19 And for a hundred bits of money he got from the children of Hamor, the builder of Shechem, the field in which he had put up his tents.
So Ephron's field at Machpelah near Mamre, with the hollow in the rock and all the trees in the field and round it, Became the property of Abraham before the eyes of the children of Heth and of all who came into the town. Then Abraham put Sarah his wife to rest in the hollow rock in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, that is, Hebron in the land of Canaan. And the field and the hollow rock were handed over to Abraham as his property by the children of Heth.
And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite who was the chief of that land, saw her, he took her by force and had connection with her. Then his heart went out in love to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he said comforting words to her. And Shechem said to Hamor, his father, Get me this girl for my wife. Now Jacob had word of what Shechem had done to his daughter; but his sons were in the fields with the cattle, and Jacob said nothing till they came. Then Hamor, the father of Shechem, came out to have a talk with Jacob. Now the sons of Jacob came in from the fields when they had news of it, and they were wounded and very angry because of the shame he had done in Israel by having connection with Jacob's daughter; and they said, Such a thing is not to be done. But Hamor said to them, Shechem, my son, is full of desire for your daughter: will you then give her to him for a wife? And let our two peoples be joined together; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. Go on living with us, and the country will be open to you; do trade and get property there. And Shechem said to her father and her brothers, If you will give ear to my request, whatever you say I will give to you. However great you make the bride-price and payment, I will give it; only let me have the girl for my wife. But the sons of Jacob gave a false answer to Shechem and Hamor his father, because of what had been done to Dinah their sister. And they said, It is not possible for us to give our sister to one who is without circumcision, for that would be a cause of shame to us: But on this condition only will we come to an agreement with you: if every male among you becomes like us and undergoes circumcision; Then we will give our daughters to you and take your daughters to us and go on living with you as one people. But if you will not undergo circumcision as we say, then we will take our daughter and go. And their words were pleasing to Hamor and his son Shechem. And without loss of time the young man did as they said, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter, and he was the noblest of his father's house. Then Hamor and Shechem, his son, went to the meeting-place of their town, and said to the men of the town, It is the desire of these men to be at peace with us; let them then go on living in this country and doing trade here, for the country is wide open before them; let us take their daughters as wives and let us give them our daughters. But these men will make an agreement with us to go on living with us and to become one people, only on the condition that every male among us undergoes circumcision as they have done. Then will not their cattle and their goods and all their beasts be ours? so let us come to an agreement with them so that they may go on living with us. Then all the men of the town gave ear to the words of Hamor and Shechem his son; and every male in the town underwent circumcision. But on the third day after, before the wounds were well, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came into the town by surprise and put all the males to death. And Hamor and his son they put to death with the sword, and they took Dinah from Shechem's house and went away. And the sons of Jacob came on them when they were wounded and made waste the town because of what had been done to their sister; They took their flocks and their herds and their asses and everything in their town and in their fields, And all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives; everything in their houses they took and made them waste. And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, You have made trouble for me and given me a bad name among the people of this country, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and because we are small in number they will come together against me and make war on me; and it will be the end of me and all my people. But they said, Were we to let him make use of our sister as a loose woman?
In the rock in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham got from Ephron the Hittite, to be his resting-place. There Abraham and Sarah his wife were put to rest, and there they put Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I put Leah to rest. In the rock in the field which was got for a price from the people of Heth.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 33
Commentary on Genesis 33 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 33
Ge 33:1-11. Kindness of Jacob and Esau.
1. behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men—Jacob having crossed the ford and ranged his wives and children in order—the dearest last, that they might be the least exposed to danger—awaited the expected interview. His faith was strengthened and his fears gone (Ps 27:3). Having had power to prevail with God, he was confident of the same power with man, according to the promise (compare Ge 32:28).
3. he bowed himself … seven times—The manner of doing this is by looking towards a superior and bowing with the upper part of the body brought parallel to the ground, then advancing a few steps and bowing again, and repeating his obeisance till, at the seventh time, the suppliant stands in the immediate presence of his superior. The members of his family did the same. This was a token of profound respect, and, though very marked, it would appear natural; for Esau being the elder brother, was, according to the custom of the East, entitled to respectful treatment from his younger brother. His attendants would be struck by it, and according to Eastern habits, would magnify it in the hearing of their master.
4. Esau ran to meet him—What a sudden and surprising change! Whether the sight of the princely present and the profound homage of Jacob had produced this effect, or it proceeded from the impulsive character of Esau, the cherished enmity of twenty years in a moment disappeared; the weapons of war were laid aside, and the warmest tokens of mutual affection reciprocated between the brothers. But doubtless, the efficient cause was the secret, subduing influence of grace (Pr 21:1), which converted Esau from an enemy into a friend.
5. Who are those with thee?—It might have been enough to say, They are my children; but Jacob was a pious man, and he could not give even a common answer but in the language of piety (Ps 127:3; 113:9; 107:41).
11. He urged him and he took it—In the East the acceptance by a superior is a proof of friendship, and by an enemy, of reconciliation. It was on both accounts Jacob was so anxious that his brother should receive the cattle; and in Esau's acceptance he had the strongest proofs of a good feeling being established that Eastern notions admit of.
Ge 33:12-20. The Parting.
12. And he said, Let us take our journey—Esau proposed to accompany Jacob and his family through the country, both as a mark of friendship and as an escort to guard them. But the proposal was prudently declined. Jacob did not need any worldly state or equipage. Notwithstanding the present cordiality, the brothers were so different in spirit, character, and habits—the one so much a man of the world, and the other a man of God, that there was great risk of something occurring to disturb the harmony. Jacob having alleged a very reasonable excuse for the tardiness of his movements, the brothers parted in peace.
14. until I come unto my lord—It seems to have been Jacob's intention, passing round the Dead Sea, to visit his brother in Seir, and thus, without crossing the Jordan, go to Beer-sheba to Isaac; but he changed his plan, and whether the intention was carried out then or at a future period has not been recorded.
17. Jacob journeyed to Succoth—that is, "booths," that being the first station at which Jacob halted on his arrival in Canaan. His posterity, when dwelling in houses of stone, built a city there and called it Succoth, to commemorate the fact that their ancestor, "a Syrian ready to perish" [De 26:5], was glad to dwell in booths.
18. Shalem—that is, "peace"; and the meaning may be that Jacob came into Canaan, arriving safe and sound at the city Shechem—a tribute to Him who had promised such a return (compare Ge 28:15). But most writers take Shalem as a proper name—a city of Shechem, and the site is marked by one of the little villages about two miles to the northeast. A little farther in the valley below Shechem "he bought a parcel of a field," thus being the first of the patriarchs who became a proprietor of land in Canaan.
19. an hundred pieces of money—literally, "lambs"; probably a coin with the figure of a lamb on it.
20. and he erected … an altar—A beautiful proof of his personal piety, a most suitable conclusion to his journey, and a lasting memorial of a distinguished favor in the name "God, the God of Israel." Wherever we pitch a tent, God shall have an altar.