Bible study online

Genesis 33:3

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Genesis 33:3

Verse 3 of 20

Scripture focus

And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

Genesis 33:3 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Genesis 33:3

Theological / Devotional

Bowed himself. This Oriental custom is attested in the Amarna Letters of the 14th century B.C., in which Palestinian princes wrote an Egyptian king that they fell down before Pharaoh’s feet, either “seven times,” or “seven times and another seven times,” or possibly “seven times seven times.” Seven bows before a superior seem to have been considered a sign of perfect humility and unqualified submission. By this manifestation of deference, Jacob hoped to win the heart of his brother. It represented complete abandonment of any claim to special privileges previously secured by treachery.

By SdaBc