Genesis 32:5

5 and I have oxen and asses, flocks and menservants and womenservants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.'"

Genesis 32:5 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 32:5

And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and
womenservants
This he would have said, lest he should think he was come to ask anything of him, and put himself and his family upon him; and lest he should treat him with contempt, as a poor mean beggarly creature, and be ashamed of the relation he stood in to him: and I have sent to tell my lord;
of his coming, and of his state and circumstances: that I may find grace in thy sight;
share in his good will, which was all he wanted, and that friendship, harmony, and brotherly love, might subsist between them, which he was very desirous of.

Genesis 32:5 In-Context

3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

4 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,

5 and I have oxen and asses, flocks and menservants and womenservants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.'"

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him."

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and the camels into two bands.