CHAPTER 33

33:1-17 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and beheld, and lo! Esau his brother coming, and four hundred men with him; and Jacob divided the children to Lea and to Rachel, and the two handmaidens. 2 And he put the two handmaidens and their children with the first, and Lea and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 But he advanced himself before them, and did reverence to the ground seven times, until he drew near to his brother. 4 And Esau ran on to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they both wept. 5 And Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, and said, What are these to thee? And he said, The children with which God has mercifully blessed thy servant. 6 And the maid-servants and their children drew near and did reverence. 7 And Lea and her children drew near and did reverence; and after this drew near Rachel and Joseph, and did reverence. 8 And he said, What are these things to thee, all these companies that I have met? And he said, That thy servant might find grace in thy sight, my lord. 9 And Esau said, I have much, my brother; keep thine own. 10 And Jacob said, If I have found grace in thy sight, receive the gifts through my hands; therefore have I seen thy face, as if any one should see the face of God, and thou shalt be well-pleased with me. 11 Receive my blessings, which I have brought thee, because God has had mercy on me, and I have all things; and he constrained him, and he took them. 12 And he said, Let us depart, and proceed right onward. 13 And he said to him, My lord knows, that the children are very tender, and the flocks and the herds with me are with young; if then I shall drive them hard one day, all the cattle will die. 14 Let my lord go on before his servant, and I shall have strength on the road according to the ease of the journey before me, and according to the strength of the children, until I come to my lord to Seir. 15 And Esau said, I will leave with thee some of the people who are with me. And he said, Why so? it is enough that I have found favour before thee, my lord. 16 And Esau returned on that day on his journey to Seir. 17 And Jacob departs to his tents; and he made for himself there habitations, and for his cattle he made booths; therefore he called the name of that place, Booths. 18 And Jacob came to Salem, a city of Secima, which is in the land of Chanaan, when he departed out of Mesopotamia of Syria, and took up a position in front of the city. 19 And he bought the portion of the field, where he pitched his tent, of Emmor the father of Sychem, for a hundred lambs. 20 And he set up there an alter, and called on the God of Israel.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 33:10). ON THESE WORDS: I SAW YOUR FACE AS WHEN ONE SEES THE FACE OF A GOD. — What does Jacob mean to his brother: therefore have I seen your face, as if anyone should see the face of God? Is it possible that the words of a frightened and disturbed person have reached such a degree of adoration? Can they perhaps be taken as blameless to indicate some special meaning? Perhaps, indeed, since even the gods of the gentiles, who are demons (Cf. Ps. 95:5), are called gods, do not misjudge the man of God by these words, for he did not say: "as if I saw the face of God”, but as if anyone should see. But we do not know who that "anyone" is to whom it could mean. And perhaps the words have been chosen so that Esau himself would welcome the honor so great his brother did to him. And those who are able to interpret them even in a different way, do not dare to accuse the one who said them of any sin. For although these words, spoken with good intention, are fraternal, and since even fear itself had disappeared after the brother had received them well, that expression could be used, just as, for example, Moses was also called the god of Pharaoh (Cf. Ex 7:1), according to what the Apostle says, “Although there are those who are called gods or in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords (1 Cor. 8:5).” And it may be said above all in view of the fact that in Greek the word does not carry an article, because it is used most obviously to indicate the only true God. Actually it did not say, προσωπον του Θεου, but προσωπον Θεου. Now, those who often hear and understand the Greek language, easily understand the difference between these two expressions. [Question 105]

(Gen. 33:14). JACOB'S UNFULFILLED PROMISE. — Was there not a lie in the promise made by Jacob to his brother, to follow the steps of his followers, whose march was slow, and then to go and find him at Seir? But, as the Scripture says, Jacob did not do it, but went on the road that led to his own way. Is it the fact that he promised that by telling the truth, and then, thinking otherwise, he changed his mind? [Question 106]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. Having therefore received sufficient encouragement; as well as the assurance that he would be strong and mighty among men: Jacob lifted up his eyes, saith the text, and saw Esau his brother, and four hundred men with him. And he divided his children between Lia, Rachel, and the two servants. He put the two maidservants and their children first, then Lia and his family, and finally Rachel and Joseph. And he himself walked forward and bowed seven times to the earth, until he had approached his brother. (Gen. 33:1-3) See how, after this division, he goes first to meet Esau. And he bowed seven times to the earth, until he had approached his brother, dragging Esau by his attitude and his deep greetings to be friendly to him; what happened indeed. Esau, the text said, ran up, took him in his arms and gave him a kiss, and he bowed over his neck, and they both cried. (Ibid. 4)

See how God governs all things: What I told you yesterday, I still say today, that when the Master of the universe wants to show us his vigilant tenderness, he knows how to make more gentle than ewes those who have hostile feelings towards us. Consider what change Esau is witnessing: He ran to meet him, took him in his arms and gave him a kiss, and they both cried. Hardly had the righteous been able to breathe and shake his fear; No sooner is he delivered from his anxiety, and he is emboldened: Esau, saith the Scripture, having lifted up his eyes, saw the women and the children, and said, Are they yours? (Ibid. 5) At the sight of his brother's riches he was astonished; so he wanted to question him. And what does the righteous say to him? These are the children whom the mercy of God has given to your servant. See what is the strength of gentleness and how, by the humility of his words, he contained the wrath of Esau: The maidservants and the children drew near; Lia and Rachel bowed, and he said: Are they all yours, these camps I met? And Jacob said, It was so that your servant might find favor with you. (Ibid. 6-8)

See, I pray you, how his extreme humility made him master of his brother, and how he whom he thought to be filled with a brutal enmity against him, he found so sweet that he wants to put to his service everything that belongs to him. Esau said to him, "I am rich, my brother, keep what is yours. (Ibid. 9) But Jacob did not suffer him, and showing how much he was eager to possess his good graces, he continued, "If I have found favor in your sight, accept gifts from my hands; have seen your face, as one would see the face of God. (Ibid. 10) Accept, he said, the presents that are offered to you from me. For I had to see your face a joy like that which you would have when you see that of God. These words, the righteous, spoke them out of deference, to soften him and bring him to the friendship of a brother. And you will love me, wanting to say: You will do to me what you should do. So, receive these blessings that I brought you, because God had pity on me and that I do not miss anything. (Ibid. 11) Do not refuse to accept it, he tells him, for all this has been given to me by God; it was he who made me get all this. Thus Jacob gently instructed his brother in the care which Divine Providence deigned to have of him, and prepared him to show him great respect. And he forced her to accept his presents.

Then see what a change. Esau said, Let's go and walk before us. (Ibid.12) As if he had said: From now on we will travel together. But Jacob makes a claim based on a plausible reason. My lord knows that children are more delicate than us, sheep and cows give birth; if I press them for a day, they will die. (Ibid. 13) I can not, he says, shorten my journey, but I am obliged to walk slowly and at short days, because of my children and my flocks, so that they do not succumb to an excess fatigue. Walk therefore yourself, and I, reducing the fatigue of my children and my cattle, I will join you at Seir. (Ibid. 14) His brother then said to him: If you want, I will leave you some of those who accompany me (Ibid. 15), showing him his respect and com. pleasure. But Jacob does not even accept this offer: It is enough for me, he says, to have fully found favor in your presence. (Ibid. 16) What I desired eagerly was to find you favorable. Since I got it, I do not need anything else. And Jacob departing from there, went camping with his flocks; and he called this place Tents. (Ibid. 17)

You know that Jacob; He had returned from an interview with his brother and had separated from it, the latter having gone to live in Séir and Jacob having pitched his tents in a place which he named for that the Tents: we ended our speech there . We must therefore resume the sequel to give you, according to our strength, your spiritual teaching. The righteous, finding himself without fear, and now delivered from all anxiety, went, says the Scripture, into a city of the Sichimites, and he bought from Hémor, father of Shechem, a piece of land, at the price of a hundred lambs; and there he set up an altar, and he called on the God of Israel. Let us not pass lightly on what is contained in the divine Scriptures. For if men who gather in the earth plots of gold, submit themselves to all the fatigues and support all sorts of inconveniences to manage to separate the orle the earth, how much more is it right that we scrutinize the oracles of the Holy Spirit, and we gather the fruit of it before we withdraw. Understand, then, I pray you, the philosophy of this admirable man: he enjoyed the protection from above; he saw his increased wealth, I hear the quantity of his cattle he saw himself surrounded by a large troop of children, and he did not endeavor to raise for him magnificent buildings, he did not hasten to buy, estates and country houses that he could share among his children. For this is the pretext that is opposed to us today, and often the one who has only one son worked to amass an infinite number of talents of gold, to buy fields and to raise sumptuous buildings. And it pleases God that it is by legitimate work and without injustice that he has amassed all these riches! but what is intolerable, and what is most terrible, is that rapine and fraud make the fortune of others pass into one's hands. And if one asks him: why then this fury of amassing? he immediately objects to his son and says that he does all this out of love for him. But although he covers himself with this pretext to consecrate his injustices, he tries in vain to do so. And there are some who, not even having children, are possessed of the fury of amassing and would like a thousand times better to suffer evils without remedy than to give an obole to one of those who ask them.

This righteous man had not this concern, he did not think of it, but when he needed to buy a modest field, he gave a hundred lambs, and thus acquired from Hémor, father of Shechem, a piece of land. And see the piety of Jacob and why he wanted to acquire a field. And there he set up an altar, and he called on the God of Israel. He only bought this piece of land to give thanks to the Master of the universe. All should be emulated by this living man according to grace before the law was given, and not thus indulge in the fury of amassing wealth. For tell me, why lay on you bundles of thorns? and do not you feel that you leave to your children the matter and the occasion of the vice? Do you not know that you must look after yourself rather than your child, and that, by giving him an exaggerated foresight, you are inclined to leave him every facility to lose his soul in the abyss?

Do you not know that youth is willing by itself to succumb and incline to evil? When she sees herself in possession of abundant riches, the slope towards vice is for her much more slippery. For just as fire, if it receives food, throws a more ardent flame; so also youth, receiving this inflammable matter of riches, kindles in the soul a fire which will consume it all. How, then, can a man thus tempted devote himself to temperance, flee debauchery, and embrace the labors of virtue or some spiritual cover?

Do not you hear Christ say to us: The care of this century and the seduction of riches stifle judgment, and it becomes sterile. These cares and seductions are what he calls the thorns, when he says that part of the seed fell among the thorns; and he afterwards interpreted to his disciples what these thorns were, saying to them: The care of this age and the seduction of wealth stifle judgment and turn it barren. It is a beautiful comparison that of the care of this century with thorns. In the same way, they do not allow the wheat to rise, but stifle and squeeze the one sown; in the same way, the care of life leaves no fruit to the spiritual seed diffused in the soul; they consume it and smother it like thorns and do not let the spiritual seed grow. The seduction of riches. Yes, she is well named, because it is really a seduction. Is it indeed in need of so much gold and wealth? Yes, it will be said, the possession of goods causes great joy. What joy ? and why call it joy? Is it not rather a cause of inexcusable depression and a thousand sorrows? And I do not yet speak of the punishment hanging over the guilty heads, but only of the evils of the present life, when I say that business can not cause pleasure, but rather continual troubles and sorrows. The waves raised from the sea are only an imperfect image of the soul so pressed by reasoning and passion, and ill disposed to all, strangers and relatives. And if some day these men are robbed of some portion of their wealth (and how many accidents of every kind are not seen, of ruses for robbing goods, of crimes among servants, of violence among the powerful) then you will see them persuaded that life is intolerable to them. How, then, is it not lamentable the fate of those men who are so anxious to harm themselves anyway, and who are pleased to add so many evils to the loss of their souls! [Homilies on Genesis]