Why was Esav going toward Yaakov (Gen. 33:1, 32:7) if he had (27:41) planned to wait to kill him until Yitzchak was dead?
(Please cite your source, if any.)
Answer
Interestingly, Daas Zekeinim and Kli Yakar (to Gen. 32:8) say that when Yaakov heard that Eisav was planning to attack, he was distressed thinking that this must mean that indeed Yitzchak was already dead and that Eisav therefore feels free to kill him.
Rashbam (to 32:7) suggests that indeed Eisav meant well in coming out towards Yaakov with his 400 men - he meant them as an honor guard for him - but that Yaakov suspected that his intentions were in fact evil.
Ramban (to 32:8) writes that Eisav didn't specifically say that he intended to harm Yaakov, but that Yaakov's messengers figured this out by talking to his men. According to this latter approach, it could be that Eisav in fact wasn't planning to kill Yaakov outright, just to scare him (maybe enough so that he'd die of a heart attack or something, without having to actually lay hands on him? After all, Eisav did always try to hide his evil deeds with a veneer of innocence - see Rashi to Gen. 26:34).
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