on his way back to Seir,³²³³but Jacob went to Succoth. He built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.³⁴

³⁵After Jacob came from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at Shechem in the land of Canaan and camped in front of the city.³⁶³⁷He purchased a section of the field where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver.³⁸³⁹And he set up an altar there and called it God, the God of Israel.⁴⁰