Genesis 31:48

New Living Translation

Then Laban declared, "This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of the covenant we have made today." This explains why it was called Galeed—"Witness Pile."

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Lavan said, "This heap is witness between me and you this day." Therefore it was named Gal`ed

King James Version
And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;

Lexham English Bible
Then Laban said, "This pile of stones is a witness between me and you today." Therefore its name is called Galeed,

New Century Version
Laban said to Jacob, "This pile of rocks will remind us of the agreement between us." That is why the place was called A Pile to Remind Us.

New English Translation
Laban said, "This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement today." That is why it was called Galeed.

Amplified Bible
Laban said, "This mound [of stones] is a witness [a reminder of the oath taken] today between you and me." Therefore he [also] called the name Galeed,

New American Standard Bible
Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me this day." Therefore it was named Galeed,

Geneva Bible (1587)
For Laban sayd, This heape is witnesse betweene me and thee this day: therefore he called the name of it Galeed.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me this day." Therefore it was named Galeed,

Contemporary English Version
Laban said to Jacob, "This pile of rocks will remind us of our agreement." That's why the place was named Galeed.

Complete Jewish Bible
Lavan said, "This pile witnesses between me and you today." This is why it is called Gal-‘Ed

Darby Translation
And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed,

Easy-to-Read Version
Laban said to Jacob, "This pile of rocks will help us both remember our agreement." That is why Jacob called the place Galeed.

English Standard Version
Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today." Therefore he named it Galeed,

George Lamsa Translation
And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and you this day. Therefore he called its name Galead.

Good News Translation
Laban said to Jacob, "This pile of rocks will be a reminder for both of us." That is why that place was named Galeed.

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Laban said, “This mound is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore the place was called Galeed

Literal Translation
And Laban said, This heap is a witness between you and between me today; so he called its name Heap of Testimony;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde Laban: This heape be wytnesse betwene me and the this daye (therfore is it called Gilead)

American Standard Version
And Laban said, This heap is witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed:

Bible in Basic English
And Laban said, These stones are a witness between you and me today. For this reason its name was Galeed,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then saide Laban: this heape is witnesse betwene thee and me this day, therfore it is called Galeed,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Laban said: 'This heap is witness between me and thee this day.' Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;

King James Version (1611)
And Laban said, This heape is a witnesse betweene mee and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed,

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and the pillar, which I have set between me and thee; this heap witnesses, and this pillar witnesses; therefore its name was called, the Heap witnesses.

English Revised Version
And Laban said, This heap is witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed:

Berean Standard Bible
Then Laban declared, "This mound is a witness between you and me this day." Therefore the place was called Galeed,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Laban seide, This heep schal be witnesse bytwixe me and thee to day, and herfor the name therof was clepid Galaad, that is, the heep of witnesse.

Young's Literal Translation
And Laban saith, `This heap [is] witness between me and thee to-day;' therefore hath he called its name Galeed;

Update Bible Version
And Laban said, This heap is witness between me and you this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed:

Webster's Bible Translation
And Laban said, This heap [is] a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed:

World English Bible
Laban said, "This heap is witness between me and you this day." Therefore it was named Galeed

New King James Version
And Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me this day." Therefore its name was called Galeed,

New Life Bible
Laban said, "These stones are to stand for the agreement between you and me today." So they were given the name Galeed.

New Revised Standard
Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today." Therefore he called it Galeed,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Laban: This heap, be witness betwixt me, and thee, to-day. For this cause, is the name thereof called Galeed;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Laban said: This heap shall be a witness between me and thee this day, and therefore the name thereof was called Galaad, that is, The witness heap.

Revised Standard Version
Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today." Therefore he named it Galeed,

THE MESSAGE
Laban said, "This monument of stones will be a witness, beginning now, between you and me." (That's why it is called Galeed—Witness Monument.) It is also called Mizpah (Watchtower) because Laban said, " God keep watch between you and me when we are out of each other's sight. If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives when there's no one around to see you, God will see you and stand witness between us."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me this day." Therefore it was named Galeed,

Contextual Overview

⁴³ Then Laban replied to Jacob, "These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks—in fact, everything you see is mine. But what can I do now about my daughters and their children? ⁴⁴ So come, let's make a covenant, you and I, and it will be a witness to our commitment." ⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument. ⁴⁶ Then he told his family members, "Gather some stones." So they gathered stones and piled them in a heap. Then Jacob and Laban sat down beside the pile of stones to eat a covenant meal. ⁴⁷ To commemorate the event, Laban called the place Jegar-sahadutha (which means "witness pile" in Aramaic), and Jacob called it Galeed (which means "witness pile" in Hebrew). ⁴⁸ Then Laban declared, "This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of the covenant we have made today." This explains why it was called Galeed—"Witness Pile." ⁴⁹ But it was also called Mizpah (which means "watchtower"), for Laban said, "May the Lord keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this covenant when we are out of each other's sight. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters or if you marry other wives, God will see it even if no one else does. He is a witness to this covenant between us. ⁵¹ "See this pile of stones," Laban continued, "and see this monument I have set between us. ⁵² They stand between us as witnesses of our vows. I will never pass this pile of stones to harm you, and you must never pass these stones or this monument to harm me.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

This heap: Joshua 24:27

Galeed: or, Gilead, Genesis 31:23, Deuteronomy 2:36, Deuteronomy 3:16, Joshua 13:8, Joshua 13:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 31:44 - a witness Genesis 31:52 - General Joshua 15:38 - Mizpeh Joshua 22:27 - a witness Judges 10:3 - a Gileadite 1 Samuel 24:21 - Swear 2 Samuel 24:6 - Gilead James 5:3 - a witness

Cross-References

Genesis 31:8
For if he said, ‘The speckled animals will be your wages,' the whole flock began to produce speckled young. And when he changed his mind and said, ‘The striped animals will be your wages,' then the whole flock produced striped young.

Genesis 31:9
In this way, God has taken your father's animals and given them to me.

Genesis 31:23
So he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with Jacob seven days later in the hill country of Gilead.

Deuteronomy 2:36
"The Lord our God also helped us conquer Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and the town in the gorge, and the whole area as far as Gilead. No town had walls too strong for us.

Deuteronomy 3:16
But I also gave part of Gilead to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The area I gave them extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge in the south to the Jabbok River on the Ammonite frontier.

Joshua 24:27
Joshua said to all the people, "This stone has heard everything the Lord said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Laban said, this heap [is] a witness between me and thee this day. A witness of the covenant now about to be made between them that day, and a witness against them should they break it:

therefore was the name of it called Galeed; by Jacob, as before observed; :-.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Jacob’s Flight from Haran

19. תרפים t^erāpı̂ym, Teraphim. This word occurs fifteen times in the Old Testament. It appears three times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the Pentateuch. It is always in the plural number. The root does not appear in Biblical Hebrew. It perhaps means “to live well,” intransitively (Gesenius, Roedig.), “to nourish,” transitively (Furst). The teraphim were symbols or representatives of the Deity, as Laban calls them his gods. They seem to have been busts (προτομαί protomai, Aquila) of the human form, sometimes as large as life 1 Samuel 19:13. Those of full size were probably of wood; the smaller ones may have been of metal. In two passages Judges 17:1-13; Judges 18:0; Hosea 3:4 they are six times associated with the ephod. This intimates either that they were worn on the ephod, like the Urim and Thummim, or more probably that the ephod was worn on them; in accordance with which they were employed for the purposes of divination Genesis 30:27; Zechariah 10:2. The employment of them in the worship of God, which Laban seems to have inherited from his fathers Joshua 24:2, is denounced as idolatry 1 Samuel 15:23; and hence, they are classed with the idols and other abominations put away by Josiah 2 Kings 23:24.

47. שׂהדוּתא יגר y^egar-śâhădûtā', Jegar-sahadutha, “cairn of witness” in the Aramaic dialect of the old Hebrew or Shemite speech. גלעד gal‛ēd, Gal‘ed; and גלעד gı̂l‛ād, Gil‘ad, “cairn of witness” in Hebrew especially so called (see Genesis 11:1-9).

49. מצפה mı̂tspâh, Mizpah, “watch-tower.”

Jacob had now been twenty years in Laban’s service, and was therefore, ninety-six years of age. It has now become manifest that he cannot obtain leave of Laban to return home. He must, therefore, either come off by the high hand, or by secret flight. Jacob has many reasons for preferring the latter course.

Genesis 31:1-13

Circumstances at length induce Jacob to propose flight to his wives. His prosperity provokes the envy and slander of Laban’s sons, and Laban himself becomes estranged. The Lord now commands Jacob to return, and promises him his presence to protect him. Jacob now opens his mind fully to Rachel and Leah. Rachel, we observe, is put first. Several new facts come out in his discourse to them. Ye know - Jacob appeals to his wives on this point - “that with all my might I served your father.” He means, of course, to the extent of his engagement. During the last six years he was to provide for his own house, as the Lord permitted him, with the full knowledge and concurrence of Laban. Beyond this, which is a fair and acknowledged exception, he has been faithful in keeping the cattle of Laban. “Your father deceived me, and changed my wages ten times;” that is, as often as he could.

If, at the end of the first year, he found that Jacob had gained considerably, though he began with nothing, he might change his wages every following half-year, and so actually change them ten times in five years. In this case, the preceding chapter only records his original expedients, and then states the final result. “God suffered him not to hurt me.” Jacob, we are to remember, left his hire to the providence of God. He thought himself bound at the same time to use all legitimate means for the attainment of the desired end. His expedients may have been perfectly legitimate in the circumstances, but they were evidently of no avail without the divine blessing. And they would become wholly ineffectual when his wages were changed. Hence, he says, God took the cattle and gave them to me. Jacob seems here to record two dreams, the former of which is dated at the rutting season. The dream indicates the result by a symbolic representation, which ascribes it rather to the God of nature than to the man of art. The second dream makes allusion to the former as a process still going on up to the present time. This appears to be an encouragement to Jacob now to commit himself to the Lord on his way home. The angel of the Lord, we observe, announces himself as the God of Bethel, and recalls to Jacob the pillar and the vow. The angel, then, is Yahweh manifesting himself to human apprehension.

Genesis 31:14-19

His wives entirely accord with his view of their father’s selfishness in dealing with his son-in-law, and approve of his intended departure. Jacob makes all the needful preparations for a hasty and secret flight. He avails himself of the occasion when Laban is at a distance probably of three or more days’ journey, shearing his sheep. “Rachel stole the teraphim.” It is not the business of Scripture to acquaint us with the kinds and characteristics of false worship. Hence, we know little of the teraphim, except that they were employed by those who professed to worship the true God. Rachel had a lingering attachment to these objects of her family’s superstitious reverence, and secretly carried them away as relics of a home she was to visit no more, and as sources of safety to herself against the perils of her flight.

Genesis 31:20-24

Laban hears of his flight, pursues, and overtakes him. “Stole the heart,” κλέπτειν νοῦν kleptein noun. The heart is the seat of the understanding in Scripture. To steal the heart of anyone is to act without his knowledge. The river. The Frat, near which, we may conclude, Jacob was tending his flocks. Haran was about seventy miles from the river, and therefore, Laban’s flocks were on the other side of Haran. “Toward mount Gilead;” about three hundred miles from the Frat. “On the third day.” This shows that Laban’s flocks kept by his sons were still three days’ journey apart from Jacob’s. His brethren - his kindred and dependents. “Seven days’ journey.” On the third day after the arrival of the messenger, Laban might return to the spot whence Jacob had taken his flight. In this case, Jacob would have at least five days of a start; which, added to the seven days of pursuit, would give him twelve days to travel three hundred English miles. To those accustomed to the pastoral life this was a possible achievement. God appears to Laban on behalf of Jacob, and warns him not to harm him. “Not to speak from good to bad” is merely to abstain from language expressing and prefacing violence.

Genesis 31:25-32

Laban’s expostulation and Jacob’s reply. What hast thou done? Laban intimates that he would have dismissed him honorably and affectionately, and therefore, that his flight was needless and unkind; and finally charges him with stealing his gods. Jacob gives him to understand that he did not expect fair treatment at his hands, and gives him leave to search for his gods, not knowing that Rachel had taken them.

Genesis 31:33-42

After the search for the teraphim has proved vain, Jacob warmly upbraids Laban. “The camel’s saddle.” This was a pack-saddle, in the recesses of which articles might be deposited, and on which was a seat or couch for the rider. Rachel pleads the custom of women as an excuse for keeping her seat; which is admitted by Laban, not perhaps from the fear of ceremonial defilement Leviticus 15:19-27, as this law was not yet in force, but from respect to his daughter and the conviction that in such circumstances she would not sit upon the teraphim. “My brethren and thy brethren” - their common kindred. Jacob recapitulates his services in feeling terms. “By day the drought;” caused by the heat, which is extreme during the day, while the cold is not less severe in Palestine during the night. “The fear of Isaac” - the God whom Isaac fears. Judged - requited by restraining thee from wrong-doing.

Genesis 31:43-47

Laban, now pacified, if not conscience-stricken, proposes a covenant between them. Jacob erects a memorial pillar, around which the clan gather a cairn of stones, which serves by its name for a witness of their compact. “Jegar-sahadutha.” Here is the first decided specimen of Aramaic, as contradistinguished from Hebrew. Its incidental appearance indicates a fully formed dialect known to Jacob, and distinct from his own. Gilead or Galeed remains to this day in Jebel Jel’ad, though the original spot was further north.

Genesis 31:48-54

The covenant is then completed. And Mizpah. This refers to some prominent cliff from which, as a watch-tower, an extensive view might be obtained. It was in the northern half of Gilead Deuteronomy 3:12-13, and is noticed in Judges 11:29. It is not to be confounded with other places called by the same name. The reference of this name to the present occurrence is explained in these two verses. The names Gilead and Mizpah may have arisen from this transaction, or received a new turn in consequence of its occurrence. The terms of the covenant are now formally stated. I have cast. The erection of the pillar was a joint act of the two parties; in which Laban proposes, Jacob performs, and all take part. “The God of Abraham, Nahor, and Terah.” This is an interesting acknowledgment that their common ancestor Terah and his descendants down to Laban still acknowledged the true God even in their idolatry. Jacob swears by the fear of isaac, perhaps to rid himself of any error that had crept into Laban’s notions of God and his worship. The common sacrifice and the common meal ratify the covenant of reconciliation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 31:48. Genesis 31:49; Genesis 31:49.