וַיִּשָּׂ֣א אֶת־עֵינָ֗יו וַיַּ֤רְא אֶת־הַנָּשִׁים֙ וְאֶת־הַיְלָדִ֔ים וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מִי־אֵ֣לֶּה לָּ֑ךְ וַיֹּאמַ֕ר הַיְלָדִ֕ים אֲשֶׁר־חָנַ֥ן אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶת־עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃
Looking about, he saw the women and the children. “Who,” he asked, “are these with you?” He answered, “The children with whom God has favored your servant.”
Genesis 33:5 (Revised JPS, 2023)
There are so many little hints regarding how Jacob feels about Esau regarding women. It appears that Jacob believes Esau is unsafe around them. First, the text hides Dinah back in the previous chapter. Here, Jacob evades Esau’s question about the women and only answers regarding the children.
It’s fascinating.