Embrace

When Jacob arrives at Haran, Laban runs to meet him, embraces and kisses him, and welcomes him into the house (Genesis 29:13).

When Jacob returns to the land, Esau runs to meet him, embraces and kisses him, and the two weep together (Genesis 33:4).

Jacob’s exile is literarily embraced with embracing.

I think the two embraces should be contrasted. Laban kisses and embraces Jacob, but ends up abusing him. Esau embraces and kisses Jacob as a sign of genuine welcome and permanent reconciliation.

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