3
Then YHWHוַ יְהוָהsaidיֹּאמֶרto Jacob,אֶל יַעֲקֹב“Returnשׁוּבto the landאֶל אֶרֶץof your fathersאֲבוֹתֶיךָand to your kindred,וּלְמוֹלַדְתֶּךָand I will beוְאֶהְיֶהwith you.”עִמָּךְ
Genesis 31:3
Study it in the app“Then YHWH said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.””
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 31:3, word by word
- Then YHWHיְהוָהyehva
YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
Where else “yehva” appears- saidיֹּאמֶרyomer
say
To say with the mouth to someone what one thinks or wants, or to answer him.
Where else “yomer” appears- to Jacobיַעֲקֹבyaakov
Jacob
Jacob, the younger son of Isaac and Rebekah, twin brother of Esau and father of the twelve tribes. In Hebrew "Yaakov" sounds like "heel" and "supplant" (Genesis 25:26; 27:36). God later gave him the name Israel; the name also stands for his descendants, the people of Israel.
Where else “yaakov” appears- “Returnשׁוּבshuv
return
To go back to a place.
Where else “shuv” appears- to the landאֶרֶץerets
land
A region or nation, above all Israel's.
Where else “erets” appears- of your fathersאֲבוֹתֶיavote
forefather
Ancestors, those who came before in the family.
Where else “avote” appears- and to your kindredמוֹלַדְתֶּmoladte
kindred
One's family and homeland.
Where else “moladte” appears- and I will beאֶהְיֶהehye
be
To be: "I will be their Elohim".
Where else “ehye” appears
The context
2And Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, it was not with him as before.
3 · This verse (above)
4So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock.
To study Genesis 31 in a group
1. What it says
Why did Jacob leave Laban’s house, and what did Elohim say to Laban in a dream (vv. 3, 24)?
2. What it means
What does the heap of stones mean as a witness between Jacob and Laban (vv. 44-50)?
3. How I live it
How can you close a conflict with someone in a clear and peaceful way?