Bible Commentaries

And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he ^a divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.

(a) That if the one part were assailed, the other might escape.

And he passed over before them, and ^b bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

(b) By this gesture he partly revered his brother and partly prayed to God to appease Esau's wrath.

Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they ^c bowed themselves.

(c) Jacob and his family are the image of the Church under the yoke of tyrants who out of fear are brought to subjection.

And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore ^d I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

(d) In that his brother embraced him so lovingly, contrary to his expectation, he accepted it as a clear sign of God's presence.

Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until ^f I come unto my lord unto Seir.

(f) He promised that which (as it would seem) he did not plan to do.

And he erected there an altar, and called ^g it Elelohe-Israel.

(g) He calls the sign, the thing which it signifies, in token that God had mightily delivered him.