1 Jacob looked up, and there was Esau coming, with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two servant women.
2 He placed the servant women and their children in front, Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph at the rear.
3 He himself went on ahead of them and bowed to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet him, threw his arms around him, fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept.
5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children, and he asked, "Who are these with you?" Jacob answered, "The children with whom God has graciously favored your servant."
6 The servant women came forward with their children and bowed down.
7 Leah too came forward with her children, and they bowed down; last of all Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.
8 Esau asked, "What do you mean by this whole company I met?" "To find favor in my lord's sight," Jacob answered.
9 Esau said, "I have plenty, my brother. Keep what is yours."
10 Jacob said, "No, I beg you! If I have found favor in your sight, accept this present from my hand. Seeing your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have welcomed me so kindly.
11 Please take my gift of blessing that has been brought to you, for God has been gracious to me, and I have all I need." He kept pressing him, and Esau took it.
12 Then Esau said, "Let us set out and be on our way; I will go alongside you."
13 But Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are tender, and I have nursing sheep and cows to look after. If they are driven hard for even one day, all the flocks will die.
14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant, and I will move along slowly at the pace of the livestock in front of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at Seir."
15 Esau said, "Then let me leave with you some of the men who are with me." But Jacob said, "Why do that? Just let me find favor in my lord's sight."
16 So that day Esau started back on his way to Seir.
17 Jacob, however, traveled to Succoth. There he built a house for himself and made shelters for his livestock; that is why the place is called Succoth.
18 After coming from Paddan-aram, Jacob arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped facing the city.
19 For a hundred qesitahs he bought from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, the plot of ground where he had pitched his tent.
20 He set up an altar there and called it El-Elohe-Israel.