Genesis 33:14

Please let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a comfortable pace for the livestock and children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jacob addresses his brother Esau following their reconciliation, requesting permission to travel at his own pace rather than immediately following Esau to Seir.

The words — The verb יַעֲבָר־ (ya.'a.vor-) means "let him pass on," paired with לְ/אִטִּ֗/י (le./'i.T/i), literally "to gentleness of mine," which specifies a deliberate, unhurried pace.

The thread — This destination toward Seir recalls Jacob's prior dispatch of messengers to that same region (Genesis 32:3), while the emphasis on measured movement aligns with the gentle leading described in Isaiah 40:11 and the directive to bear the weak in Romans 15:1.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to recognize that practical stewardship of vulnerable dependents justifies measured progress over rushed compliance.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.

Cross-references

Genesis 32:3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
Isaiah 40:11 He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
Romans 15:1 We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
Deuteronomy 2:1 Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the LORD had instructed me, and for many days we wandered around Mount Seir.
Judges 5:4 O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water.
2 Chronicles 20:10 And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt. So Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.
Ezekiel 25:8 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,”
Ezekiel 35:2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it,
Mark 4:33 With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand.
1 Corinthians 3:2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready,