Genesis 33:13 - Exposition

And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender (Joseph at this time being little over six years of age), and the flocks and herds with young (literally, giving milk; עַלוֹת , from עוּל , to give suck) are with me ,—literally, upon me , i . e . are an object of my special care, because of their condition (Rosenmüller, Keil)— and if men should over-drive them literally, and they (sc. the shepherds) will over-drive them, i . e . in order to keep pace with Esau's armed followers they must do so, and in that case, if they were to do so for only— one day, all the flock (literally, and all the flock ) will die . Thomson says that Oriental shepherds gently lead along the mothers when in the condition spoken of by Jacob, knowing well that even one day's over-driving would be fatal to them, and, from the fact that Jacob's ewes were giving milk, infers that it was winter time, since then alone the flocks are in that condition—an inference which he further confirms by observing that at Succoth Jacob constructed booths for their protection.