What does Genesis 33:16 mean?
Esau finally accepts both of Jacob's enormous gift to him (Genesis 32:13:15) and Jacob's refusal to travel with him to Seir (Genesis 33:12–14). With Jacob's claim that he will follow at a slower pace, Esau departs. He is heading south, into the land of Edom.The reunion with his brother has gone about as well as Jacob could have hoped (Genesis 33:4). The last time he was in this region, Esau was threatening to kill Jacob (Genesis 27:41–45). The confrontation is over. God has protected him; the relationship with his twin brother seems to have been restored.
What happens next, however, is completely different from what Jacob has just told Esau. Rather than heading south, following Esau, Jacob takes his family north, towards Succoth (Genesis 33:17). It's possible Jacob is still nervous that Esau wants to harm him. Or, that he might change his mind. We're not given Jacob's exact reasons, but we do know he does the opposite of his statement to Esau, and travels in the opposite direction.
Genesis 33:12–20 records Jacob's large company settling near the city of Shechem. Esau asks Jacob to travel back to Seir with him, but Jacob asks to come along later. Instead of following Esau, Jacob takes his caravan through Succoth. They eventually arrive near Shechem. There, Jacob buys land and settles in. In the next chapter, this will become the site of one of the ugliest episodes in Israel's young history.
All the preparations to meet Esau have been made. Jacob has both the promise of the Lord's protection and a plan. Now the moment comes. Jacob approaches, repeatedly bowing low, until Esau finally runs to embrace and kiss his brother. They weep together. Esau meets Jacob's family. Though he initially refuses Jacob's enormous gift, Jacob urges him to take it as a sign of Esau's favor for him. Jacob soon buys land and sets up camp outside the city of Shechem, building an altar to the Lord there.
