Genesis 31:47

And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Laban	לָבָ֔ן la.Van	H3837	Laban · proper noun, a man's name
called	וַיִּקְרָא vai.yik.ra'-	H7121	to call out to (i.e. properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Jegar-sahadutha	יְגַ֖ר ye.Gar	H3026	Jegar-Sahadutha · proper noun, a place name
Jacob	וְיַֽעֲקֹ֔ב ve.ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
called	קָ֥רָא Ka.ra'	H7121	to call out to (i.e. properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Galeed	גַּלְעֵֽד gal.'Ed	H1567	Galed · proper noun, a place name

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so ea…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 31:43–end

We have here the compromising of the matter between Laban and Jacob. Laban had nothing to say in reply to Jacob's remonstrance: he could neither justify himself nor condemn Jacob, but was convicted by his own conscience of the wrong he had done him; and therefore desires to hear no more of the matter He is not willing to own himself in a fault, nor to ask Jacob's forgiveness, and make him satisfaction, as he ought to have done. But, I. He turns it off with a profession of kindness for Jacob's wives and children (Gen 31:43): These daughters are my daughters. When he cannot excuse what he has done, he does, in effect, own what he should have done; he should have treated them as his own, but he…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 31:44

Come thou, let us make a covenant--The way in which this covenant was ratified was by a heap of stones being laid in a circular pile, to serve as seats, and in the center of this circle a large one was set up perpendicularly for an altar. It is probable that a sacrifice was first offered, and then that the feast of reconciliation was partaken of by both parties seated on the stones around it. To this day heaps of stones, which have been used as memorials, are found abundantly in the region where this transaction took place.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 31:47

Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha - יגר שהדותא yegar sahadutha, the heap or round heap of witness; but Jacob called it גלעד galed, which signifies the same thing. The first is pure Chaldee, the second pure Hebrew. אגר agar signifies to collect, hence יגר yegar and אוגר ogar, a collection or heap made up of gathered stones; and hence also אגורא egora, an altar, used frequently by the Chaldee paraphrast. See Kg1 12:33; Jdg 6:31; Kg2 21:3; Jer 17:1. See Castel's Lexicon. From this example we may infer that the Chaldee language was nearly coequal with the Hebrew. A gloss made by St. Jerome, and which was probably only entered by him in his margin as a note, has crept into the text of the Vulgate.…

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The Church Fathers

HEAP OF STONES RAISED BY LABAN AND JACOB. — Those who know the Syriac and Hebrew language say that it is due to the properties of each one of them that Laban and Jacob called differently the pile of stones which they had erected among them, for Laban called it Acervum testimonii “Heap of Testimony” and Jacob Acervum testem “ Witness Heap”. It happens sometimes, indeed, that a language does not express with a single word what another language can express, and so one word receives its name because it has a close meaning. In fact, afterwards it is said: It is for this reason that this place has been called "the heap testifies" ( Acervus testatur ). This expression is half-way, so that it can satisfy one and another: one of which says “Heap of Testimony” ( Acervus testimonii ) other which says “Witness Heap.” ( Acervus testis ) [
— Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 96 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Galeed — Heap of witness, the name of the pile of stones erected by Jacob and Laban to mark the league of friendship into which they entered with each other (Gen. 31:47, 48). This was the name given to the…
Jacob — One who follows on another’s heels; supplanter, (Gen. 25:26; 27:36; Hos. 12:2-4), the second born of the twin sons of Isaac by Rebekah. He was born probably at Lahai-roi, when his father was…
Jegar-sahadutha — Pile of testimony, the Aramaic or Syriac name which Laban gave to the pile of stones erected as a memorial of the covenant between him and Jacob (Gen. 31:47), who, however, called it in Hebrew by an…
Jegarsahadutha — (heap of testimony), the Aramaean name given by Laban the Syrian to the heap of stones which he erected as a memorial of the compact between Jacob and himself. (Genesis 31:47) Galeed, a “witness…
Leah — Weary, the eldest daughter of Laban, and sister of Rachel (Gen. 29:16). Jacob took her to wife through a deceit of her father (Gen. 29:23). She was “tender-eyed” (17). She bore to Jacob six sons…
Shechem — Shoulder. (1.) The son of Hamor the Hivite (Gen. 33:19; 34). (2.) A descendant of Manasseh (Num. 26:31; Josh. 17:2). (3.) A city in Samaria (Gen. 33:18), called also Sichem (12:6), Sychem (Acts…
Stones — Besides the ordinary uses to which stones were applied, we may mention that large stones were set up to commemorate any remarkable event. (Genesis 28:18; 35:14; 31:45; Joshua 4:9; 1 Samuel 7:12) Such…
Witness — More than one witness was required in criminal cases (Deut. 17:6; 19:15). They were the first to execute the sentence on the condemned (Deut. 13:9; 17:7; 1 Kings 21:13; Matt. 27:1; Acts 7:57, 58).…
Contracts · By erecting a heap of stones — By erecting a heap of stones
Covenant · .Jacob and Laban — .Jacob and Laban

Genesis 31:47

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 31:43–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 31:44

Adam Clarke on Genesis 31:47

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 31:47

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 31:43–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 31:44

Adam Clarke on Genesis 31:47

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Genesis 31:47

John Calvin on Genesis 31:47-48

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 31:43–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 31:45-48

Rashi on Genesis 31:47