Genesis 33:8
And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.
Esau asks what was meant by the whole drove he had met, the animals, livestock and herds sent ahead, and Jacob answers that they are a gift to find grace and favor in the sight of his lord, his brother. The question and answer belong to the affecting meeting and reconciliation of Jacob and Esau after years of separation. It took place after Jacob had rejoiced under God's blessing at Peniel, about ten or eleven years before Joseph was seventeen, as Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem.
The meeting is the fruit of Jacob's night of wrestling and full surrender to God. Having clung to the Angel for the blessing only God could give, he received a changed heart and the changed name Israel, a prince of God with power with God and therefore power with men. In the account of Jacob's deliverance from Esau, the encounter shows he was delivered without using the sword. He had no use for an army against Esau's band of four hundred armed men, because the supplanter Jacob was gone and a humble, kind, truly noble prince stood in his place.
The meeting shows the power of the Lord to change men's hearts and to take away all ground for Esau's quarrel. His burning murderous anger was turned into friendship and tender love, so the meeting ended without the revenge Esau had once planned. Afterward they later parted peacefully, though their possessions and different religious faith made it better for them to live apart. The verse teaches the need for the spirit of forgiveness in the heart. Esau's attitude in the meeting is to be considered in light of his former course concerning the birthright.