CHAPTER XXXIII _Esau, with four hundred men, meets Jacob_, 1. _He places his children under their respective mothers,_ _passes over before them, and bows himself to his brother_, 2, 3. _Esau receives him with great affection_, 4. _Receives the homage of the handmaids_, Leah, Rachel, _and_ _the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 33:2. _HE PUT THE HANDMAIDS AND THEIR CHILDREN FOREMOST_] There is something so _artificial_ in this arrangement of Jacob's family, that it must have had some peculiar _design_. Was Jacob still apprehensive of danger, and put those foremost whom he least esteemed, that if the foremost... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 33:4. _ESAU RAN TO MEET HIM_] How sincere and genuine is this conduct of Esau, and at the same time how magnanimous! He had buried all his resentment, and forgotten all his injuries; and receives his brother with the strongest demonstrations, not only of forgiveness, but of fraternal a... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 33:10. _RECEIVE MY PRESENT AT MY HAND_] Jacob could not be certain that he had found favour with Esau, unless the present had been received; for in accepting it Esau necessarily became his _friend_, according to the custom of those times, and in that country. In the eastern countries,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 33:14. _UNTIL I COME UNTO MY LORD UNTO SEIR._] It is very likely that Jacob was perfectly sincere in his expressed purpose of visiting Esau at Seir, but it is as likely that circumstances afterwards occurred that rendered it either improper or impracticable; and we find that Esau after... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 33:17. _JOURNEYED TO SUCCOTH_] So called from סכת _succoth_, the _booths_ or _tents_ which Jacob erected there for the resting and convenience of his family, who in all probability continued there for some considerable time.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 33:18. _AND JACOB CAME TO SHALEM, A CITY OF SHECHEM_] The word שלם _shalem_, in the Samaritan שלום _shalom_, should be translated here _in peace_, or _in safety_. After resting some time at Succoth, which was necessary for the safety of his flocks and the comfort of his family, he got... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 33:19. _FOR A HUNDRED PIECES OF MONEY._] The original, במאה קשיטה _bemeah kesitah_, has been a matter of long and learned discussion among critics. As _kesitah_ signifies a lamb, it may imply that Jacob gave the Hamorites _one hundred lambs_ for the field; but if it be the same transa... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 33:20. _AND HE ERECTED THERE AN ALTAR_] It appears that Jacob had a very correct notion of the _providence_ and _mercy_ of God; hence he says, Genesis 33:5: _The children which God hath_ GRACIOUSLY _given thy servant_; and in Genesis 33:11 he attributes all his _substance_ to the boun... [ Continue Reading ]