Genesis 33:10 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 33:10
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 I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
found
מָצָ֤אתִיma.Tza.ti
H4672
properly · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
grace
חֵן֙chen
H2580
graciousness · noun, common masculine singular absolute
sight
בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָbe.'ei.Nei.kha
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
receive
וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ve.la.kach.Ta
H3947
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
present
מִנְחָתִ֖יmin.cha.Ti
H4503
a donation · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
hand
מִיָּדִ֑יmi.ya.Di
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix
seen
רָאִ֣יתִיra.'I.ti
H7200
to see · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
face
פָנֶ֗יךָfa.Nei.kha
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
seen
כִּרְאֹ֛תkir.'Ot
H7200
to see · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
face
פְּנֵ֥יpe.Nei
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
God
אֱלֹהִ֖ים'E.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
me
וַתִּרְצֵֽנִיva.tir.Tze.ni
H7521
to be pleased with · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Job 33:26 He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousnes…
Revelation 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Genesis 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Jeremiah 31:2 Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
Genesis 19:19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life;…
Genesis 47:29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I…
Genesis 50:4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak,…
Exodus 33:12-13 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 33:5-15
We have here the discourse between the two brothers at their meeting, which is very free and friendly, without the least intimation of the old quarrel. It was the best way to say nothing of it. They converse,
I. About Jacob's retinue, Gen 33:5-7. Eleven or twelve little ones, the eldest of them no fourteen years old, followed Jacob closely: Who are these? says Esau. Jacob had sent him an account of the increase of his estate (Gen 32:5), but made no mention of his children; perhaps because he would not expose them to his rage if he should meet him as an enemy, or would please him with the unexpected sight if he should meet him as a friend: Esau therefore had reason to ask, Who are those with…
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 (Psa 127:3; Psa 113:9; Psa 107:41).
Adam Clarke on Genesis 33:10
Receive my present at my hand - Jacob could not be certain that he had found favor with Esau, unless the present had been received; for in accepting it Esau necessarily became his friend, according to the custom of those times, and in that country. In the eastern countries, if your present be received by your superior, you may rely on his friendship; if it be not received, you have every thing to fear. It is on this ground that Jacob was so urgent with Esau to receive his present, because he knew that after this he must treat him as a friend.
John Gill on Genesis 33:10
And Jacob said, nay, I pray thee,.... Do not say so, as the Targum of Jonathan supplies it, or do not refuse my present:
if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand; signifying, that the acceptance of his present would be a token to him, and give him full satisfaction that he bore a good will to him, and did not retain anger and resentment against him:
for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God; or of princes, as Onkelos, as the face of some great personage, as he was; or as the face of an angel, very pleasant and lovely; or as the face of God himself, he observing the love and favour of God to him, in working upon the heart of E…
The Church Fathers
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. [
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Conscience · .Of Jacob, after he — .Of Jacob, after he
Flattery · .By Jacob — .By Jacob
Presents · Receiving of, a token of good will — Receiving of, a token of good will
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Receive my present at my hand. This noun may be taken passively as well as actively. If understood actively, the sense will be, "Accept the present by which I desire to testify my goodwill towards thee." If understood passively, it may be referred to God, as if Jacob had said, "Those things which the Lord has bestowed upon me by his grace, I liberally impart to thee, that thou mayest be, in some measure, a partaker with me of that divine blessing which I have received." But not to insist upon a word, Jacob immediately afterwards clearly avows that whatever he possesses, is not the fruit of his labor or industry, but has been received by him through the grace of God, and by this reasoning he…
"For therefore," sc., to be able to offer thee this present, "have I come to see thy face, as man seeth the face of God, and thou hast received me favourably." The thought is this: In thy countenance I have been met with divine (heavenly) friendliness (cf. Sa1 29:9; Sa2 14:17). Jacob might say this without cringing, since he "must have discerned the work of God in the unexpected change in his brother's disposition towards him, and in his brother's friendliness a reflection of this divine."
Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 33:10
Jacob knew that Esau’s friendly greeting was God’s work, secured at Peniel when he saw God face to face.
Rashi on Genesis 33:10
אל נא NAY, I PRAY THEE — Do not, I pray thee, speak to me thus.
אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך ולקחת מנחתי מידי כי על כן ראיתי פניך וגו' IF NOW I HAVE FOUND FAVOUR IN THY EYES THEN TAKE MY PRESENT AT MY HAND: FOR THEREFORE I HAVE SEEN THY FACE etc. — Accept my present because (כי) it is fitting and proper for you to accept my present, for that (על כן) I have seen your face which is as dear to me as the sight of the angel — for I have seen your guardian angel. And a further reason why you should accept my present is ותרצני — because you have agreed to pardon my offence. Why, however, did he mention to him that he had seen the angel? In order that he (Esau) should be afraid of him saying, “He has seen…
