Genesis 31:49
in Genesis 31It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, “May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent from each other.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and Mizpah, for he said, Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
KJV
And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
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This verse in Genesis 31
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis 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 Awakening3 voices
): The Lord watch between me and thee, that is, "The Lord take cognizance of every thing that shall be done on either side in violation of this league. When we are out of one another's sight, let his be a restraint upon us, that wherever we are we are under God's eye." This appeal is convertible into a prayer.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
) it was called Mizpah, a watch-tower. Posterity being included in the league, care was taken that thus the memory of it should be preserved. These names are applicable to the seals of the gospel covenant, which are witnesses to us if we be faithful, but witnesses to us if we be faithful, but witnesses against us if we be false.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Mizpah,....
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַמִּצְפָּה֙ | vehamitzpah | and <the> Mizpah | H4709 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָמַ֔ר | ʾamar | he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יִ֥צֶף | yitzef | may he keep watch | H6822 → | |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בֵּינִ֣י | beini | between me | H996 → | 407 times |
| וּבֵינֶ֑ךָ | uveinekha | and between you | H996 → | 407 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִסָּתֵ֖ר | nisater | we will be hidden | H5641 → | |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מֵרֵעֵֽהוּ׃ | mereehu | from neighbor his | H7453 → | 188 times |
וְהַמִּצְפָּה֙and <the> Mizpah
vehamitzpahH4709 →
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אָמַ֔רhe said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יִ֥צֶףmay he keep watch
yitzefH6822 →
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בֵּינִ֣יbetween me
beiniH996 →407 times
וּבֵינֶ֑ךָand between you
uveinekhaH996 →407 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
נִסָּתֵ֖רwe will be hidden
nisaterH5641 →
אִ֥ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מֵרֵעֵֽהוּ׃from neighbor his
mereehuH7453 →188 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Hosea 5:1“Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on…
it leads to
- Hosea 9:8
The prophet is Ephraim’s watchman, along with my God, yet the snare of the fowler lies on all his paths. Hostility is in the house of his God!
- Hosea 9:8
Through
Judges 11:29Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.
it leads to
- Numbers 11:25
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit…
- Judges 3:10
The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against…
- Judges 13:25
And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
- 1 Samuel 10:10
When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.
- Numbers 11:25
Through
Judges 10:17Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.
it leads to
- Judges 11:29
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.
- Judges 11:29
Through
1 Kings 15:22Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa…
it leads to
- Joshua 21:17
And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,
- Joshua 18:24
Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve cities, along with their villages.
- Joshua 21:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
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.