Genesis 31:48

And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called 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
said	וַיֹּ֣אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
heap	הַגַּ֨ל ha.Gal	H1530	something rolled · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
witness	עֵ֛ד 'ed	H5707	concretely · noun, common masculine singular absolute
day	הַיּ֑וֹם hai.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
name	שְׁמ֖וֹ she.Mo	H8034	an appellation · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
called	קָרָֽא 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

Joshua 24:27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spa…
Genesis 31:23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.
Deuteronomy 2:36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city to…
Deuteronomy 3:16 And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even unto the rive…
Joshua 13:8-9 With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the s…

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 31:48

I think these two verses are badly divided, and should be read thus: Gen 31:48 - And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Gen 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.

John Gill on Genesis 31:48

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; See Gill on Genesis 31:47.

The Church Fathers

REVERSE WORD ORDER. — What do the words that Laban say to Jacob mean: this heap witnesses, and this monument witnesses; therefore its name was called, the Heap witnesses . And the vision of which he said, Let God look to it between me and you ?" Perhaps the order must be: “and the vision, which God said, look to it between me among you.” Because God had told him in a vision not to hurt Jacob. [
— Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 97 (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…
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…
Mizpah — Or Miz’peh, watch-tower; the look-out. (1.) A place in Gilead, so named by Laban, who overtook Jacob at this spot (Gen. 31:49) on his return to Palestine from Padan-aram. Here Jacob and Laban set up…
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…
Contracts · By erecting a heap of stones — By erecting a heap of stones
Covenant · .Jacob and Laban — .Jacob and Laban
Covenants · Names given to places where made — Names given to places where made
Galeed · The memorial of Jacob’s and Laban’s covenant — The memorial of Jacob’s and Laban’s covenant
Jegar-Sahadutha · A heap of stones (a — A heap of stones (a
Laban · him — him
Stones · Memorial pillars of

Genesis 31:48

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 31:48

John Gill on Genesis 31:48

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 31:48

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 31:48

John Gill on Genesis 31:48

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

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