Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 33:8

"And he said, What meanest thou by all this company which I met? And he said, To find favor in the sight of my lord." — Genesis 33:8 (ASV)

What do you mean by all this drove ...? Hebrew, What is all this camp of yours that I met? From the time of Jacob’s coming to Mahanaim, the word mahaneh, “camp,” is used in a very remarkable way. It is the word translated bands in Genesis 32:7, and company in Genesis 32:8; Genesis 32:21. It is the proper word for an encampment of pastoral people with their flocks, and might be used not unnaturally of the five droves, for they would remind Esau of the cattle driven in at evening to the place where they were to pass the night.