Genesis 31:3

3 ADONAI said to Ya'akov, "Return to the land of your ancestors, to your kinsmen; I will be with you."

Genesis 31:3 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 31:3

And the Lord said unto Jacob
In answer to a prayer of his; or seeing what difficulties and discouragements Jacob laboured under, he appeared unto him for his encouragement and instruction how to proceed: return unto the land of thy fathers;
the land of Canaan, given to Abraham and Isaac by promise: and to thy kindred:
his father and mother, and brother, who all dwelt in the land of Canaan at this time, or as many as were living: or "to thy nativity" ^F23, the place where he was born, and to which he must have a natural desire to return: and I will be with thee;
to protect him from any injury that might be attempted to be done unto him, either by Laban or Esau.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 (Ktdlwml) "ad natale solum", Tigurine version; "ad nativitatem tuam", Vatablus, Drusius.

Genesis 31:3 In-Context

1 But then he heard what Lavan's sons were saying: "Ya'akov has taken away everything that our father once had. It's from what used to belong to our father that he has gotten so rich."

2 He also saw that Lavan regarded him differently than before.

3 ADONAI said to Ya'akov, "Return to the land of your ancestors, to your kinsmen; I will be with you."

4 So Ya'akov sent for Rachel and Le'ah and had them come to the field where his flock was.

5 He said to them, "I see by the way your father looks that he feels differently toward me than before; but the God of my father has been with me.