And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
Thus shall ye speak. The purport of the message was that, after a residence of twenty years in Mesopotamia, he was now returning to his native land-that he did not need anything, because he had abundance of pastoral wealth; but that he could not pass without notifying his arrival to his brother, and paying the homage of his respectful obeisance.
My lord Esau - х 'ªdoniy (H113) my lord.] This is a title of honour, given to a person on account of his rank My lord Esau - х 'ªdoniy (H113) my lord.] This is a title of honour, given to a person on account of his rank or venerable character (see the note at Genesis 31:35). It is a style of adulation employed in certain special circumstances to an absent person, and used by Jacob, with other carefully-chosen expressions, in the hope of mollifying his resentful brother. Acts of civility tend to disarm opposition and soften hatred (Ecclesiastes 10:4).
Thy servant Jacob. He had been made lord over his brethren (cf. Genesis 27:29). But it is probable he thought this referred to a spiritual superiority; or if to temporal, that it was to be realized only to his posterity. At all events, leaving it to God to fulfill that purpose, he deemed it prudent to assume the most kind and respectful bearing.