12. Then Esau said, "Let us be on our way; I'll accompany you."
13. But Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die.
14. So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and that of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir."
15. Esau said, "Then let me leave some of my men with you." "But why do that?" Jacob asked. "Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord."
16. So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.
17. Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth.
18. After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city.
19. For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent.
20. There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.
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2 comments:
Did Jacob still feared that Esau would kill him? Why not follow Esau to Seir?
It seems that this long lost reunion between brothers was genuine in feeling. So maybe Jacob wanted to take his time in traveling alone because he had been so eager to meet Esau that he had been pushing his entourage forward without much rest.
What strikes me the most regarding Jacob's reaction is how happy is to find favor in Esau's eyes and to have this opportunity for reconciliation. It seems Jacob must have been really stressed about not being at peace with his brother.
But I still don't fully see why Esau had such a change of heart. Is this just a temporary reaction or did God do something in his heart? Did Esau accept that Jacob had a God-centered (and God-supported) motivation for deceiving their father Isaac and "stealing" Esau's birthright as eldest son? What does all this say about doing things in the name of the Lord? Do the ends justify the means in such circumstances?
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