“What do you mean by sending this whole company to meet me?” asked Esau. “To find favor in your sight, my lord,” Jacob answered.
Parallel translations
- WEB Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” Jacob said, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.”
- KJV And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.
- NKJV Then Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.”
- NASB And he said, “What do you mean by all this company which I have met?” And he said, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.”
- NLT “And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?” Esau asked. Jacob replied, “They are a gift, my lord, to ensure your friendship.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Esau asks about the droves he met, and Jacob explains they were sent to find favor. Jacob presents the gift as a gesture of goodwill.
Overview
Esau questions the purpose of the herds Jacob had sent ahead. Jacob answers that they were meant to find favor in his brother's sight. The exchange shows the gift's role in Jacob's careful, humble bid for reconciliation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Gen 32:5I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, menservants, and maidservants. I have sent this message to inform my master, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”
- Gen 39:5From the time that he put Joseph in charge of his household and all he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s household on account of him. The LORD’s blessing was on everything he owned, both in his house and in his field.
- Gen 32:13–20Jacob spent the night there, and from what he had brought with him, he selected a gift for his brother Esau:
- Esth 2:17And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all of the other virgins. So he placed the royal crown upon her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 33:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.