Genesis 33:7
in Genesis 33Leah and her children also approached and bowed down, and then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Leah also and her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
KJV
And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
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This verse in Genesis 33
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis 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
then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down
Leah comes with six sons and Dinah, whose story opens the next chapter. Joseph bows here beside his mother before Esau. His dream at Genesis 37:9 sets the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowing to him, and his brothers bow before him at 42:6.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves,....
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּגַּ֧שׁ | vatigash | and she approached | H5066 → | 125 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| לֵאָ֛ה | leah | Leah | H3812 → | 34 times |
| וִילָדֶ֖יהָ | viladeiha | and children her | H3206 → | 89 times |
| וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֑וּ | vaiyishtachavu | and they bowed down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| וְאַחַ֗ר | veachar | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| נִגַּ֥שׁ | nigash | he approached | H5066 → | 125 times |
| יוֹסֵ֛ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| וְרָחֵ֖ל | verachel | and Rachel | H7354 → | 47 times |
| וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֽוּ׃ | vaiyishtachavu | and they bowed down | H7812 → | 172 times |
וַתִּגַּ֧שׁand she approached
vatigashH5066 →125 times
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
לֵאָ֛הLeah
leahH3812 →34 times
וִילָדֶ֖יהָand children her
viladeihaH3206 →89 times
וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֑וּand they bowed down
vaiyishtachavuH7812 →172 times
וְאַחַ֗רand after
veacharH310 →715 times
נִגַּ֥שׁhe approached
nigashH5066 →125 times
יוֹסֵ֛ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
וְרָחֵ֖לand Rachel
verachelH7354 →47 times
וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֽוּ׃and they bowed down
vaiyishtachavuH7812 →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
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsLeahJacob's unloved first wife, on whom the LORD's eye fell — the mother of Judah, the messianic tribe, and of Levi, the priestly trib…
- PersonPatriarchsRachelJacob's beloved wife; mother of Joseph and Benjamin, who dies on the road to Bethlehem — later wept for in the prophets (Jer 31:15…
- PersonPatriarchsJosephThe rejected-then-exalted son — Genesis's great Christ-type; preserver of his family and of Egypt; the bridge into Exodus.
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.