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Genesis 31:48

in Genesis 31

Then Laban declared, “This mound is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore the place was called Galeed.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Laban said, This heap is witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed:

KJV

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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This verse in Genesis 31

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

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.

This site's exposition

This mound is a witness between you and me

on Genesis 31:48-50

The Mizpah line is read at partings as a blessing. Here it is a watch between two men parting, and verse 50 names what the watching is for, that Jacob not mistreat the daughters or take other wives. Clarke argues the verse division is wrong and that Galeed and Mizpah were named in one breath.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

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 Gen 31:47.

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • לָבָ֔ןLaban

    lavanH3837 →55 times

  • הַגַּ֨לthe heap

    hagalH1530 →34 times

  • הַזֶּ֥ה<the> this

    hazehH2088 →1180 times

  • עֵ֛ד[is] a witness

    ʾedH5707 →70 times

  • בֵּינִ֥יbetween me

    beiniH996 →407 times

  • וּבֵינְךָ֖and between you

    uveinekhaH996 →407 times

  • הַיּ֑וֹםthis day

    haiyomH3117 →2304 times

  • עַל־there-

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • כֵּ֥ן-fore

    kenH3651 →771 times

  • קָרָֽא־he called

    kara'-H7121 →733 times

  • שְׁמ֖וֹname its

    shemoH8034 →864 times

  • גַּלְעֵֽד׃Galeed

    galedH1567 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Joshua 22:27Rather, let it be a witness between us and you and the generations to come, that we will worship the LORD in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings.’ Then in the future, your descendants cannot say to ours, ‘You have no share in the LORD!’5 worksJoshua 24:27And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”4 worksGenesis 31:44Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.”4 worksGenesis 31:52This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this mound to harm you, and you will not go past this mound and pillar to harm me.4 worksDeuteronomy 3:16and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites.3 worksDeuteronomy 2:36From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.3 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Joshua 13:8–9The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them:3 worksGenesis 31:23So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.3 works1 Samuel 24:21So now, swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s house.”2 worksJudges 10:3Tola was followed by Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years.2 worksJames 5:3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Joshua 24:27

    And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will…

    it leads to

    • Luke 19:40

      “I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”

    • Joshua 22:34

      So the Reubenites and Gadites named the altar Witness, for they said, “It is a witness between us that the LORD is God.”

    • Deuteronomy 31:26

      “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, so that it may remain there as a witness against you.

    • Matthew 10:33

      But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 2:36

    From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God…

    it leads to

    • Joshua 13:9

      The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon,

    • Deuteronomy 3:12

      So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with…

    • Deuteronomy 4:48

      extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 3:16

    and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the…

    it leads to

    • Numbers 21:24

      And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified.

Where this verse is studied

About Genesis

The Creation of Light, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Creation of Light, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Genesis: the study guide →Read Genesis 31 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Genesis 31 →