Jacob Meets Esau

1And Jacob lifted up his eyes and he saw, and behold, Esau was coming, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children to Leah and to Rachel and to the two maidservants. 2And he put the maidservants and their children first, and Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. 3And he himself passed over before them and he bowed himself to the earth seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4And Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and he fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

5And he lifted up his eyes and he saw the women and the children and he said, “Who are these with you?”

And he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6And the maidservants came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. 7And Leah also came near, and her children, and they bowed themselves. And afterward Joseph came near, and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

8And he said, “What is all this camp to you, that I have met?”

And he said, “To find favor in the eyes of my lord.”

9And Esau said, “I have much, my brother. Let it be to you what is yours.”

10And Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your eyes, then you shall take my gift from my hand, for upon thus I have seen your face which is like seeing the face of God, and you have received me favorably. 11Please, take, my blessing† that is brought to you, because God has been gracious to me, and because I have all.” And he urged him, and he took it.

12And he said, “Let us journey and go on, and I will go before you.”

13And he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender, and the flock and the cattle with me are nursing; and if they are driven hard one day, then all the flock will die. 14Please, let my lord go on before his servant, and I will lead on gently, according to the pace of the work that is before me, and according to the pace of the children, until that I come to my lord in Seir.”

15And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.”

And he said, “Why this? Let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.”

16And Esau turned back that day on his way to Seir. 17And Jacob journeyed to Succoth† and built for himself a house, and for his livestock he made booths. Upon thus he called the name of the place Succoth.

Jacob Settles in Shechem

18And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram.† And he pitched his tent before the city. 19And he bought the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitah.† 20And he erected there an altar, and he called it El-Elohe-Israel.†