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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 31:43 - 31:55
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The Covenant on Mount Gilead
v. 43. And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine; and what can I do this day unto these my daughters or unto their children which they have born? Although Laban still speaks with an unwarranted boastfulness, referring to his superior power and assuming rights which he no longer possessed, yet his words also show that Jacob's rebuke has had its effect. He realizes that any attempt against the life or well-being of Jacob would hurt also his children and grandchildren. At the same time the fear arises in him that Jacob might some day return to Mesopotamia at the head of a mighty band and avenge his wrong.
v. 44. Now, therefore, come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. This proposal was largely an outgrowth of selfishness, but it served the purpose.
v. 45. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar, this stone being the monument of the settlement, of the peaceful separation, to which he assented.
v. 46. And Jacob said unto his brethren, his kinsmen that had come with Laban, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap; and they did eat there upon the heap, which designated the friendly communion.
v. 47. And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha; but Jacob called it Galeed, both names, the first Chaldean, the other Hebrew, signifying the same: Heap of testimony, or witness.
v. 48. And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;
v. 49. and Mizpah, another name, which was later applied to the location on account of another remark by Laban; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent one from another. Mizpah, or Mizpeh, means watch-tower, for Jehovah was called upon to be the watchman, to watch carefully that all the terms of the agreement should be observed.
v. 50. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee. The Lord, knowing what the stipulation included, would watch that none of its terms be violated.
v. 51. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee;
v. 52. this heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. If either one should ever have thoughts of vengeance, his way into the country of the other would lead past this place, and the monument of stones would serve to remind him of the covenant.
v. 53. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, that is, the God of Terah, judge betwixt us. Laban, the idolater, is rather indefinite in naming his god, though he tries to find common ground. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac, by the God whom his father worshiped and whom he knew to be the only true God.
v. 54. Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, he killed animals for an offering to the true God, and called his brethren to eat bread and thus to seal the covenant with a common meal. And they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.
v. 55. And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them, thus taking leave of them in a very tender manner, a contrast to his former harshness: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place. From the story of this covenant we learn that the believers, so far as it is possible without denying the truth, will try to have peace with all men, even with the unbelievers, which does not change the fact, however, that there is constant warfare on their part against sin.