Genesis 33

26 Jan 2026 - Theology

Genesis 33 - Jacob Reconciles with Esau

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.”

Is Esau supposed to be a picture of God the Father?

Jacob’s Life Story:

1. Jacob was afraid that Esau would kill him because of what he had done to him in stealing his birthright and blessing.
2. Jacob had a radical encounter with the Lord God [Adonai Elohim] that left him with a new name (Israel) and a visible limp as a sign of his encounter
3. Jacob meets Esau again here in Genesis 33, after his encounter with the Lord.

Let’s look at the story of Jacob’s life so far point by point:

Number 1

Jacob was afraid that Esau would kill him because of what he had done to him in stealing his birthright and blessing.

Romans 6:23 - “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The punishment Jacob was afraid of by Esau was physical death, that he would be killed.

Number 2

Jacob had a radical encounter with the Lord God [Adonai Elohim] that left him with a new name (Israel) and a visible limp as a sign of his encounter

1 Timothy 2:5 - “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

2 Corinthians 5:17 - “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The name Jacob means “the heel-grabber, i.e the supplanter”. It can also mean “the tripper” - one who is always playing tricks on other people to make them stumble. Another possible meaning is “the place-taker”, one who takes the rightful place of another person. In all of these meanings, the name Jacob (Hebr. Ya-akov) recalls Jacob’s past.

The name Israel (Hebr. Yisrael) is a new name for Jacob’s future. Remember, this name could mean “to wrestle with God”, or “the one who shows that God is true”, or “prince of God”.

Number 3

Jacob meets Esau again here in Genesis 33, after his encounter with the Lord.

If Jacob’s conversation with Esau is meant to be a picture of a believer’s conversation with God after he has been justified by faith, then I find particular interest in the words used by both Jacob and Esau.

Genesis 33:4 - “And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.”

Compare this to the story of the prodigal son told by Jesus in the New Testament in Luke 15:11-32, and we can see how similar this part of the story is.

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 neck, and kissed him.”

Lets go back to the story in Genesis 33. Jacob had gifts that he sent in portions ahead to Esau (Genesis 32:13-21).

Genesis 33:9 - “And Esau said, ‘I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.’”

Genesis 33:12 - “And he [Esau] said, ‘Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.’”

Esau was calling his brother Jacob into communion with him, to finally be ruinited as brothers again, but we read that Jacob acted out of the separation from Esau that he felt, and showed a voluntary humility that was not asked for, including asking for grace that seems to have been already given to him.

How often do I volunarily separate myself in my mind from God, putting emphasis on my unworthiness for grace, when He has already accepted me as a believer by faith and is calling me into communion with Him?

Romans 8:35 and 8:38-39 - “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Colossians 1:21-22 - “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:”

Those who are believers by faith are no longer alienated from God because of His Son’s death on the cross, but we are presented to the Father as holy, without blame, and without punishment to the Father!

References

1. The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)
2. The BEMA Podcast, Episode 14: Grappling with God, Part 2
3. The Torah Portion-by-Portion by Rabbi Seymour Rossel (2007)