In this post, I’ll be doing an in-depth analysis of Genesis 33. Here, I will pick up where I left off in May, when I wrote about Jacob’s journey back home in Genesis 32. Recall that at this point in the biblical narrative, Jacob, his wives, and his children are heading back to Canaan. While Jacob was outside the Promised Land, the Lord multiplied him into a large family and protected him from harm, but He has now commanded Jacob to return home. On the way, before confronting his older brother, Esau, Jacob came face to face with his Maker in the form of a wrestling match.
Of course, the struggle with the Lord was not for God’s sake but for Jacob’s. The encounter allowed him to discern what was in his own heart: that even though his health and strength were crippled, he was committed to following the Lord’s instruction, trusting that God would fulfill His promise. And so, Jacob wrestled with God and prevailed. The question now becomes: When Jacob comes face-to-face with his older brother, Esau, will he have the same success?
That brings us to Genesis 33. Verses 1–3 say:
Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. He put the maids and their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. But he himself passed on ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
Esau is now meeting his younger brother for the first time after more than a decade. Recall that Jacob already knew Esau was approaching: Genesis 32:6 explains that messengers informed Jacob that Esau and four hundred men were on their way. The same verse tells us that Jacob was greatly afraid, which is understandable. The last time Jacob interacted with Esau, he was enraged and set out to murder Jacob. That, of course, is because Jacob conspired with their mother to steal a blessing from their father. Regardless, now is the so-called moment of truth. Indeed, Jacob may be fearful, but whatever emotions he feels do not paralyze him with inaction. Rather, facing an impending threat, Jacob does not retreat but continues in his plan.
Hence, in verses 1b–2, the text says, “So [Jacob] divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. He put the maids and their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.”
You see, speaking in general terms, the Old Testament often shows the readers by means of stories. The New Testament—aside from the Gospels—often tells the reader by means of indicatives or imperatives. What is clearly evident from these verses, then, is that Jacob had favorites. Rachel was his favorite wife, and Joseph was his favorite son. This is why he places them last, in the most secure position. This is an important point to take note of here because Jacob’s favoritism will continue in the lives of his twelve sons. Parental favoritism leaves a mark and can often cause strife between siblings.
Verses 3–11 say:
But [Jacob] himself passed on ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the maids came near [with their children, and they bowed down. Leah likewise came near with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed down. And he said, “What do you mean by all this company which I have met?” And he said, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own.” Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably. Please take my gift which has been brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have plenty.” Thus he urged him and he took it.
In ancient times, bowing down to the ground was typical behavior for a vassal who had an audience with a superior king. This gesture signals that Jacob is voluntarily both submitting to his older brother and showing him deference. What’s interesting is that when Isaac gives Jacob the blessing in Genesis 27:28–29, he says:
“Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and new wine; may peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you; be master of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you,
and blessed be those who bless you.”
Hence, Jacob bowing down to Esau means he is reversing the blessing that was illegitimately taken from Isaac. Of course, one man cannot reverse the divine promise that Esau would serve Jacob (Genesis 25:23). But Jacob’s bowing simply means that because he has found favor in God’s eyes, he can freely give favor to Esau. Jacob is free to humble himself before his older twin because Jacob has been humbled by God.
Even more, in verses 5 and 8, Jacob refers to himself as “Esau’s servant” and to his older brother as “my lord.” Additionally, in verse 11, Jacob implores his brother to take a gift. The Hebrew word for this (berakah) can also be translated as blessing. Meaning what? That symbolically, Jacob is now giving back what was stolen from his older brother. The recompense for a stolen blessing is also an outward sign of an inward heart change: that a life of stealing is over. The bowing and the gifting then both highlight true repentance on Jacob’s part. Genuine biblical repentance is not just a cheap apology; one of the signs of true repentance is costly obedience, with face-to-face confession and restitution, if possible. This repentance is bearing physical fruit because a relationship once characterized by bitter conflict is now filled with reconciliation.
What’s interesting is that in Genesis 32:20, Jacob’s original plan was to stay all the way in the back of his company, allowing the rest of his family to act as human shields. Yet now, the text tells us that Jacob “passed on ahead” of his family, so he was the first to meet Esau. What changed? Well, one answer is that between the original plan and now, Jacob wrestled with God. Having an encounter with the Lord always changes you to be more like God and less like yourself. It will create spiritual fruit (like faith and repentance). It will also restore a right vertical relationship to God, which is inextricably linked to horizontal relationships with other people; the two cannot be separated. As it says in Matthew 22:36–40,
Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And [Jesus] said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.
A right relationship with God also restores a person’s proper relationship to things (like material possessions). Hence, as a man who has wrestled with God, of course Jacob can let go of a great gift because repairing his broken relationship with his brother is more important.
Verse 4 says that “Esau ran to meet [Jacob] and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.” This verse is easy for us to read, but a huge transition for Jacob. All his fears, anxiety, and worries are dissolved with a hug and a kiss. I just [wrote] about Jacob’s heart transformation bearing fruits of outward change. What’s important not to miss is that Esau’s heart has also been altered. Remember that last we heard from Esau, his plan was to murder Jacob (Genesis 27:41). So how did Esau’s heart change? Providence.
As I have written before, there is no magic of time. Time is not a force itself that can change things. Time is merely the scale on which we measure how long the change takes. There has to be another force working on or in something to induce transformation. What’s the point? That in the many years Jacob and Esau spent apart, both men changed. Esau has certainly changed in his attitude toward his younger brother: He once wanted to kill his younger twin, but now he is embracing him. Again, the explanation for said transformation is providence. Surely, the Bible does not provide a narrative of what Esau was doing in the years before he reunited with his brother. But the Bible does tell us God’s providence is everywhere, always active. As Jesus says in Matthew 6:26–30,
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?
Proverbs 16:9 says:
The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
And Isaiah 14:24 says:
The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand.”
What is astonishing is that no one would ever call Jacob blameless in his actions toward his brother. Jacob sinned against Esau, and Esau was right to be upset. Yet even in Jacob’s absence and despite Jacob’s sin, God softened Esau’s heart over time. That relational transformation gives us great hope in the present.
In verse 8, Esau asks, “What do you mean by all this company which I have met?” Jacob answers, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” In other words, Esau brought an army of 400 men. Jacob brought an army of presents.
We see additional evidence that Esau has had a genuine change of heart toward his twin when, in verse 9, he says, “I have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own.” Now, Esau doesn’t view Jacob as an enemy but as his sibling. He’s no longer a threat but a family member. If Genesis were a soap opera, I’m sure there’s at least one person who would watch what happened in the brothers’ past and think, “Esau will never change. The brothers will never reconcile.” Well, the brutal reality is that in some cases, the problems that we have with other people stem from the problem we have in thinking about God. “But they won’t ever change” is an idea that we may tell ourselves to “let it go.” But is God so weak that He cannot soften a hard heart? By no means. The same God who made everything out of nothing can make something else from something.
All that being said, I don’t want to give the impression that Esau was regenerated when I write that he had a change of heart; he certainly did not have a spiritual change of heart, and he certainly was not a worshipper of God. In fact, Esau is an archetype of an ungodly person, and the Bible makes it very clear that Esau is not a member of the elect (see Malachi 1:2–3; Romans 9:13). To add to the point, let us now briefly analyze the brothers’ communication with each other in Genesis 33:1–11.
Notice that after not seeing his brother for years, it takes Jacob four words to mention God. In verse 5, he says, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Jacob then goes on to mention God three more times in the next six verses. The tone of his words expresses gratitude for grace and comes from a posture of humility; his opening statement reinforces the theme that he has much because of the Lord, not because of his works.
In contrast, Esau never mentions God. And he noticeably doesn’t mention his stolen blessing, either. In fact, he tells his brother, “I have enough” (Genesis 33:9). This implies that even without the covenantal blessing, he thinks, “I’m good.” This is a brutal fact of the unregenerate heart: They firmly believe they can manage fine without God.
Yet, in spite of all of this, Jacob still defers to his older brother with honor and respect. This echoes how Abraham treated the pagan king Abimelech (see Genesis 20 and 21).
In verse 10, Jacob tells his brother, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably.” What does Jacob mean when he looks in his brother’s face and says he sees it as one sees God’s face? I think the implication is that Jacob wrestled with God, saw Him face to face, and was spared. He now sees his dreaded brother face to face and is also spared. Jacob thus sees God’s work in the face of his sibling.
Before I move on to verses 12–17, allow me to make three observations on the text thus far.
First, as alluded to previously, your view of God will inform how you view things. Jacob was a godly man who had many resources. Because he had a “big” view of God and a relatively “small” view of things, this meant those things were useful and a means of service to God. He did not believe he had a right to such material prosperity because they were gifts of grace. In contrast, a person who has a “small” view of God and a “big” view of things will see God as a means to get more stuff. They believe they have a right to things, can get them by more works, and think those things are a means of happiness.
Second, as we’ve studied the story of Jacob over several posts, we can clearly see that he has been sanctified over time. Accordingly, there may be a Christian who reads the stories of the patriarchs or other titans of faith and then thinks, “I want to be and act more like them . . . I want to grow in the faith like they did.” Certainly, the desire for and the pursuit of holiness are marks of spiritual life. Yet, let us all be mindful that God doesn’t owe us spiritual experiences or outward increases in holiness. Because, as mentioned in the last observation, it is possible to try and use God as a means to secure spiritual things. The danger, of course, is that if God is a means to an end, the reason we want more spiritual gifts, experiences, and increases in holiness is so that we can be less dependent on God. After some tough self-examination, it was painful for me to realize that in times prior, that’s exactly what I was doing: yearning for virtue so that I could then tell God, “I’m good.” This is what C. S. Lewis meant when he wrote that often, we learn and grow more in pursuit of a virtue than by gaining the virtue. In the end, no one becomes like God by pursuing anything other than God. Seek Him first, and all else will follow. Jacob held on to God and refused to let go. The great hope for you is that God’s will is your sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3) and His work never fails.
The third observation touches on a repeating theme in Old Testament narratives: that a biblical way to conquer power is through service. Whether we are talking about Jacob and Esau, Joseph and Pharaoh, or Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, power was not overcome by brute force. Power voluntarily gave itself over to godly men who had a meek character and proved to be useful. Jacob overcame his brother with humility and a great gift. Consequently, in this age, God’s kingdom will not be advanced with might or power.
Now let’s look at the last half of Genesis 33. Verses 12–20 say:
Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before you.” But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die. Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”
Esau said, “Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth.
Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped before the city. He bought the piece of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. Then he erected there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
So, after the brothers reconcile, Esau suggests that he and Jacob now go the same way (verse 12). I will paraphrase Jacob’s response in verses 13–15. He says, “I’m not so sure about that. How about you go alone ahead of me, I’ll take my time, and I’ll meet you at Seir.” Let us all be mindful that Jacob has already received a command from God to return to the land of his birth, in the Promised Land (Genesis 31:13). And so, if Jacob followed his brother Esau, he would be following him to Seir, which is outside of the Promised Land. To use modern geography as a guide, just think of Jacob leaving Boston on his way to Philadelphia. Jacob going to Seir would be like him taking a detour and traveling to Washington, DC, instead. The point is that by going there, Jacob would be diverting from God’s command and going out of his way. This then begs the question: Why did Jacob tell his brother, “You go ahead, and I’ll meet you at Seir”?
The text is not explicit, so I think there are three possible ways to interpret what Jacob tells his brother.
The first possibility is that Jacob is being polite and not contradicting his brother by saying, “You go on ahead, and I’ll follow.” The inference is that Jacob plans to go to Seir once settled in the Promised Land, but this makes an assumption that is not validated in the Scriptures.
The second possibility is that Jacob is still a trickster. Even though he has wrestled with God, he is not perfect. He thus tells his brother what he wants to hear now so the two parties can peaceably go their own ways.
The third possibility is that Jacob is also Israel, and he is showing wisdom, knowing that God has called him back to Canaan, not Seir. And because Israel is the child of promise, he will be led by God, not an unregenerate man. Therefore, the idea of Esau leading the way doesn’t settle well. After all, Esau says in Genesis 33:12, “Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before you.”
I will not claim to know which possibility is true because any option forces you to read into the text and make assumptions about intent. What I can say in general about the Bible is that ultimately, the saints of God were not blocked or stopped from what they were called to do. Yet, they were often tempted to make compromises on their journeys. Accordingly, in verse 15, Esau says, “‘Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.’ But [Jacob] said, ‘What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.’” In other words, Esau proposes to create a mixture between his camp and Jacob’s. In the New Testament, Paul says that “A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough” (1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9). Meaning, a small amount of compromise, false worship, or false teaching can spread and infect the whole group.
Furthermore, what Esau and Jacob reveal to us is that there is no so-called universal brotherhood of man. Meaning, while all human beings are image-bearers of God, we are not all members of the same spiritual family. Children of the world live for the world and will have one eternal fate. Children of God live for the Lord and will have another eternal fate.
After Jacob separates from his brother, verses 17–19 say, “Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth. Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped before the city. He bought the piece of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money.” This is no minor, incidental detail. Why? Because in Genesis 28:15, before Jacob left Canaan, God promised that He would be with Jacob wherever he went and would bring him back to the Promised Land. So what happens now? God fulfills His promise.
The other reason why verses 17–19 provide no minor, incidental details is that previously, Jacob vowed to return and worship at Bethel, the place where God revealed the dream of a ladder to heaven. When Jacob vows to serve the Lord, he even sets up a stone pillar at Bethel as a memorial (Genesis 28:20–22). Later on, God reveals Himself to Jacob as the God of Bethel and tells his servant to return there (Genesis 31:13). Why is this relevant? Because now, Jacob stops short of Bethel twice: first at Succoth and then at Shechem. Why make two stops? Does the sojourner want to settle? To trade? To do business? The text does not say. Jacob even buys a house for himself and land from the Canaanites. This matters because in the next chapter (Genesis 34), we read about a rehearsal of total depravity in Shechem: There’s deceit, rape, murder, betrayal, and family strife. I do not think it is too far a stretch, then, to deduce that because Jacob both does not follow God’s command and does not fulfill his vow, he and his family find themselves in a horrible position. Why? Because they are not where they are supposed to be. The result is that providence will now work against them. I also don’t think it’s mere coincidence that after the episode in Shechem, in chapter 35, Jacob and his family leave and finally arrive at Bethel. It is then that Jacob departs with all his idols.
Consequently, I am persuaded that the geographic details in verses 17–19 tell us two things. One, that God is faithful even if we are not. Two, that when we make progress, it is—to paraphrase the words of author David Powlison—like a man walking uphill holding a yo-yo. The great hope for all Christians is that God never breaks His vow to be with us and persevere us to the end. The great hope for all Christians is that God always gets His way in our lives.
The final verse (20) of the chapter says, “Then [Jacob] erected [in Shechem] an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.” The phrase “El-Elohe-Israel” means “the God of Israel.” Let us remember that at this point in biblical history, Israel didn’t exist as a nation yet. Israel only existed as a person in Jacob. Thus, when Jacob names the altar “God of Israel,” he’s saying, “The Lord is my God.” This is further evidence of God’s sanctifying grace in Jacob’s heart because he once told his father, Isaac, that Yahweh is your God (Genesis 27:20). Now, Jacob says, “God is mine.” As in, “The Lord is my God, and so I belong to Him.”
Now, at the end of Genesis 33, the bulk of Jacob’s narrative is over. In that narrative, Jacob has grown much in his faith. His twin, on the other hand, is prosperous but in many ways the same. What explains the difference? That’s simple: grace, the unmerited favor of God. The grace of God is what explains the stories of the patriarchs thus far: He never chose already-perfect people but instead chose to bestow grace on broken people. This highlights God’s beauty and excellence because He chooses to show sinners the way (Psalm 25:8). As a matter of fact, according to the same verse and the divine logic of the Bible, God’s goodness is expressed when He leads sinners out of darkness and into the light.
As Zack Keele writes in the Sola Media Bible study guide on Genesis:
“The story of Jacob’s pains is more properly the narrative of the Lord’s grace to Israel. As Immanuel, the Lord never left Jacob even when he was far from the land of promise. And this glorious promise and provision for Israel, which reached its grand fulfillment in Christ, is the very one he delivers to us: “I am with you always to the end of the age”” (Matthew 28:20).
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal