Not what was expected

Let's be honest, the last time we saw Esau he was as mad as a hornet at Jacob. His sole desire in fact was to kill his brother. In the previous chapter we were informed that Esau was coming to meet Jacob with 400 men. Obviously some news had at least traveled down to Jacob over the 20 years so he knew where to send the messengers but it appears not enough had gotten through because Jacob feared for his life. Esau didn't expect Jacob, it seems, to have such a large family but did expect him to have enough wealth so that help would be needed to bring it all home. And despite meeting God and being renamed Israel, Jacob kept to his old ways.