Genesis 32:19

19 Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed * the droves, saying, "After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;

Genesis 32:19 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 32:19

And so commanded he the second and third
Those who had the care of the second and third droves, he ordered them to say the same things, and in the same words as he had the first: and all that followed the droves;
either all that were with the principal driver; that if any of them should happen to be interrogated first, they might know what to answer; or those that followed the other droves, besides the three mentioned, which countenances Aben Ezra's notion of five droves, before observed: saying, on this manner shall you speak to Esau, when you find him;
that is, when they met him and perceived it was he that put questions to them.

Genesis 32:19 In-Context

17 He commanded the one in front, saying, "When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?'
18 then you shall say, 'These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.' "
19 Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, "After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;
20 and you shall say, 'Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.' " For he said, "I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me."
21 So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.
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