Genesis 33:4

And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Esau	עֵשָׂ֤ו 'e.Sav	H6215	Esav · proper noun, a man's name
ran	וַיָּ֨רָץ vai.Ya.rotz	H7323	to run (for whatever reason · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
him	קִרְאָה qirʼâh	H7125	an encountering
embraced	וַֽיְחַבְּקֵ֔הוּ vay.cha.be.Ke.hu	H2263	to clasp (the hands or in embrace) · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
fell	וַיִּפֹּ֥ל vai.yi.Pol	H5307	to fall · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
neck	צַוָּארָ֖יו tza.va.Rav	H6677	the back of the neck (as that on which burdens are boun… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
him	וַׄיִּׄשָּׁׄקֵ֑ׄהׄוּׄ vai.yi.sha.Ke.hu	H5401	to kiss · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
wept	וַיִּבְכּֽוּ vai.yiv.Ku	H1058	to weep · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural

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

Genesis 45:14-15 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
Psalms 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Luke 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his…
Genesis 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Genesis 45:2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
Genesis 46:29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck…
Acts 20:37 And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him,
Genesis 43:30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept the…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 33:1-4

Here, I. Jacob discovered Esau's approach, Gen 33:1. Some think that his lifting up his eyes denotes his cheerfulness and confidence, in opposition to a dejected countenance; having by prayer committed his case to God, he went on his way, and his countenance was no more sad, Sa1 1:18. Note, Those that have cast their care upon God may look before them with satisfaction and composure of mind, cheerfully expecting the issue, whatever it may be; come what will, nothing can come amiss to him whose heart is fixed, trusting in God. Jacob sets himself upon his watch-tower to see what answer God will give to his prayers, Hab 2:1. II. He put his family into the best order he could to receive him, whe…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 33:4

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 (Pro 21:1), which converted Esau from an enemy into a friend.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 33:4

Esau ran to meet him - How sincere and genuine is this conduct of Esau, and at the same time how magnanimous! He had buried all his resentment, and forgotten all his injuries; and receives his brother with the strongest demonstrations, not only of forgiveness, but of fraternal affection. And kissed him - וישקהו vaiyishshakehu. In the Masoretic Bibles each letter of this word is noted with a point over it to make it emphatic. And by this kind of notation the rabbins wished to draw the attention of the reader to the change that had taken place in Esau, and the sincerity with which he received his brother Jacob. A Hindoo when he meets a friend after absence throws his arms round him, and his he…

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The Church Fathers

At the end of time our Lord Jesus Christ will be reconciled with Israel, his ancient persecutor, just as Jacob kissed Esau after his return from Haran. No one who listens to the words of holy Scripture can actually doubt that with the passing of time Israel also will have to be received again into the love of Christ through faith. The Lord proclaims to everybody through the voice of one of the holy prophets: "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an altar, and without priesthood and without manifestations. And afterward the children of Israel shall return and shall seek the Lord, their God, and David, their king, and shall be amazed at the Lord and at his goodness in the latter days." While Christ, the Savior of us all, gathers believers from the nations, Israel is deserted, since it has no law to elect its leaders, and it cannot offer to the divine altar the sacrifices prescribed by the laws. It therefore awaits Christ's return from his action of converting the nations, so that he may receive it as well and unite it with the law of his love to the others. See how Jacob, who rejoiced in the generation of his children and in his numerous herds of sheep, came back from Haran and received again Esau into his friendship. In time Israel itself will be converted after the calling of the nations and will admire these riches in Christ.
— Cyril of Alexandria, GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 5.3

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

Esau — Hairy, Rebekah’s first-born twin son (Gen. 25:25). The name of Edom, “red”, was also given to him from his conduct in connection with the red lentil “pottage” for which he sold his birthright (30,…
Kiss — Of affection (Gen. 27:26, 27; 29:13; Luke 7:38, 45); reconciliation (Gen. 33:4; 2 Sam. 14:33); leave-taking (Gen. 31:28, 55; Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam. 19:39); homage (Ps. 2:12; 1 Sam. 10:1); spoken of as…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Conscience · .Of Jacob, after he — .Of Jacob, after he
Forgiveness · .Esau forgives Jacob — .Esau forgives Jacob
Jacob · Reconciliation of, with Esau — Reconciliation of, with Esau
Kiss · Of affection — Of affection
Leah · Flees with Jacob — Flees with Jacob
Reconciliation · Between Esau and Jacob — Between Esau and Jacob
Salutations · Often accompanied by: Falling on the neck and kissing — Often accompanied by: Falling on the neck and kissing
Weeping · .Of Jacob and Esau — .Of Jacob and Esau

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).

Genesis 33:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 33:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 33:4

Adam Clarke on Genesis 33:4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 33:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 33:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 33:4

Adam Clarke on Genesis 33:4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Genesis 33:4

John Calvin on Genesis 33:4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 33:4

Rashi on Genesis 33:4