Genesis 31:3

3 Then the Lord said to him, "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you."^[a]

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 Now Jacob heard what Laban's sons were saying: "Jacob has taken all that was our father's and has built this wealth from what belonged to our father."

2 And Jacob saw from Laban's face that his attitude toward him was not the same.

3 Then the Lord said to him, "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you."

4 Jacob had Rachel and Leah called to the field [where] his flocks were.

5 He said to them, "I can see from your father's face that his attitude toward me is not the same, but the God of my father has been with me.

Footnotes

• [a] Gn 32:10