Genesis 32:4-5 - Exposition

And he commanded them , saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus ;—the expression "my lord "may have been designed to intimate to Esau that he (Jacob) did not intend to assert that superiority or precedency which had been assigned him by Isaac's blessing ( Genesis 27:29 ), at least so far as to claim a share in Isaac's wealth (Calvin, Bush, Gerlach), but was probably due chiefly to the extreme courtesy of the East (Gerlach), or to a desire to conciliate his brother (Keil), or to a feeling of personal contrition for his misbehavior towards Esau (Kalisch), and perhaps also to a secret apprehension of danger from Esau's approach (Alford, Inglis)— I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed — אֵחַר the fut. Kal. of אָחַר occurring only here, is a contraction for אֶאֱחַר , like תֹּסֵק for תֹּאסֵק ( Psalms 104:29 ; vide Gesenius, § 68, 2)— there until now: and I have (literally, there are to me , so that I stand in need of no further wealth from either thee or Isaac ) oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and women servants :—cf. Genesis 12:16 (Abraham); Genesis 26:13 , Genesis 26:14 (Isaac)— and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight (cf. Genesis 33:8 , Genesis 33:15 ; Genesis 39:4 ; and vide Genesis 6:8 ; Genesis 18:3 ).