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Jacob's meeting with Esau and the former's arrival in Canaan Gen.33:1–2. Jacob looked and saw, and behold, Esau [his brother] was coming, and with him four hundred men. And [Jacob] separated the children of Leah and Rachel and the two maidservants. And he put the [two] maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind. Despite the gracious encouragement from above, Jacob again, as in Gen. 32:3–8, 13–21 does not neglect human precautions: he arranges the members of his family, in view of the approach of Esau, in order according to the degree of their proximity to the heart of Jacob - slaves with their sons, Leah with her children, Rachel with Joseph. Not without a purpose, perhaps, he places the children next to their mother, wanting, as it were, to pity Esau’s heart; in any case, by placing his favorites behind, Jacob wants to give them the opportunity to escape in case Esau’s wrath fell on the front ranks of Jacob’s family. Gen.33:3. And he himself went before them and bowed to the ground seven times, approaching his brother. Prostrations to the ground are a common way of greeting superiors in the ancient and modern East. Falling on his face before Esau 7 times (the number of completeness, perfection, etc.), Jacob expresses by this the absence of proud plans in him - to dominate over his older brother and, as it were, Jacob's repentance for the injustice he committed regarding Esau when receiving the blessing. Gen.33:4. And Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they both wept. Although belligerent and somewhat wild in spirit, Esau had a kind heart and was capable of sublime manifestations of brotherly love and self-sacrifice, to which Jacob responded in full reciprocity: both, touched, cried. Gen.33:5–8. And [Esau] looked and saw the wives and children and said: Who is this with you? Jacob said: The children whom God has given to your servant. And the maidservants and their children came and bowed down; Leah and her children came up and bowed; Joseph and Rachel finally approached and bowed. And Esau said, Why do you have this multitude that I have met? And Jacob said, That [thy servant] may find favor in the sight of my master. The introduction of all members of his family and Jacob's further speech in relation to Esau show that Jacob is taking measures to remove from himself any suspicion of dislike for Esau. At the same time, he does not stop at such an inadmissible, in our opinion, hyperbole as the expression (v. 10): “I saw your face as if someone had seen the face of God” - quite common and understandable, however, in the mouth of an ancient Jew (cf. Gen. 23:6; 2 Sam. 14:17). Gen.33:9–11. Esau said: I have much, my brother; let it be yours. Jacob said: Nay, if I have found favor in your sight, accept my gift from my hand, for I have seen your face as if someone had seen the face of God, and you were favored towards me; accept my blessing that I brought to you, because God has given it to me, and I have everything. And he begged him and he took it There is a noble struggle between the brothers among themselves: Esau, who has probably already received part of his father’s property, sincerely admits that he has no need, and invites Jacob to keep the cattle he has selected for himself (v. 9), while Jacob, exposing the high joy of meeting Esau and his merciful attitude towards him (v. 10), insists on Esau accepting a “blessing” (berachah - the usual name for any offering as a sign of respect and gratitude, 1 Samuel 25:27; 2 Kings 5:15) him (as if in compensation for the spiritual blessing taken from him). “Don’t refuse,” he says, to accept it; all this was given to me by God; He is the giver of everything I have. Through this, Jacob imperceptibly made him understand what kind of divine providence he was honored with, and disposed him to show him great respect” (John Chrysostom, Bes. 58, p. 633). Gen.33:12–14. and said: Let us rise and go; and I will go before you. Jacob said to him: My lord knows that children are tender, and my flocks and herds are milkable: if you drive them one day, then all the cattle will die; Let my master go before his servant, and I will go slowly, as the cattle that go before me go, and as the children go, and I will come to my master in Seir. The last minutes of the meeting and separation of Esau and Jacob are depicted here. Esau, as a sign of sincere brotherly affection, invites Jacob to continue the journey together (v. 12), but Jacob rejects this offer under the plausible pretext that rapid movement with Esau and his companions could be disastrous for his young and tender children, and for livestock, which also contains young animals and milking wombs (v. 13); in fact, Jacob apparently fears that peace with his brother might be disturbed during their further journey together. In exchange for this, he invites Esau to go forward alone, and he himself expresses his intention to go slowly, as small children and livestock will allow, and promises to come to him in Seir. Regarding this promise of Jacob, apparently not fulfilled by him (v. 17) due to lack of confidence in Esau, R. Abugu says: “We searched in all Scripture and did not find that Jacob ever came to Esau on Mount Seir; is it possible, however, that Jacob, who was truthful, could deceive Esau? No! When will he come to him? In the future, see Avd. 1:17, 21; Wed Mich. 7:20" (Beresch. r. Par. 78, s.335). Gen.33:15. Esau said: I will leave with you some of the people who are with me. Jacob said: What is this for? If only I could gain favor in the eyes of my lord! Esau invites Jacob to send several of his people with him - for the sake of protection or to show honor, as a retinue: but Jacob refuses this courtesy of his brother, expressing the words: “What is this for?” or the thought that his own caravan is very extensive and quite strong, or the hope of higher protection from God and the Angels (cf. Gen. 32:1). “If only I could gain favor” is a polite form of refusal in front of a high-ranking person (cf. Gen. 30:27). Gen.33:16. And Esau returned that same day on his way to Seir. Then Esau leaves Jacob, whom he probably did not meet until the death of Isaac (Gen. 35:28–29). Gen.33:17. And Jacob went to Succoth, and built himself a house, and made huts for his cattle. From this he named the place Succoth. Jacob and his caravan come to Succoth, more precisely: to a place later called by this name and located, according to the view accepted by most interpreters, on the eastern side of the Jordan, south of Penuel and closer to the Jordan (Judges 8:4, 14), in the tribe of Gad (Joshua 13:24, 27); However, there was subsequently a city of this name on the western side of the Jordan (1 Kings 7:46; 2 Chronicles 4:17). Some (Lange and others) see this last point here, guided by the consideration that it is incredible that Jacob would stop for a long time at almost the Jordan itself, without crossing it into Canaan. But since only the next. In verse 18, it is noted about Shechem that it lay in Canaan (west of the Jordan), then we can prefer the opinion of those who place Succoth (v. 18) on the eastern side of the Jordan. Situated in his camp for a more or less long period of time (according to the rabbis, Jacob lived here for about a year and a half - Beresch. r. Par. 58, s. 386), Jacob builds a house (bajth) for himself, and booths (succoth) for the livestock - the latter, of course, were not tents or shelters for the habitation of people, in the sense in which the term succoth is usually used (Lev. 23:42; Isaiah 4:6), - they were, rather, fences or huts for corralling livestock. Gen.33:18. Jacob, returning from Mesopotamia, safely came to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, and settled down in front of the city. After approximately two years' stay in Succoth, Jacob arrives safely (unharmed, schalem) in Shechem and thus ends his journey from Mesopotamia and enters the land of his fathers - Canaan. The expression “safely” or “safe and sound” was understood by Jewish and some Christian interpreters as an indication of the healing of Jacob’s thigh from a wound after a mysterious struggle. LXX (ἤλθεν Ιακωβ εἰς Σαλημ πόλιν Σικιμων), Vulgata (transivit ih Salem, urbem Sichimorum), Syriac text (Peshito) and Slavic accept Heb. schalem for a proper name; Likewise, some interpreters consider this word to be the proper name of the area - either near Shechem (the village of Salim is still near Shechem), or even Salem-Jerusalem. But the latter was far from Shechem; the Old Testament does not know the area of ​​Salem near Shechem. In the Samaritan Pentateuch, instead of: schalem it reads: schalom, peace, prosperity, which directly resembles the words of prayer - Jacob’s vow (Gen. 28:21) about his return to his father’s house beschalom, in peace. The Lord fulfilled this desire of Jacob, returning him in peace to Shechem. Entering his native land, upon arriving from Mesopotamia, Jacob passes the same path and the same points as Abraham: Shechem (Gen. 33:18, cf. Gen. 12:6), Bethel (Gen. 35:1–15, cf. Gen. 12:8), finally, Hebron (Gen. 35:27, cf. Gen. 13:18). Thus began the second Canaanite period of Jacob's life. Gen.33:19. And he bought part of the field on which he pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred coins. Stopping at the site of Abraham's first vision (Gen. 12:6–7), for a more or less long time, Jacob, due to the possible lack of free fields and the dissatisfaction of the inhabitants with the stranger, is forced to buy a plot of land near Shechem from the inhabitants of the city for 100 kesit. Qesitah is probably a designation for the unit of weight of a coin (found, in addition to this place, in Joshua 24:32; Job 42:11), equal, according to Gesenius, 4 shekels (100 kesitah according to Gezen. = 400 shekels of Abraham, Gen. 23:15–16). Translations LXX, Vulg., Syriac, Slav. read: “100 lambs” - a translation in favor of which one can only cite the general consideration that cattle among the ancients replaced money for some time (from which Latin pecunia from pecus). If Abraham acquired a burial place for his wife and himself in Hebron, then Jacob in Shechem acquires a field to live on, thereby expressing faith in the divine promise of the inheritance of Canaan by his descendants. Afterwards, the bones of Joseph were buried at this place (Joshua 24:32); in Gospel times (John 4:5–6) and even now Jacob's well near Shechem is mentioned. Gen.33:20. And he built an altar there, and called on the name of the Lord God of Israel. Like Abraham, who upon his arrival in Canaan erected an altar in Shechem (Gen. 12:7), Jacob also erects an altar here, now calling on God, as already the God of Israel, i.e. his own, and not just the God of the fathers. You might be interested in: