Genesis 31:43-55
New English Translation
43 Laban replied[a] to Jacob, “These women[b] are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren,[c] and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today[d] or the children to whom they have given birth? 44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement,[e] you and I, and it will be[f] proof that we have made peace.”[g]
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 46 Then he[h] said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile.[i] They ate there by the pile of stones. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha,[j] but Jacob called it Galeed.[k]
48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement[l] today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 49 It was also called Mizpah[m] because he said, “May the Lord watch[n] between us[o] when we are out of sight of one another.[p] 50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize[q] that God is witness to your actions.”[r]
51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob.[s] 52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me.[t] 53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor,[u] the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared.[v] 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice[w] on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal.[x] They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.
55 (32:1)[y] Early in the morning Laban kissed[z] his grandchildren[aa] and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home.[ab]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “answered and said.”
- Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “daughters.”
- Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “children.”
- Genesis 31:43 tn Heb “but to my daughters what can I do to these today?”
- Genesis 31:44 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
- Genesis 31:44 tn The verb הָיָה (hayah) followed by the preposition ל (lamed) means “become.”
- Genesis 31:44 tn Heb “and it will become a witness between me and you.”
- Genesis 31:46 tn Heb “Jacob”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 31:46 sn The Hebrew word for “pile” is גַּל (gal), which sounds like the name “Galeed” (גַּלְעֵד, galʿed). See v. 48.
- Genesis 31:47 sn Jegar Sahadutha. Laban the Aramean gave the place an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.”
- Genesis 31:47 sn Galeed also means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness,” but this name is Canaanite or Western Semitic and closer to later Hebrew. Jacob, though certainly capable of speaking Aramaic, here prefers to use the western dialect.
- Genesis 31:48 tn Heb “a witness between me and you.”
- Genesis 31:49 tn Heb “and Mizpah.”
- Genesis 31:49 sn The name Mizpah (מִצְפָּה, mitspah), which means “watchpost,” sounds like the verb translated “may he watch” (יִצֶף, yitsef). Neither Laban nor Jacob felt safe with each other, and so they agreed to go their separate ways, trusting the Lord to keep watch at the border. Jacob did not need this treaty, but Laban, perhaps because he had lost his household gods, felt he did.
- Genesis 31:49 tn Heb “between me and you.”
- Genesis 31:49 tn Heb “for we will be hidden, each man from his neighbor.”
- Genesis 31:50 tn Heb “see.”
- Genesis 31:50 tn Heb “between me and you.”
- Genesis 31:51 tn Heb “and Laban said to Jacob, ‘Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between me and you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 31:52 tn Heb “This pile is a witness, and the pillar is a witness: surely I will not pass by this pile to you, and surely you will not pass by this pile and this pillar to me, for harm.”
- Genesis 31:53 tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. Smr and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.
- Genesis 31:53 tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.
- Genesis 31:54 tn The construction is a cognate accusative with the verb, expressing a specific sacrifice.
- Genesis 31:54 tn Heb “bread, food.” Presumably this was a type of peace offering, where the person bringing the offering ate the animal being sacrificed.
- Genesis 31:55 sn Beginning with 31:55, the verse numbers in the English Bible through 32:32 differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 31:55 ET = 32:1 HT, 32:1 ET = 32:2 HT, etc., through 32:32 ET = 32:33 HT. From 33:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
- Genesis 31:55 tn Heb “and Laban got up early in the morning and he kissed.”
- Genesis 31:55 tn Heb “his sons.”
- Genesis 31:55 tn Heb “to his place.”
Genesis 31:43-55
New Living Translation
Jacob’s Treaty with Laban
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. 53 I call on the God of our ancestors—the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor—to serve as a judge between us.”
So Jacob took an oath before the fearsome God of his father, Isaac,[a] to respect the boundary line. 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice to God there on the mountain and invited everyone to a covenant feast. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.
55 [b]Laban got up early the next morning, and he kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.
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