Genesis 31:43-55
The Voice
Laban: 43 The daughters you speak of are my daughters; the children are my grandchildren; the flocks are my flocks; all you see is mine. But what can I do today about these daughters of mine and the children from their wombs? 44 Come, let’s make a covenant between us, you and me, and let there be a witness to our agreement.
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 He told his relatives to gather up more stones. So they all took stones and made a large pile of them. Then they ate there by the pile. 47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha (Aramaic for “witness-pile”) and Jacob called it Galeed (Hebrew for “witness-pile”).
Laban: 48 This pile of stones stands as a witness to the agreement we have made today.
This is why he called it Galeed. 49 The pillar was called Mizpah, which means “watch post.”
Laban: May the Eternal One watch us when we are away from one another. 50 If you in any way mistreat my daughters or if you take wives in addition to my daughters, even though no one else is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.
51 See this pile of stones and this pillar which I have set between us. 52 This pile is a witness and this pillar is a witness that I will not pass beyond this pile of stones to harm you, and you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to harm me. 53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor (the God of their father Terah) serve as judge between us.
This is no sweet farewell. It is a parting of the ways between two men who don’t trust one another. Both are tricksters, but they are family. It is probably best from now on if they avoid each other completely.
So Jacob swore an oath on the Fear of Isaac, his father; 54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice on the hill there and called all of his relatives together to eat bread. And they all ate bread and spent the rest of the night in the hill country. 55 Early the next morning, Laban got up, kissed his grandchildren and his daughters, and blessed them; and then he left and returned home.
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