Jacob faces Esau and his Zombies

Gen. 33:1-20

1 Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and there were four hundred with him. So he divided the children between Leah,  Rachel, and  the two handmaids. 2 He put the handmaids and their children in front, Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph the furthest behind. 3 And he himself passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept.

5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said: ‘Who are these with you?’ And he said: ‘The children whom God has graciously given me, your servant.’ 6 Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and they bowed down. 7 And Leah also and her children came near, and bowed down; and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed down. 8 And he said: ‘What did you mean  by all this camp which I met?’ And he said: ‘To find favour in the sight of my lord.’ 9 And Esau said: ‘I have enough; my brother, let that which thou have be yours.’ 10 And Jacob said: ‘No, I pray thee, if now I have found favour in thy sight, then receive my presents; forasmuch as I have seen your face, as one sees the face of God, and that you were  pleased with me. 11 Take, I beg you, my gift that was brought to you; because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.’ And he urged him, and he took it.

12 And he said: ‘Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before you.’ 13 And he said unto him: ‘My lord knows that the children are tender, and that the flocks and herds giving suck are a care to me; and if they overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over beyond his servant; and I will journey on gently, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.’ 15 And Esau said: ‘Let me now leave with you some of the folk that are with me.’ And he said: ‘Why would I need it? let me find favour in the sight of my lord.’ 16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. 17 And Jacob journeyed to Succot, and built him a house, and made booths for his cattle. Therefore the name of the place is called Succot.  18 And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram; and encamped before the city. 19 And he bought the parcel of ground, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. 20 And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel.

Rashi

Gen. 33:1- Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked- Even though he prevailed against the zombie from the night before he was fearful of what was beyond.  Behold-His first impression was not that of Esau, his brother, but of something that he did not understand.  Only as they came closer did he discern that Esau was indeed at the head of a zombie horde of 400.  Four hundred  with him- Undead.  They were under his control, their hands and legs bound by ropes.  There are many midrashim that explain this, but this is the contextual meaning.  So he divided the children- The text does not report his fear because Jacob did not have time to feel afraid.

Gen. 33:2- Joseph the furthest behind- Because he was his favorite.  There are some who say it was because he was the worst fighter.

Gen. 33:3- And he himself passed over before them- He said, if my brother and his zombies wish to fight, then they should fight me first.  bowed himself to the ground- His knees would lock from trembling and he would fall.  It appeared as if he bowed.

Gen. 33:4- embraced him-He was moved because he saw his brothers helplessness or tribute.  fell on his neck and kissed him- there are dots over the word and there is a controversy concerning this matter in the Sifre.  There are some who think that the dots mean that he did embrace him but was making a show for the zombies that he would attempt to kill or turn his brother into a zombie.  For they believed that Esau had this ability.  When they saw that his brother’s neck would not succumb to this, they would not attempt this themselves.  Others believe that this indicates that his kiss sought out a place that was not covered by his beard, kissing his neck deeply.  This was the skin of their childhood.

Gen. 33:6- and they bowed down- They had seen Jacob stumble and “bow down” and that he was safe.  Therefore, they did likewise.

Gen. 33:8- in the sight of my lord- He said this with a half closed eye, indicating that his concern was not out of fear of his brother, but for the zombies that were with him.  However (in 33:1) Jacob was surprised to see the zombies with his brother.

Gen.33:9- I have enough- zombies to get me whatever I need.

Gen. 33:10-  receive my presents- Jacob wanted extra reassurance that his brother would not loose the zombies on him.

Gen. 33:11- and because I have enough- By using the same words that his brother did, Jacob implied that the Holy One Blessed be He could help Jacob acquire as much as Esau’s zombies could.  He also meant to imply that God could overcome Esau’s army.  Esau accepted this and Jacob’s gifts.

Gen. 33:13- and if they overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die.- Leading the two families, Esau would have put the zombies between his family and Jacobs.  Therefore, it would have been very hard for Jacob to get his family and livestock to follow since they would have been afraid.  That is what is meant by “overdrive” and why Jacob believed the flocks would die because they would not have gotten to a place where there was water.

Gen. 33:14-pass over beyond his servant- and put distance between us and the sight of the zombies.  Until I come unto my lord unto Seir- Jacob hoped that by not mentioning the zombies that Esau would understand that he hoped for them to be put away when they arrived.

Gen. 33:15- folk- Esau had grown accustomed to the undead and referred to them in human terms.

Gen. 33:17-And Jacob journeyed to Succot- For despite the fact that he reassured his family that they would be safe from the zombies in Seir, they refused to go.  And when his urging became too much he settled on a place nearby.

Gen. 33:19- at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father- He would suffer a calamity there because he was not able to convince his family that the Holy One Blessed be He would be able to protect them from the zombies.

Gen. 33:20- And he erected there an altar- knowing that he had failed to inspire his family’s faith, he prayed for mercy.

Rashbam

Gen. 33:1- Four hundred undead with him- Jacob could not see that they were controlled by Esau through ropes and harnesses.  Therefore he was especially afraid.

Gen. 33:2- Joseph the furthest behind- Because he was his favorite.  It is said in the aggadah that Joseph did not acquire the skills to fight because he studied with his father and when he went out to the fields, he did little of the heavy work and was only the lookout.  And this might be correct, but the suggestion that Jacob put Joseph in the rear because he could not wield a sword is not correct, for he put Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah in front of him and surely they could not fight as well as the others.  His position reflected the place he held in his father’s estimation.

Gen. 33:8- in the sight of my lord- Rashi says that Jacob spoke only a half truth here and that he was more concerned to appease the zombies than he was to appease Esau.  However, from earlier it is understood that Jacob did not know that Esau had zombies.  Only when he saw the mass behind him did he understand that Esau had them in his company.  What is correct is that Jacob wanted to appease the brother whom he had tricked for the blessing.  It is possible that he suspected that Esau might have sought company with the zombies, but this could not have been his original intention.

Gen. 33:10- forasmuch as I have seen your face, as one sees the face of God- Before this moment, Jacob had been so overwhelmed by seeing his brother and the zombies, Jacob had forgotten that he would be protected by God.   Only when his brother reminded him of what was behind him, did Jacob remember the God that would support him.   Prior to this he was afraid.

Ibn Ezra-

Gen. 33:3- bowed himself to the ground- It appeared as if he was paying homage to Esau but it could not be because Jacob acknowleged only the one who is Supreme in power and blessing.  Furthermore, he knew he would be protected, so he did not feel afraid as others have suggested.  Rather, he wanted to warm Esau to him and therefore participated in a symbol that Esau would understand.  But you should not think that he was in fact bowing to Esau.  Furthermore, Jacob did not divide the children out of fear from Esau or his horde.   He knew that he would be blessed because of what God promised.  Rather, he wanted to make sure that Esau would meet them in an order that would build to Rachel and Joseph, his favorites, and had he allowed the brothers to line up in the order that they preferred they would have likely made a mess of it.

Gen. 33:10- receive my presents- Jacob knew that his brother would not betray him, for he had already reconciled with him when he appeared before him.  Jacob implored Esau to take his gifts because he did not want his brother to resort to using the zombies to gain what he wanted.  Despite their separations for many years, Jacob still wanted his brother to live a holy lifestyle.

Mizrachi- Gen. 33:3- And he himself passed over before them- Rashi says that Jacob put himself first because he wanted to lead the family into battle if there was going to be one. Jacob already knew that he could best a zombie and even though he took on only one and had no experience battling an entire horde, he believed that he would be able to take out many of them, with God’s help, if necessary before they got to his family.

Advertisement