Genesis 33:10

Summary

Jacob urges Esau to accept his gift, using a doubled politeness particle to soften his insistence. He grounds his request in the language of "finding favor" and closes by comparing the sight of Esau's face to seeing the face of God, noting that Esau has received him well.

Key words

• na ("please", H4994) — appears twice in sequence ('al-na... 'im-na), an interjection of entreaty that intensifies the politeness of Jacob's refusal-then-request.
• chen ("favor", H2580) — masculine singular noun forming the idiom "to find favor in the eyes of," a fixed expression of seeking goodwill.
• panekha ("your face", H6440H) — masculine plural construct noun with 2ms suffix; plural form is standard for "face" in Hebrew and does not indicate multiple faces.
• ki-r'ot ("like seeing", H7200G) — infinitive construct with prefixed preposition ki ("like"), creating the comparative clause "as one sees."
• va-tirtzeni ("and you have accepted me favorably", H7521) — narrative-sequence verb form (vav + qal) with 1cs object suffix, closing the sentence by naming the reception itself.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative marker va-yo'mer ("and he said," H0559) followed by the subject Ya'aqov (H3290), the standard formula introducing direct speech. Jacob's plea begins with an unusual stacked construction: 'al-na ("please not") followed immediately by 'im-na ("if, please"). The repetition of na (H4994) across the negation and the conditional clause marks heightened deference — Jacob is not simply stating a condition but wrapping his request in double courtesy before it is even stated.

The conditional clause itself, 'im-na matza'ti chen be-'eineikha ("if I have found favor in your eyes"), uses the perfect verb matza'ti (H4672) to present the favor as already established fact within the hypothetical frame, followed by the sequential perfect ve-laqachta (H3947H, "then you will accept") which continues the logical chain: since favor has been found, acceptance of the gift should follow.

The final clause pairs two occurrences of the root ra'ah ("to see", H7200G): the perfect ra'iti ("I have seen") and the infinitive construct r'ot ("seeing"), joined by the comparative ki (H9004, "like"). This creates a direct grammatical parallel between "seeing your face" (panekha) and "seeing the face of God" (penei 'Elohim, H6440H + H0430G), both using the same construct noun panim. The clause ends with va-tirtzeni (H7521), a narrative-sequence verb from the root ratzah, stating that Esau's reception of Jacob has been favorable — the term used elsewhere for acceptance or being pleased with something.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the opening negation-plus-conditional ('al-na... 'im-na) simply as "Εἰ εὕρηκα" ("If I have found"), omitting the initial refusal particle that the Hebrew and the Vulgate (Noli ita, obsecro, "Do not [do] so, I beg you") both preserve. In the comparison clause, the LXX phrases it as ὡς ἄν τις ἴδοι πρόσωπον θεοῦ ("as one might see the face of a god"), a more hypothetical construction than the Hebrew's direct infinitival comparison ki-r'ot penei 'Elohim. The Vulgate's closing "esto mihi propitius" ("be favorable to me") reframes the Hebrew's completed-action va-tirtzeni ("you have accepted me favorably") as a request rather than a statement of fact already accomplished.