Genesis 31:49

New Living Translation

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.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
and Mitzpah, for he said, "The LORD watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another.

King James Version
And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

Lexham English Bible
and Mizpah, because he said, "Yahweh watch between me and you when we are out of sight of each other.

New Century Version
It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, "Let the Lord watch over us while we are separated from each other.

New English Translation
It was also called Mizpah because he said, "May the Lord watch between us when we are out of sight of one another.

Amplified Bible
and Mizpah (watchtower), for Laban said, "May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent from one another.

New American Standard Bible
and Mizpah, for he said, "May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Also he called it Mizpah, because he said, The Lorde looke betweene me and thee, when we shalbe departed one from another,

Legacy Standard Bible
and Mizpah, for he said, "May Yahweh watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.

Contemporary English Version
Laban also said, "This pile of rocks means that the Lord will watch us both while we are apart from each other." So the place was also named Mizpah.

Complete Jewish Bible
and also HaMitzpah [the watchtower], because he said, "May Adonai watch between me and you when we are apart from each other.

Darby Translation
—and Mizpah; for he said, Let Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we shall be hidden one from another:

Easy-to-Read Version
Then Laban said, "Let the Lord watch over us while we are separated from each other." So that place was also named Mizpah.

English Standard Version
and Mizpah, for he said, "The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another's sight.

George Lamsa Translation
And a watchtower; for he said. Let the LORD watch between me and you, because we are parting one from another.

Good News Translation
Laban also said, "May the Lord keep an eye on us while we are separated from each other." So the place was also named Mizpah.

Christian Standard Bible®
and also Mizpah, for he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight.

Literal Translation
also, Watchtower; for he said, May Jehovah watch between you and me, for we are hidden, when we are out of sight, each from his neighbor.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and a testimony, for he sayde: The LORDE loke betwene me and ye, whan we are departed ye one from ye other:

American Standard Version
and Mizpah, for he said, Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

Bible in Basic English
And Mizpah, for he said, May the Lord keep watch on us when we are unable to see one another's doings.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Mispah: for he said, the Lord loke betwene thee and me when we are departed one from another,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
and Mizpah, for he said: 'The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

King James Version (1611)
And Mizpah: for he said, The LORD watch betweene me and thee when we are absent one from another.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the vision of which he said—Let God look to it between me and thee, because we are about to depart from each other, —

English Revised Version
and Mizpah, for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

Berean Standard Bible
and also Mizpah, because he said, "May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent from one another.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Laban addide, The Lord biholde, and deme bitwixe vs, whanne we schulen go awei fro yow;

Young's Literal Translation
Mizpah also, for he said, `Jehovah doth watch between me and thee, for we are hidden one from another;

Update Bible Version
and Mizpah, for he said, Yahweh watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

World English Bible
and Mizpah, for he said, "Yahweh watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another.

New King James Version
also Mizpah, [fn] because he said, "May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.

New Life Bible
They were given the name of Mizpah also. For Laban said, "May the Lord watch between you and me when we are apart from each other.

New Revised Standard
and the pillar Mizpah, for he said, "The Lord watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
also, The Watch Tower, as to which it is said, Yahweh watch betwixt me and thee, when we are parted one from another.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The Lord behold and judge between us, when we shall be gone one from the other.

Revised Standard Version
and the pillar Mizpah, for he said, "The LORD watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
and Mizpah, for he said, "May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.

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

Mizpah: i.e. a beacon, or watch-tower, Judges 10:17, Judges 11:11, Judges 11:29, Mizpeh, 1 Samuel 7:5, 1 Kings 15:22, Hosea 5:1

Reciprocal: Genesis 26:28 - Let there Joshua 11:3 - land Joshua 13:26 - Ramathmizpeh Joshua 15:38 - Mizpeh 2 Kings 25:23 - Mizpah

Cross-References

Genesis 31:5
He said to them, "I have noticed that your father's attitude toward me has changed. But the God of my father has been with me.

Genesis 31:6
You know how hard I have worked for your father,

Judges 10:17
At that time the armies of Ammon had gathered for war and were camped in Gilead, and the people of Israel assembled and camped at Mizpah.

Judges 11:11
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their ruler and commander of the army. At Mizpah, in the presence of the Lord , Jephthah repeated what he had said to the elders.

Judges 11:29
At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites.

1 Kings 15:22
Then King Asa sent an order throughout Judah, requiring that everyone, without exception, help to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the town of Geba in Benjamin and the town of Mizpah.

Hosea 5:1
"Hear this, you priests. Pay attention, you leaders of Israel. Listen, you members of the royal family. Judgment has been handed down against you. For you have led the people into a snare by worshiping the idols at Mizpah and Tabor.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Mizpah,.... Which being an Hebrew word, it looks as if the heap had also this name given it by Jacob, which signifies a "watch" or "watchtower"; though, by what follows, it seems to be given by Laban, who could speak Hebrew as well, as Syriac, or Chaldee:

for he said, the Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another; or "hid one from another" q; when being at a distance, they could not see each other, or what one another did in agreement or disagreement with their present covenant: but he intimates, that the Lord sees and knows all things, and therefore imprecates that God would watch over them both, them and their actions, and bring upon them the evil or the good, according as their actions were, or as they broke or kept this covenant.

q נסתר "abscondemur", Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius; "absconditi erimus", Junius Tremellius, Piscator so Ainsworth.

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 31:48-49. I think these two verses are badly divided, and should be read thus:

Genesis 31:48. And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day.

Genesis 31:49. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed and Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

Mizpah — מעפה mitspah signifies a watch-tower; and Laban supposes that in consequence of the consecration of the place, and the covenant now solemnly made and ratified, that God would take possession of this heap, and stand on it as on a watch-tower, to prevent either of them from trenching on the conditions of their covenant.