בראשית 33
| וישא יעקב עיניו וירא והנה עשו בא ועמו ארבע מאות איש ויחץ את הילדים על לאה ועל רחל ועל שתי השפחות | 1 |
[Then Jacob joined the rest of his family]. [Later that day] Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and there were 400 men with him. [Jacob was worried because of that], so he separated the children. He put Leah’s children with Leah, Rachel’s children with Rachel, and the two female slaves’ children with their mothers.
| וישם את השפחות ואת ילדיהן ראשנה ואת לאה וילדיה אחרנים ואת רחל ואת יוסף אחרנים | 2 |
He put the two female slaves and their children in front. He put Leah and her children next. He put Rachel and Joseph at the rear.
| והוא עבר לפניהם וישתחו ארצה שבע פעמים עד גשתו עד אחיו | 3 |
He himself went ahead of them all, and as he continued to approach his older brother, he prostrated himself with his face on the ground seven times.
| וירץ עשו לקראתו ויחבקהו ויפל על צוארו וישקהו ויבכו | 4 |
But Esau ran to Jacob. He hugged him, put his arms around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek. And they both cried.
| וישא את עיניו וירא את הנשים ואת הילדים ויאמר מי אלה לך ויאמר--הילדים אשר חנן אלהים את עבדך | 5 |
Then Esau looked up and saw the women and the children. He asked, “Who are these people who are with you?” Jacob replied, “These are the wives and children that God has graciously/kindly given to me.”
| ותגשן השפחות הנה וילדיהן ותשתחוין | 6 |
Then the female slaves and their children came near and bowed in front of Esau.
| ותגש גם לאה וילדיה וישתחוו ואחר נגש יוסף ורחל--וישתחוו | 7 |
Then Leah and her children came and bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came near and bowed down.
| ויאמר מי לך כל המחנה הזה אשר פגשתי ויאמר למצא חן בעיני אדני | 8 |
Esau asked, “What is the meaning of all the animals that I saw?” Jacob replied, “I am giving them to you, sir, so that you will feel good toward me.”
| ויאמר עשו יש לי רב אחי יהי לך אשר לך | 9 |
But Esau replied, “My [younger] brother, I have enough animals! Keep for yourself the animals that you have!”
| ויאמר יעקב אל נא אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך ולקחת מנחתי מידי כי על כן ראיתי פניך כראת פני אלהים--ותרצני | 10 |
But Jacob said, “No, please, if you feel good toward me, accept these gifts from me. You have greeted me very kindly. Seeing your smiling face assures me [that you have forgiven me]. It is like seeing the face of God!
| קח נא את ברכתי אשר הבאת לך כי חנני אלהים וכי יש לי כל ויפצר בו ויקח | 11 |
Please accept these gifts that I have brought to you, because God has acted kindly toward me, and I still have plenty of animals!” Jacob kept on urging him to accept the animals, and finally he accepted them.
| ויאמר נסעה ונלכה ואלכה לנגדך | 12 |
Then Esau said, “Let’s continue traveling together, and I will show the road to you.”
| ויאמר אליו אדני ידע כי הילדים רכים והצאן והבקר עלות עלי ודפקום יום אחד ומתו כל הצאן | 13 |
Jacob [had no intention to go with Esau], but he said, “You know, sir, that the children are weak, and that I must take care of the female sheep and cows that are (sucking their mother’s milk/nursing their young). If I force them to walk fast for a long distance in just one day, the animals will all die.
| יעבר נא אדני לפני עבדו ואני אתנהלה לאטי לרגל המלאכה אשר לפני ולרגל הילדים עד אשר אבא אל אדני שעירה | 14 |
You go ahead of me. I will lead the animals slowly, but I will walk as fast as the children and animals can walk. I will catch up with you in Seir, [in the land where the descendants of Edom live].”
| ויאמר עשו--אציגה נא עמך מן העם אשר אתי ויאמר למה זה אמצא חן בעיני אדני | 15 |
Esau said, “Then allow me to leave with you some of the men who came with me, [to protect you].” But Jacob replied, “(Why do that?/There is no need to do that!) [RHQ] The only thing that I want is for you to act friendly toward me.”
| וישב ביום ההוא עשו לדרכו שעירה | 16 |
So on that day Esau left to return to Seir.
| ויעקב נסע סכתה ויבן לו בית ולמקנהו עשה סכת על כן קרא שם המקום סכות | 17 |
But [instead of going to Seir], Jacob and his family went to [a place called] Succoth. There he built a house for himself and his family, and built shelters for his livestock. That is the reason they named the place Succoth, [which means ‘shelters’].
| ויבא יעקב שלם עיר שכם אשר בארץ כנען בבאו מפדן ארם ויחן את פני העיר | 18 |
[Some time later, ] Jacob and his family left Paddan-Aram [in Mesopotamia], and they traveled safely to the Canaan region. There they set up their tents in a field near Shechem city.
| ויקן את חלקת השדה אשר נטה שם אהלו מיד בני חמור אבי שכם--במאה קשיטה | 19 |
One of the leaders of the people in that area was named Hamor. Hamor had several sons. Jacob paid the sons of Hamor 100 pieces of silver for the piece of ground on which they set up their tents.
| ויצב שם מזבח ויקרא לו--אל אלהי ישראל | 20 |
He built a stone altar there, and named it El-Elohe Israel, [which means ‘God, the God of Israel].’
