Genesis 31:44
in Genesis 31Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
KJV
Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
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This verse in Genesis 31
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Consider how Laban is gradually introduced to knowledge of God. The man who previously brought the charge of theft of his household gods against the good man and conducted such a close search now says, "Since there is no one capable of acting between us, in case anything happens later, let God act as witness between us to witness what is now being done by us. He is present, the one who sees everything, whose attention nothing can escape, who reads each person's mind."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Let us make a covenant - It was made and ratified with great solemnity, according to the usages of those times. A pillar was erected, and a heap of stones raised, to perpetuate the memory of the thing, writing being then not known. A sacrifice was offered, a sacrifice of peace-offerings.
Now therefore, come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou,.... Let us be good friends, and enter into an alliance for mutual safety, and make an agreement for each other's good.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֗ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| לְכָ֛ה | lekhah | come ! | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| נִכְרְתָ֥ה | nikhretah | let us make | H3772 → | 288 times |
| בְרִ֖ית | verit | a covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| וָאָ֑תָּה | vaatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וְהָיָ֥ה | vehayah | and it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְעֵ֖ד | leed | <into> a witness | H5707 → | 70 times |
| בֵּינִ֥י | beini | between me | H996 → | 407 times |
| וּבֵינֶֽךָ׃ | uveinekha | and between you | H996 → | 407 times |
וְעַתָּ֗הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
לְכָ֛הcome !
lekhahH1980 →1546 times
נִכְרְתָ֥הlet us make
nikhretahH3772 →288 times
בְרִ֖יתa covenant
veritH1285 →284 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
וָאָ֑תָּהand you
vaatahH859 →1094 times
וְהָיָ֥הand it will become
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
לְעֵ֖ד<into> a witness
leedH5707 →70 times
בֵּינִ֥יbetween me
beiniH996 →407 times
וּבֵינֶֽךָ׃and between you
uveinekhaH996 →407 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 31:21And when many troubles and afflictions have come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants. For I know their inclination, even…
it leads to
- Hosea 5:3
I know all about Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me. For now, O Ephraim, you have turned to prostitution; Israel is defiled.
- Psalms 139:2
You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.
- John 2:24–25
But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all.
- Genesis 6:5
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
- Isaiah 46:10
I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
- Hosea 5:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 57.37; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.