Genesis 34:7 T 37
Jacob Meets Esau
33
Jacob l ooked up and t here was Esau, coming with his four hundred
men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two fe
male servants. 2 He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah
and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 3 He himself went
on ahead and bowed down to the g
round seven times as he approached his
brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he t hrew his arms a
round
his neck and k
issed him. And they wept. 5 Then Esau l ooked up and saw the
women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked.
Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your ser
vant.”
6 Then the female servants and t heir children approached and b
owed
down. 7 Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came
Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.
8 Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?”
“To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said.
9 But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for
yourself.”
10 “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this
gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you
have received me favorably. 11 Please accept the present that was brought to
you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob
insisted, Esau accepted it.
12 Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”
13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and
that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they
are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. 14 So let my lord go on
ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the f locks and
herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”
15 Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.”
“But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my
lord.”
16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. 17 Jacob, however, went
to Sukkoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his live
stock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth. a
18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, b he arrived safely at the city of She
chem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 19 For a hundred pieces
of silver, c he b
ought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot
of ground where he p
itched his tent. 20 There he set up an altar and c alled it
El Elohe Israel. d
Dinah and the Shechemites
34
Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the
women of the land. 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler
of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3 His heart was drawn to Dinah
daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 And
Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”
5 When Jacob h
eard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were
in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing a
bout it until they came
home.
6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 7 Meanwhile,
Jacob’s sons had come in from the f ields as soon as they h
eard what had hap
pened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outra
geous t hing in e Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter — a thing that should
not be done.
a 17
Sukkoth means shelters. b 18 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia c 19 Hebrew
hundred kesitahs; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value. d 20 El
Elohe Israel can mean El is the God of Israel or mighty is the God of Israel. e 7 Or against