ספורנו — מנחה היא שלוחה לאדוני לעשו

Q — Why does Yaakov instruct his messengers to address Esav in a way that suggests they don't recognize him — "מנחה היא שלוחה לאדוני לעשו" — as if they're just porting gifts toward Seir and happen to bump into him on the road?

A — For Sforno this is Yaakov's deliberate stagecraft. He fears Esav, but doesn't want the מנחה to read as "דורון מחמת יראה" — a bribe from terror, which would advertise weakness. So he scripts the encounter as a courteous tribute-visit to "אדוני" who happens to be in his territory — "כדרך הבקור הראוי לשרים." The tell is in the wording: a messenger who knew his addressee would say "לאדוני" alone; the awkward extra "לעשו" is the tactical fingerprint of unfamiliarity. The next verse, "כי אמר אכפרה פניו במנחה," Sforno reads as the *narrator* describing Yaakov's actual intent (not the messengers' speech) — so the apparent contradiction dissolves. Yaakov conducts two parallel acts: an outward script of dignified deference, and an inward תכלית of אכפרה.