Yet Jacob felt that he had something to do to secure his own safety. He therefore dispatched messengers with a conciliatory 196 greeting to his brother. He instructed them as to the exact words in which they were to address Esau. It had been foretold before the birth of the two brothers that the elder should serve the younger, and, lest the memory of this should be a cause of bitterness, Jacob told the servants they were sent to "my lord Esau;" when brought before him, they were to refer to their master as "thy servant Jacob;" and to remove the fear that he was returning, a destitute wanderer, to claim the paternal inheritance, Jacob was careful to state in his message, "I have oxen, an asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight."

Men Jakob følte alligevel, at han selv skulle gøre noget for sin sikkerhed. Derfor sendte han sendebud af sted med en fredshilsen til Esau. Han gav dem nøjagtigt pålæg om, hvilke ord de skulle bruge, når de talte med Esau. Det var blevet forudsagt før de to brødres fødsel, at den ældste skulle tjene den yngste, og for at mindet herom ikke skulle vække bitterhed, sagde Jakob til tjenerne, at de skulle gå til "min herre Esau". Når de blev ført frem for ham, skulle de omtale deres herre som "din træl Jakob" og for at Esau ikke skulle tro, at Jakob vendte hjem som en fattig vandringsmand, der ville kræve fædrenearven, meddelte Jakob omhyggeligt i sit budskab: "Jeg har samlet mig okser, æsler og småkvæg, trælle og trælkvinder, og nu sender jeg bud til min herre med efterretning herom i håb om at finde nåde for dine øjne!"