Book: [[Genesis]] Next chapter: [[Genesis 34]] # Overview ## [[Jacob]] meets [[Esau]] - After wrestling at [[Peniel]] (see [[Genesis 32]]), [[Jacob]] lifts his eyes and sees [[Esau]] approaching with four-hundred men - [[Jacob]] arranges his household: handmaids and their children first, then [[Leah]] with her children, and last [[Rachel]] with [[Joseph]] - Stepping ahead, [[Jacob]] bows to the ground seven times until he reaches [[Esau]] - [[Esau]] runs, embraces [[Jacob]], falls on his neck, and they weep together ## The Gift and Refusal - [[Jacob]] presses [[Esau]] to accept the droves of livestock, calling them “my blessing” (i.e., restitution) - [[Esau]] first declines (“I have plenty”) but yields after [[Jacob]] insists - [[Esau]] offers to travel together or leave men as an escort; [[Jacob]] politely refuses, citing the slow pace of the young and the flocks ## Separate Ways - [[Esau]] returns southward to [[Edom]] (Seir) - [[Jacob]] journeys to [[Succoth]] (“Booths”) and builds shelters for his herds - Crossing into [[Canaan]], [[Jacob]] camps before the city of [[Shechem]] - He purchases a field from the sons of [[Hamor]] father of [[Shechem]] for one hundred qesitahs - [[Jacob]] erects an altar, naming it **El-Elohe-[[Israel]]** (“God, the God of [[Israel]]”) # Details ## Sequence of [[Jacob]]’s approach | Order | Group | Note | | ----- | ------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- | | 1 | Handmaids [[Zilpah]] & [[Bilhah]] with their sons | Vanguard | | 2 | [[Leah]] and her six sons (+ daughter [[Dinah]]) | Middle | | 3 | [[Rachel]] and [[Joseph]] | Rear, most protected | | 4 | [[Jacob]] himself | Bows seven times | # Questions - Why does [[Jacob]] refuse [[Esau]]’s escort and never reach (Seir) [[Edom]] as promised? - Does [[Esau]]’s embrace represent complete forgiveness, or is later separation significant?