‘And Jacob journeyed to Succoth and built himself a house and made booths for his cattle. That is why the name of the place is called Succoth (booths).'
Succoth was later a city in the territory assigned to the Gaddites, east of Jordan, in the Jordan valley not far from a water crossing (Joshua 13:27; Judges 8:4-5) and not far from Penuel (Judges 8:8).
Here he sets up a permanent residence. He has been through much, as have his family and herds and flocks, and this gives him the opportunity for recovery. He builds a house for himself and provides permanent accommodation for his flocks and herds. The ‘house', permanent living quarters, may well have been fairly extensive needing to provide accommodation for his wives and family. His men could see to their own needs and would need to protect the herds. It is clear that he was in no hurry to join his father Isaac, and spent some years here while his family grew up. The name Succoth appears to have come from this period. Thus the event that follows at Shechem occurs some time after.
The position had the added advantage that if Esau came back he could always say that his herds and flocks, which had previously been pushed hard, needed recovery time.