To return (344) (anakampto from aná = back again + kámpto = bend) means literally to bend back or turn back and so to return. To bend back one's course. To bend one's steps back. To The "bent" of the hearts of the patriarchs was toward heaven not earth! Anakampto - 4x in 4v - Mt 2:12; Lk 10:6; Acts 18:21; Heb 11:15 Matthew 2:12 And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way. Luke 10:6 "If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. A T Robertson - The peace in that case will bend back with blessing upon the one who spoke it. Acts 18:21 but taking leave of them and saying, "I will return to you again if God wills," he set sail from Ephesus. Hebrews 11:15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. A T Robertson - Continual hankering would have found a way. Cf. the Israelites in the wilderness yearning after Egypt. Anakampto - 9x in the non-apocryphal Septuagint - Ex 32:27; 2Sa 1:22; 8:13; 1Kgs 12:20; 1Chr 19:5; Job 39:4; Jer 3:1; 15:5; Zech 9:8 Steven Cole applies these truths about the patriarchs forward focus to motivate and encourage his vacillating Hebrew readers noting that The author is writing to people who were encountering hardships in their new life as Christians (Ed: Or least those who professed to be Christians). They were tempted to go back to their old religion. So he points out that the patriarchs could have returned to Mesopotamia if they had been looking for an earthly inheritance. The living conditions in their former homeland were probably far more developed than in the land of Canaan. If they had returned, their family and friends would have welcomed them with open arms, whereas in Canaan, they were kept at a distance. But they endured the hardships and didn’t go back because they were seeking a better country, that is, a heavenly one. (He 11:16) True, Abraham sent his servant back to the old country to get a bride for Isaac. But he sternly warned the servant not to take Isaac back there (Ge 24:6, 8). Jacob fled to the old country for 20 years to escape from Esau’s murderous intentions. But it was never his true homeland. He told Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own country” (Ge 30:25). The application is that as believers, we must make a break from our old life and from the world. We live in the world, but we cannot be of the world (John 17:14, 15, 16, 17, 18). Often, like Ur of the Chaldees, the world (kosmos) is sophisticated and modern (Ed: And resolutely, intractably anti-God!). The church seems old fashioned and out of touch with the latest trends. Therefore when we face hardships because of our faith, we may be tempted to go back to the world. But to do so would be to turn away from God’s promises in Christ (cp Jn 6:66, 1Jn 2:19, 2Jn 1:9, Mt 24:13). Hebrews 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. (NASB: Lockman) Greek: nun de kreittonos oregontai, (3PPMI) tout' estin (3SPAI) epouraniou. dio ouk epaischunetai (3SPPI) autous o theos theos epikaleisthai (PPN) auton, etoimasen (3SAAI) gar autois polin. Amplified: But the truth is that they were yearning for and aspiring to a better and more desirable country, that is, a heavenly [one]. For that reason God is not ashamed to be called their God [even to be surnamed their God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob], for He has prepared a city for them. (Amplified Bible - Lockman) KJV: But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. NLT: But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a heavenly city for them. (NLT - Tyndale House) Phillips: No, the fact is that they longed for a better country altogether, nothing less than a heavenly one. And because of this faith of theirs, God is not ashamed to be called their God for in sober truth he has prepared for them a city in Heaven. (Phillips: Touchstone) Wuest: But now as the case stands, they are reaching out in their desires for a better, that is, a heavenly one, because of which God is not ashamed of them to be surnamed their God, for He prepared for them a city. (Eerdmans) Young's Literal: but now they long for a better, that is, an heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for He did prepare for them a city. BUT AS IT IS, THEY DESIRE A BETTER COUNTRY THAT IS A HEAVENLY ONE: nun de kreittonos oregontai (3PPMI) tout estin (3SPAI) epouraniou: (He 11:14; 12:22) Better - 13x in 12v in Hebrews - Heb 1:4; 6:9; 7:19, 22; 8:6; 9:23; 10:34; 11:16, 35, 40; 12:24 "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/hebrews_1113-16.htm#tr