Genesis 33:6
in Genesis 33Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
KJV
Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
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This verse in Genesis 33
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThen the handmaids came near, they and their children,.... Being foremost, and next to, Jacob, as Bilhah and her two sons, Dan and Naphtali, and Zilpah and her two sons, Gad and Asher: and they bowed themselves; in token of respect to Esau, as Jacob had done before them, and set them an example, and no doubt instructed them to do it.
This site's exposition
Who are these with you
on Genesis 33:5-7
The families then come forward in the order he had set, and the ranking is acted out in front of Esau. Joseph is the only child named. He is named ahead of his own mother, the first sign in the text of his place in that house.
This site's exposition
the maidservants and their children approached
The maidservants' sons are Dan and Naphtali, born to Bilhah, and Gad and Asher, born to Zilpah, four of the future tribes. Bowed down is the verb of homage before a ruler, and it also names worship. The whole house bows in turn.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It had been a sufficient answer to the question, and fit enough to be given to profane Esau, if he had only said, "They are my children;" but then Jacob would not have spoken like himself, like a man whose eyes were ever towards the Lord.
The words behind it
5 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּגַּ֧שְׁןָ | vatigashna | and they approached | H5066 → | 125 times |
| הַשְּׁפָח֛וֹת | hashefachot | the maidservants | H8198 → | 63 times |
| הֵ֥נָּה | henah | they | H2007 → | 30 times |
| וְיַלְדֵיהֶ֖ן | veyaldeihen | and children their | H3206 → | 89 times |
| וַתִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶֽיןָ׃ | vatishtachaveina | and they bowed down | H7812 → | 172 times |
וַתִּגַּ֧שְׁןָand they approached
vatigashnaH5066 →125 times
הַשְּׁפָח֛וֹתthe maidservants
hashefachotH8198 →63 times
הֵ֥נָּהthey
henahH2007 →30 times
וְיַלְדֵיהֶ֖ןand children their
veyaldeihenH3206 →89 times
וַתִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶֽיןָ׃and they bowed down
vatishtachaveinaH7812 →172 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.