And now, come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be a witness between me and thee.
Laban has chased Jacob for seven days and searched his tents for his missing household gods. He found nothing. Now he asks for a covenant — a binding agreement, with something set up as a witness to it. Why would two relatives need that?
Laban's speech before this verse still claims everything in sight as his own. But his words had lost their force, and one writer traces the shift directly to that weakness:
Verses 43 and 44 would indicate that Laban himself was conscious that this was the case, and so, while asserting his fatherly rights, he adopted a different tone altogether, and suggested that a covenant should be agreed and established between them. This was accordingly done.
The proposal ends the quarrel, but it does not heal it. Another commentator reads the very need for such a document as an indictment of both households:
Laban had calmed down enough that, instead of carrying on the argument, he suggested that he and Jacob make a covenant between them (v. 44). It is sad to think he found this necessary between relatives. It is again a legal arrangement rather than a relationship of trust shaped by grace, which is what every family relationship should be. What we see here is still confidence in the flesh, rather than the faith that trusts in the living God.
Laban's request is strange coming from the stronger party. He had pursued Jacob with a small army and now begs terms from him. The reason lies in Laban himself:
To the eye of faith it is a sad sight. Laban is paid back, and Jacob and his household are rescued by God's overruling hand and goodness. Yet inside the chosen family the wife has stolen idol images, and her husband knows nothing of it. Laban, far from crushing Jacob, begs him for a covenant. Because he did not fear God, he had no confidence in his own closest relative.
The distrust ran both ways. One writer puts Laban's request into plain words:
He is really telling Jacob, "I cannot trust you out of my sight, so I want the Lord to watch." Of course it was true the other way also. Jacob had learned not to trust Laban. So this pillar is the milestone in Jacob's life that declares how untrustworthy the flesh is. Very often it takes two people to expose it to each other!
Laban sets every term. Jacob accepts them, and then does more than agree:
But he tries to put a good face on the matter, and asks for a covenant between himself and Jacob. Jacob leaves all the terms to Laban, with his miserable thoughts and fears, but he carries the covenant out in full earnest, and with it the name that stood. He not only swore by the Fear of Isaac; he also offered peace offerings, and they ate bread together.
The witness Laban asks for turns out to be a heap of stones and a pillar, set as a boundary marker:
Then Laban speaks of the heap and the pillar as a dividing point between him and Jacob. It witnessed their agreement that neither would pass that point to harm the other (v. 52). The whole covenant may seem needless to us. Neither of them was likely to cross that line for any reason: they would be happier living far apart from each other.
The covenant is not only signed; it is sealed with an animal offered to God and a meal eaten over the stones. One writer notices who performs the sacrifice, and what that says about Jacob:
There is something great in this. It tells us that Jacob knew his place and dignity under God. Laban had every claim that nature or the flesh or family ties could give, but Jacob acts despite them. Laban was the older man; he was the master and the father-in-law. Still, Jacob takes the place of the "better," and offers the sacrifice.
The same writer finds in that pattern a picture of something far larger than a family truce:
Such a scene, in mystery, exhibits our blessing. For we enjoy a covenant of peace, secured by a sacrifice, and witnessed by a feast.
One writer sums up the parting, and finds a pattern in it:
But Jacob's prosperity turns Laban against him, just as spiritual growth separates a person from the world… Laban follows Jacob; God appears for Jacob and shields him; and Jacob at last departs in peace, with a covenant between him and Laban, at Galeed, the "heap of witness."
- Subdued — Laban stops arguing and asks for terms. The covenant is the move of a man with nothing left to claim.
- Suspicion — Laban did not fear God, so he could not trust even his closest relative.
- Stones — the heap of stones stands as a witness to broken trust. It marks how untrustworthy the flesh proved on both sides.
- Sacrifice — Jacob leaves every term to Laban. Then he offers the sacrifice and shares the meal, taking the higher place though he held the lower rank.
- Separation — a covenant of peace, secured by a sacrifice and witnessed by a feast. Jacob parts in peace from the world he served.
And Jacob took a stone, and set it up [for] a pillar.
Genesis 31 ends with two relatives who no longer trust each other, trying to make an agreement that will hold. Jacob's answer is a stone — and the question is what a stone can guarantee between men like these.
The Hebrew word behind "pillar" is plain and physical. It names an object put upright and left standing.
matstsebah, from 'to set, put, place'; and so anything that is set up. It is used for the stone that Jacob had for a pillow, which he set up, and on which he poured oil and made his vow. Also for the heap of stones he raised when Laban and he parted.
This is not Jacob's first stone. Commentators trace several through his life, and read this one against the pillar he set up at Bethel.
Jacob sets up his second pillar. His first was in Genesis 28:18, where he made his fleshly vow, therefore the pillar of confidence in the flesh. This time his pillar is a memorial to broken confidence between relatives. It stands in contrast to the first pillar, because it tells us that the flesh has proved it cannot be trusted.
Laban is the one who dictates the terms, and the words he chooses give away what he thinks of his son-in-law.
It is Laban who pronounces the terms of their covenant, saying that the heap was a witness to it. He introduces the Lord's name here, expecting Him to watch between himself and Jacob when they are absent from one another. He is really telling Jacob, "I cannot trust you out of my sight, so I want the Lord to watch." Of course it was true the other way also. Jacob had learned not to trust Laban.
Commentators differ on what the pillar marks — some read it as a monument to failed trust, others as a witness to God's rescue and a boundary line. One detail stands out either way: unlike the stone at Bethel, this one stays dry.
He set up pillars several times in his life — it seems to have been a favourite practice with him. He set one up by Galeed, east of the Jordan, to stand as a witness that God had stepped in on his behalf. Together with the heap that he and his relatives raised, it marked the boundary that neither he nor Laban was to cross to harm the other. He set up another on Rachel's grave, on the way to Ephrath, a lasting memorial marking the spot where he laid the body of his beloved. But neither at Galeed nor at Rachel's grave did he pour out a drink-offering. Neither the time nor the places were right for such an expressive action, and no doubt he understood that.
Jacob does more than set up a stone. He offers the sacrifice — and he is not the elder of the two men.
This has great character in it. It tells us that Jacob knew his place and dignity under God. Laban had every claim that nature or the flesh or family could give, but Jacob acts despite them. Laban was the elder; he was the master and the father-in-law. But Jacob still takes the place of the "better," and offers the sacrifice. He acts in the same spirit of faith as Abraham when he made a covenant with the king of Gerar (Gen. 21), or Jethro at Horeb, among the Israel of God and in the presence of Aaron (Ex. 18).
Commentators see that covenant, sacrifice and feast as a picture of something far larger.
Such a scene, in mystery, shows our blessing. For we enjoy a covenant of peace, secured by a sacrifice, and witnessed by a feast.
The stone marks a border neither man may cross. Some writers see in that parting a pattern of how blessing itself creates distance.
After all his planning, Jacob has to learn that it is the power of God to which he owes the increase. God has looked on his affliction and his toil, and ordained him a recompense. But his prosperity turns Laban against him, as spiritual increase separates from the world. Then comes the call of God to return to Canaan. Laban cannot get on with him any more, and yet Jacob's leaving makes him openly hostile — just as the world feels the sting of separation, though there can be no more fellowship.
- Set up. The word for pillar means nothing more than something set upright — a stone left standing to witness what happened.
- Broken. Jacob's first pillar at Bethel marked confidence in the flesh. This second one records that two relatives cannot trust each other.
- Watched. Laban brings God's name in because he cannot trust Jacob out of his sight — and Jacob had just as little reason to trust him.
- Dry. Jacob pours no oil and no drink-offering on this stone. A stone can witness a boundary without being a place of worship.
- Offered. Jacob, the younger and the servant, is the one who brings the sacrifice — a covenant of peace secured by sacrifice and witnessed by a feast.
And Jacob said to his brethren, Gather stones. And they took stones, and made a heap, and ate there upon the heap.
Genesis 31 ends with Jacob parting from his father-in-law Laban, and the pile of stones in this verse is the monument they leave behind. It looks like a peace treaty, but commentators read it as something sadder: two relatives who cannot trust each other.
Jacob had set up a stone once before, in Genesis 28:18, when he made his vow. This second heap marks a very different moment.
Jacob sets up his second pillar. His first was in Genesis 28:18, where he made his fleshly vow. That first pillar was a pillar of confidence in the flesh. This time his pillar is a memorial to broken confidence between relatives. It stands in contrast to the first pillar, because it tells us that the flesh has proved it cannot be trusted. A heap of stones underlines this. Both Laban and Jacob call it a "heap of witness" — Laban in the Chaldee language, Jacob in Hebrew. They eat upon the heap, not the most comfortable dining room!
The next verse gives the pile two names. A Bible dictionary explains Laban's name for it, Jegar-sahadutha:
This is the Aramaic name Laban gave to the heap of stones raised as a witness between him and Jacob. Jacob called it GALEED. Both names mean 'cairn of witness.'
A family should not need a legal contract. Laban asked for one anyway.
It is sad to think that he considered this necessary between relatives. It is again a legal arrangement instead of a trusting relationship shaped by grace, as every family relationship should be. There is still evidence here of mere confidence in the flesh, instead of the faith that trusts in the living God.
Laban set all the terms, and Jacob accepted them.
But he tries to put a good face on the matter, and asks for a covenant between himself and Jacob. Jacob leaves all the terms to Laban, and to his wretched thoughts and fears. Yet Jacob solemnly carries the covenant out, and accepts the name that stood. He not only swore by the Fear of Isaac; he also offered peace offerings, and they ate bread together.
Laban pressed for a covenant. Jacob added a sacrifice, and one commentator sees that as the better part of the scene.
While Laban has emphasized the covenant, Jacob offered a sacrifice, which was far better. Then he invited the whole company to eat a meal with him. At least the sacrifice was a reminder that God had rights far more important than those of either Jacob or Laban. Eating together eased the tension between them, so that they could part on fairly friendly terms.
Another writer links the offering and the meal. At Mount Gilead they made a covenant, "offering sacrifice, and then eating together as upon the sacrifice" (J. G. Bellett).
Behind the ceremony stand twenty-one hard years of service to Laban. One writer reads them as discipline.
You get Mizpah, or Jegar-sahadutha, or Galeed, and much instruction in it all, for the Lord takes care of the believer. But where the believer walks in this low, fleshly way, God chastens him through and through. Twenty-one years a slave — he cheats, and is cheated. He believed, and came to be believed, but his means were of the flesh. It was discipline in every possible way, because he walked after the flesh.
The heap also marks the point where Jacob's break with Laban becomes final and peaceful.
But Jacob's prosperity turns Laban against him, just as spiritual growth separates a believer from the world. Then comes the call of God to return to Canaan. Laban can no longer get on with him, yet Jacob's leaving turns him into an open enemy — just as the world feels the sting of separation, though there can be no more fellowship. Laban follows Jacob. God appears for Jacob and shields him. Jacob departs at last in peace, with a covenant between him and Laban, at Galeed, the "heap of witness."
The stones also guard him while they stand: "A 'heap of witness' separates him from every evil that may come. Until that heap of witness is removed, and the pillar is taken out of the way, the world will not seek to harm the chosen of God" (The Bible Treasury).
- Witness raised. Jacob named the heap Galeed; Laban named it Jegar-sahadutha. Both names mean "cairn of witness."
- Witness to what. Not to friendship, but to broken confidence between relatives. The pillar proves the flesh cannot be trusted.
- Witness instead of trust. Laban wanted a legal deal where grace should have ruled a family. That is confidence in the flesh, not faith in the living God.
- Witness softened by sacrifice. Jacob's offering put God's rights above the rights of both men. The meal by the heap let them part on friendly terms.
- Witness as a boundary. The heap fixes the line of separation. Behind it lie twenty-one years in which God chastened a schemer through and through, and still kept him.
And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.
Jacob leaves Laban, and Laban chases after him. The two men part at a heap of stones, and each names that heap in his own language. The two names mean the same thing, so why did the moment need a monument at all?
The heap gets a double title because two languages meet at it. Laban's word is Aramaic, and one reference work explains it simply:
This is the Aramaic name Laban gave to the heap of stones set up as a witness between him and Jacob. Jacob called it GALEED. Both names mean the same thing: a heap of witness.
Nothing changes in translation. Each man says the same thing over the same stones.
Laban's word is the first Aramaic in the Bible. One reference work sets out where that language belonged:
Aramaic is the language of Aram. It takes in both Chaldean and the language of Syria. Its true home was Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Syria. The first time we meet it in Scripture is Genesis 31:47. There Laban called the heap of witness 'Jegar-sahadutha,' which is Chaldean, while Jacob gave it a Hebrew name, 'Galeed.'
The two names also point back to Abraham. One writer notes that Abraham's family took up the language of the land they had moved to:
Hebrew was the language of Palestine. The names of places and people there, from before Israel owned the land, show this. Hebrew was the language Abraham and his descendants took as their own. The difference between Jacob's language and that of Laban the Mesopotamian shows it plainly (Gen. 31:47).
The heap says something about the two men. One commentator sets it beside an earlier pillar Jacob had put up:
Jacob sets up his second pillar. His first was in Genesis 28:18, where he made his vow in the strength of the flesh. That was a pillar of confidence in the flesh. This pillar is the opposite. It is a memorial of broken trust between relatives, and it tells us that the flesh has proved it cannot be trusted. A heap of stones makes the point stronger. Both Laban and Jacob call it a "heap of witness" — Laban in the Chaldean language, Jacob in Hebrew (v. 47).
Laban is the one who asks for the covenant. One writer finds the reason in Laban's own heart:
Laban, instead of crushing Jacob, begs him for a covenant. Laban did not fear God, so he had no confidence even in his own closest relative. But how much Jacob had to learn, as he weighed his old self-seeking and scheming before Jehovah!
The heap is also a boundary. The two men separate there. One writer takes that parting as a picture of what spiritual growth does to a person's ties with the world:
But Jacob's prosperity turns Laban against him, just as spiritual growth separates a person from the world. Then comes God's call to return to Canaan. Laban can no longer get along with Jacob, and Jacob's leaving makes him openly hostile — just as the world feels the sting of separation, though there can be no more fellowship. Laban follows Jacob. God appears for Jacob and shields him. In the end Jacob leaves in peace, with a covenant between him and Laban at Galeed, the "heap of witness."
A pile of stones does one thing no spoken promise can do: it stays. The name itself says why:
A heap of witness exists for one purpose: to make forgetting impossible.
Commentators differ on how much to draw from the scene. Some stay with the language and the history. Others read the heap as a picture of separation from the world. All agree on the plain sense of the two names.
- Witness. Jegar-sahadutha and Galeed are one phrase in two languages: a heap of witness between Jacob and Laban.
- Witness in two tongues. Laban speaks Aramaic, Jacob Hebrew. This is the first Aramaic in the Bible. It shows that Abraham's line had taken up a different language from their relatives in Mesopotamia.
- Witness because trust died. Jacob's first pillar marked a vow. This one marks broken trust between relatives, and proves the flesh cannot be trusted.
- Witness because Laban feared no God. Laban asks for the covenant. A man who does not fear God cannot trust even his own family.
- Witness that outlasts memory. A heap of witness exists to make forgetting impossible. There Jacob leaves in peace, separated from the world he had prospered in.
And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed,
Years of scheming between Jacob and Laban end not with an embrace but with a pile of stones. So what was that heap a witness to — a friendship, an agreement, or something less flattering to both men?
Each man named the heap in his own language.
Aramaic name given by Laban to the heap of stones raised as a witness between him and Jacob, which Jacob called GALEED, both meaning "cairn of witness."
Why raise stones at all? One writer links a later place-name in the region to this heap.
Gesenius gives Gilead as meaning "hard, rocky." But there seems reason to connect it instead with Jacob's Galeed (Gen. 31:47), "a heap of witness." That would put it in striking contrast with Manasseh, the name linked with it, which means "forgetting." A heap of witness exists for the very purpose of making forgetfulness impossible.
This is not the first stone Jacob set up. The earlier one came with a vow of his own; this one records something different.
Jacob sets up his second pillar. His first was in Genesis 28:18, where he made his fleshly vow, and so it was the pillar of confidence in the flesh. This time his pillar is a memorial to broken confidence between relatives. It stands in contrast to the first pillar, for it tells us that the flesh has proved it cannot be trusted. A heap of stones underlines this. Both Laban and Jacob called it a "heap of witness" — Laban in Aramaic, Jacob in Hebrew (v. 47). They eat upon the heap — not the most comfortable dining room!
The words in this verse come from Laban, not Jacob. The same writer listens to Laban's tone.
It is Laban who pronounces the terms of their covenant, saying that the heap was a witness to it. He brings in the Lord's name here. He expects Him to watch between himself and Jacob while they are apart (v. 49). He is really telling Jacob, "I cannot trust you out of my sight, so I want the Lord to watch." Of course it was true the other way also. Jacob had learned not to trust Laban. So this pillar is the milestone in Jacob's life that clearly proclaims the untrustworthiness of the flesh. Very often it takes two parties to expose it to one another!
Why did relatives need a treaty at all? One writer traces it back to what Laban lacked.
It is a sorry sight to the eye of faith: retribution for Laban, rescue for Jacob and his house through God's overruling hand and goodness. Yet inside the chosen family the wife had stolen idolatrous images, and her husband knew nothing of it. Laban did not crush him; instead Laban begged him for a covenant. For, as he did not fear God, he had no confidence in his own nearest relative. But what had Jacob still to learn, as he weighed his old self-seeking and scheming before Jehovah?
Jacob set up pillars more than once. What did the one at Galeed do?
He set up pillars several times in his life — it seems to have been a favourite practice with him. He erected one by Galeed, east of Jordan, to stand as a witness of God's intervention on his behalf. Along with the heap raised by him and his brothers, it marked the boundary which neither he nor Laban was to cross to injure the other (Gen. 31:24-25, 52).
- Witness named. Each man named the heap in his own language — Laban in Aramaic, Jacob calling it Galeed — and both names mean a cairn of witness.
- Witness remembers. A heap of witness exists to make forgetting impossible. It stands where memory would fail.
- Witness accuses. Jacob's first pillar marked confidence in the flesh. This second one marks trust between relatives that had collapsed.
- Witness demanded. A man who did not fear God could not trust even his closest relative, so he asked for terms instead.
- Witness guards. The stones recalled God's stepping in for Jacob. They also fixed the line neither man was to cross to harm the other.
-- and Mizpah; for he said, Let Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we shall be hidden one from another
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
if thou shouldest afflict my daughters, or if thou shouldest take wives besides my daughters, -- no man is with us; see, God is witness between me and thee!
Jacob and Laban part with a treaty, not with trust. Laban's last demand is about his daughters: how will Jacob treat them when no one is there to see? Commentators find two things here. One is a bond so weak it needs stones and oaths to hold it. The other is a marriage watched by God Himself.
Laban dictates the terms, and the reason he reaches for God's name is not reverence but suspicion.
It is Laban who states the terms of their covenant, saying that the heap was a witness to it. He brings in the Lord's name here. He expects Him to watch between himself and Jacob while they are apart (v.49). In effect he is telling Jacob, "I cannot trust you out of my sight, so I want the Lord to watch." Of course it was true the other way too. Jacob had learned not to trust Laban. So this pillar is the milestone in Jacob's life that shows how untrustworthy the flesh is. Very often it takes two parties to expose it to one another!
Agreements between people followed a set pattern back then. The stones and the shared meal were part of it.
A covenant is an agreement between one man and another, or between nation and nation. Both sides weigh the terms and agree to them. Then an oath or some token seals it in front of witnesses… In the covenant Jacob made with Laban, they gathered a heap of stones to be a witness between them, and "they ate there by the heap." Gen. 31:46… Even today, if a stranger in the East can get the head of a tribe to eat with him, he knows he is safe. People count that meal as a covenant.
Laban names two dangers: harm to Leah and Rachel, and rival wives. Nothing in Jacob's record pointed that way.
We may wonder if Laban suspected that Jacob would take revenge on him by mistreating Leah and Rachel (v. 50). There is no sign that Jacob had ever done this… Laban was even afraid that Jacob might take other wives besides Leah and Rachel. After all, he himself had started the whole business of Jacob having two wives. What right did he have to complain if Jacob took another? But his fears were groundless. Jacob never did show any inclination to have another wife, or more.
The man who calls God as witness had shown little thought of Him. Jacob let him set every clause.
What could Laban reply but that all were his — wives, children, flock? God was in none of his thoughts, any more than love for his daughters, or their children, or his son-in-law. But he tries to put a good face on the matter, and asks for a covenant between himself and Jacob. Jacob leaves all the terms to Laban, with his wretched thoughts and fears, yet carries it out in full seriousness, along with the name that stood. Not only did he swear by the Fear of Isaac, but he offered peace offerings; and they ate bread together.
The same words — God as witness between a husband and his wife — come back in the book of Malachi. There they become a charge against Israel.
"Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant." Both of them stood on the same footing with God.
What Laban demanded by treaty, another writer treats as the ordinary duty of anyone who fears God.
The Lord lays great stress on keeping natural relationships in a godly way. He attaches great importance to it. Wherever people treat these ties lightly, under any pretext, spiritual or otherwise, the door is already open to the worst forms of loose living and corruption… One of the plainest signs of a desire to please the Lord is carrying out our responsibilities at home faithfully and carefully.
The heap does more than record promises; it fixes a line neither man may cross.
Then Laban speaks of the heap and the pillar as a separating point between him and Jacob, a witness of the agreement of each not to pass that point in order to do harm to the other (v.52). The whole covenant might seem rather unnecessary to us, for it is not likely that either of them had any intention of passing that point for any purpose: they would be happier living well apart from each other.
- Distrust — Laban wants the Lord watching because he cannot trust Jacob out of sight. The pillar is a milestone that shows how untrustworthy the flesh is. It took two men to expose it.
- Witness — people sealed a covenant with an oath or a token in front of witnesses. Here the stones and the shared meal are the token, and Laban names God as the witness.
- Suspicion — Laban feared that Jacob would mistreat his daughters or take other wives. Jacob never showed any leaning that way.
- Faithfulness — the same phrase returns in Malachi. The LORD was witness between a man and the wife of his youth. Faithfulness at home is one of the plainest signs that a person wants to please the Lord.
- Unseen — no other person stands by when the two part. So the covenant rests on the God who sees, not on trust between the men.
And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold the pillar which I have set up between me and thee
Laban points to a heap of stones and a standing pillar and calls them a witness between himself and Jacob. Two relatives who cheated each other for years part with a monument instead of trust — and they call God's name over it.
Jacob had set up a stone once before, at the start of his journey. The contrast between the two is the point.
Jacob sets up his second pillar. His first was in chapter 28:18, where he made his fleshly vow — the pillar of confidence in the flesh. This second pillar is a memorial to broken confidence between relatives. It is the opposite of the first, because it tells us the flesh has proved it cannot be trusted. A heap of stones underlines the same thing. Both Laban and Jacob call it a "heap of witness," Laban in Chaldee and Jacob in Hebrew. They eat on the heap — not the most comfortable dining room!
Laban does the talking here, and his terms show what he thinks of Jacob.
Laban is the one who states the terms of their covenant, and he says the heap is a witness to it. He brings in the Lord's name here, expecting Him to watch between himself and Jacob while they are apart. He is really telling Jacob, "I cannot trust you out of my sight, so I want the Lord to watch." Of course it was true the other way too. Jacob had learned not to trust Laban. So this pillar is the milestone in Jacob's life that announces plainly: the flesh cannot be trusted. Very often it takes two people to expose it to each other!
The stones marked a border, and the two men did not leave their agreement at words.
Again we find Jacob setting up a pillar of witness and also a heap of stones, as was the custom in those early days. Jacob promised to treat Laban's daughters well, and both men agreed not to pass beyond the stones of witness to harm each other. We do not read here of anyone anointing the pillar. We do read that Jacob marked the occasion with an oath and also with a sacrifice. The name of God comes in here, as we see in verse 53, and as the God of Abraham and of Nahor, since Laban as well as Jacob would have honoured both those forefathers.
The man with the power in this scene is the one asking for guarantees.
To the eye of faith it is a sad sight. Laban gets what he deserves, and God's overruling hand and goodness rescue Jacob and his household. Yet inside the chosen family the wife has stolen idol images, and her husband knows nothing of it. And Laban, instead of crushing Jacob, begs him for a covenant. Because Laban did not fear God, he had no confidence even in his own nearest relation. But how much Jacob had to learn, as he weighed his old self-seeking and scheming before the Lord!
Across the whole chapter, the stone border marks more than a family quarrel.
After all his planning, Jacob has to learn that he owes his increase to the power of God. God has seen his affliction and his toil, and has appointed him a reward. But his prosperity turns Laban against him, just as spiritual growth separates a man from the world. Then comes God's call to return to Canaan. Laban can no longer get along with Jacob, yet Jacob's leaving makes him openly hostile. The world feels the sting of separation in the same way, though there can be no more fellowship. Laban follows Jacob; God appears for Jacob and shields him; and in the end Jacob leaves in peace, with a covenant between him and Laban at Galeed, the "heap of witness."
The names left at this spot carry instruction, not just geography.
You get Mizpah, or Jegar-sahadutha, or Galeed, and there is much instruction in it all. The Lord takes care of the believer. But where the believer walks in this low, fleshly way, the Lord disciplines him through and through. Twenty-one years a slave — he cheats, and is cheated. He believed, and came to be believed, but his means were fleshly. It was discipline in every possible way, because he walked after the flesh.
- Witness. Laban and Jacob both call the heap and pillar a "heap of witness" — one name in two languages, from two men who agreed on nothing else.
- Distrust. Laban sets the terms and calls God in to watch. He is saying he cannot trust Jacob out of his sight — and Jacob had learned the same about him.
- Boundary. Both men swear not to cross the stones to harm the other, and they seal the oath with a sacrifice and the name of God.
- Exposure. A man who does not fear God trusts no one, not even his closest relation. The treaty exposes Laban, and Jacob must weigh his own scheming.
- Grace. The flesh fails on both sides, yet the Lord shields and keeps the believer — and disciplines him thoroughly along the way.
[let] this heap be witness, and the pillar a witness, that neither I pass this heap [to go] to thee, nor thou pass this heap and this pillar [to come] to me, for harm.
Genesis 31 ends with Jacob and Laban piling up stones and agreeing to stay on their own side of them. Laban calls both stones a witness — but a witness to what, and why did two relatives need one?
The stones mark a line on the ground. Each man promises not to cross it to harm the other. One writer notes how little that promise cost them.
Then Laban speaks of the heap and the pillar as a separating point between him and Jacob. They are a witness of the agreement of each not to pass that point to harm the other (v. 52). The whole covenant might seem unnecessary to us. Neither of them was likely to have any intention of passing that point for any purpose. They would be happier living far apart from each other.
One writer sums up what such a pillar meant, and points to this verse for proof.
The pillar, as we know from the story of Jacob's parting with Laban, carries with it the thought of witness (Gen. 31:52).
Stones alone did not hold the agreement. Jacob added an oath and a sacrifice — and one writer sees a danger in the name Jacob swore by.
Again we find Jacob raising up a pillar of witness and also a heap of stones, according to the custom of those early days. Both agreed not to pass beyond the stones of witness to harm each other. We do not read on this occasion of the anointing of the pillar. But we do find that Jacob marked the occasion not only by an oath but also by sacrifice... He also swore by the fear of Isaac his father... But there was the danger of the fear of Isaac, whom he could see, replacing the fear of the God, whom he could not see.
Laban sets the terms, and he wants the Lord to watch. One writer hears what that request admits about both men.
He is really telling Jacob, "I cannot trust you out of my sight, so I want the Lord to watch." Of course it was true the other way also. Jacob had learned not to trust Laban. So that this pillar is the milestone in Jacob's life that proclaims clearly the untrustworthiness of the flesh. Very often it takes two parties to expose it to one another!
The same writer notes what such an agreement replaces:
It is sad to think that he considered this necessary between relatives, for it is again a legal arrangement rather than a trusting relationship marked by grace, as every family relationship should be.
It was Laban who wanted this covenant. One writer weighs what that request shows about him, and what Jacob still had to learn.
It is a sorry sight to the eye of faith: retribution for Laban, rescue for Jacob and his house through God's overruling hand and goodness... For, since he did not fear God, he had no confidence in his own nearest relation. But what had Jacob still to learn, as he weighed his old self-seeking and scheming before the Lord?
One writer reads the whole parting as a pattern. Jacob's prosperity made staying impossible.
After all his planning, Jacob has to learn that it is the power of God to which he owes the increase... But his prosperity turns Laban against him, as spiritual increase separates from the world. Then comes the call of God to return to Canaan. Laban cannot get on with him any more, yet Jacob's withdrawal makes him openly hostile — just as the world feels the sting of separation, though there can be no more fellowship... and Jacob finally departs in peace with a covenant between him and Laban, at Galeed, the "heap of witness."
Commentators differ on how far to press the picture. One reading gives the heap and the pillar separate meanings, and notes that the two halves of the promise are not the same:
Those of the world who claim relationship with the saints of God set up the "heap of witness." For them it is a sign that so long as the witness remains — religious profession — no harm can come to them. Notice that Laban covenants not to pass the heap to harm Jacob, whereas in Jacob's case both heap and pillar must be passed over before the day of reconciliation ends. God, as it were, is set between as judge.
- Witness. The pillar carries one meaning through Jacob's story, and this verse states it: it stands there to testify.
- Distrust. What it testifies to is failure. The heap exists because neither man could trust the other. It is where Jacob learns that the flesh — human nature on its own — is unreliable, in himself as well as in Laban.
- Law. Grace should have held a family together. Instead these two drew up terms and a boundary line, which is what people need when trust is gone.
- Fear. Laban asks for the covenant because he does not fear God. A man who does not fear God cannot trust even his own family.
- Separation. God's blessing on Jacob made the old partnership unworkable. The parting stones mark the break — a picture of how spiritual increase separates a believer from the world.
The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us! And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.
Twenty years of tension between Jacob and his father-in-law end here, at a heap of stones, with an oath sworn over it. Laban calls on the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor together. Jacob binds himself by another name: the Fear of his father Isaac.
Both men could honour the ancestors named in this oath. Jacob then adds one more name.
The name of God was invoked, as we see in verse 53. He was called on as the God of Abraham and of Nahor, since Laban as well as Jacob would have honoured both of those forefathers. In addition Jacob swore by the fear of Isaac his father. Such was the esteem given to parents and ancestors in those far-off days — very good in many ways. But there was the danger that the fear of Isaac, whom he could see, would take the place of the fear of God, whom he could not see. So he received a reminder of the unseen world, as the opening verse of Genesis 32 shows.
Laban can speak God's name and still keep household images.
Clearly Laban and his family were idolaters. But it also appears they had some superstitious knowledge of God — no doubt handed down by tradition. They mixed what they had received from earlier times with the image-worship growing up around them. In such a case, even to honour the true God is only superstition… One feature of ancient idolatry was not the denial of the name of God. It was joining that name with idols.
The phrase points back to Isaac's own reverence. One writer traces it to Isaac's own lie about his wife, and to what that failure worked in his conscience.
Isaac was a gracious and prayerful person, who knew what it is to meditate in the fields at evening. Is it conceivable that a man of such habits would fail to judge his own deliberate lie? It made the world stumble. It dishonoured his Almighty Protector, his beloved wife, and himself as a saint. … Can anyone doubt, then, that the fear of Isaac (Gen. 31:42) worked in his conscience to humble him and to clear his spirit from deceit.
Commentators differ here. One sees a man who still would not call God his own.
God stepped in to protect him and keep him safe from every enemy. Yet in his heart Jacob claims all the credit, for "he swore by the fear of his father Isaac." Was this what he had agreed to do? By his own confession God had been with him. Had he not had bread and clothing these twenty years? Now surely was the time to own Jehovah as his God. But no, that needed faith… He certainly knew Jehovah would not own his ways; so he swears by the fear of his father Isaac.
Another finds real gain here. Jacob's sense of God had deepened over those years.
It was something to hear Jacob confessing the name of the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac (chap. 31:42), and then again at the end of the chapter "the fear of his father Isaac" seems to have been uppermost in his mind. The sense of God's faithfulness and of His holy majesty had deepened in Jacob up to this point.
Laban asks for the covenant and wants God as judge between them. His reasons were not godly ones.
God was in none of his thoughts, and neither was love for his daughters, or their children, or his son-in-law. But he tries to put a good face on the matter, and asks for a covenant between himself and Jacob. Jacob leaves all the terms to Laban and his wretched thoughts and fears, but solemnly carries it out, along with the name that stood. He not only swore by the Fear of Isaac; he also offered peace-offerings, and they ate bread together.
- Fear named. Jacob swears by "the Fear of Isaac." The name points to a father whose own failure had humbled him and cleared his spirit of deceit.
- Fear mixed. Laban pairs God's name with Nahor's and still keeps idols. Ancient idolatry did not deny God's name. It joined that name to images.
- Fear borrowed. Jacob leans on his father's God instead of calling Him his own. Writers differ: some see faith still lacking, others see reverence growing.
- Fear absent. Laban wants God set between them as judge, yet God has no place in his thoughts, and neither does love for his own children.
- Fear sealed. The oath is not left as words: Jacob adds sacrifice and a shared meal, and the two part.
And Jacob offered a sacrifice upon the mountain, and invited his brethren to eat bread and they ate bread, and lodged on the mountain.
Jacob and Laban part after twenty hard years together: wages changed again and again, a secret escape, a hunt for stolen household gods, and a chase that ends on a mountain in Gilead. Their deal runs on distrust, yet the chapter closes not with the stone heap but with a sacrifice and a shared meal.
The offering named here is older than the law of Moses. The worshippers ate part of what was given.
We have learned about the burnt offering. Now we must look at the offering that, until the days of Moses, was called simply a sacrifice. It is mentioned in Exodus 10:25, Exodus 18:12 and Exodus 24:5, and it was festive in character. In Exodus 24:5 it is called by the term translated peace offering. Very likely at Galeed (Gen. 31:54), where Jacob and Laban feasted together, sacrifices of this kind were offered, and the two men and their companies shared in them. This solemnly confirmed the covenant made between the father-in-law and the son-in-law... In the burnt offering everything went up to God. In the sacrifice, as this other offering was first called, the one who brought it and those with him feasted together, God, it is likely, having His part, and they theirs.
Laban had pressed for the covenant. Jacob's answer moves the attention off both men.
While Laban has emphasized the covenant, Jacob offered a sacrifice (v. 54), which was far better. Then he invited the whole company to eat a meal with him. At least the sacrifice was a reminder that God had rights far more important than those of either Jacob or Laban. Eating together eased the tension between them, so they could part on reasonably friendly terms.
Every natural advantage here belonged to Laban. Yet the man who offers the sacrifice is the younger one, the one who had served him.
There is something great in this. It tells us that Jacob knew his place and dignity under God. Laban had every claim that nature, the flesh or family ties could give, but Jacob acts despite them. Laban was the older man; he was the master and the father-in-law. Yet Jacob still takes the place of the "better," and offers the sacrifice. He does it in the same spirit of faith as Abraham when he made a covenant with the king of Gerar (Gen. 21).
He had done nothing like this in all his years in Laban's country.
Jacob was under discipline in Padan-aram. He had no altar there. Before God he was a penitent rather than a worshipper. But in front of Laban he knows himself as a saint. Here, at Mount Gilead, he has his pillar, his sacrifice and his feast. He acts in the faith that gives him courage to live up to his dignity as a saint and priest of God, in the face of every claim of flesh and blood.
The order matters. First the sacrifice, then the meal — and that same order appears again later in Scripture.
Such a scene, as a picture, shows our own blessing. For we enjoy a covenant of peace, secured by a sacrifice and witnessed by a feast. So, on the night of redemption from Egypt, the altar and the table — that is, the sacrifice and the feast — are there again. The blood is on the doorpost. The household, ransomed and sheltered by it, are inside, feeding on the lamb whose blood was protecting and delivering them.
Jacob left the wording to Laban. He swore by the God his father Isaac worshipped, and then added an offering of his own.
He tries to put a good face on the matter, and asks for a covenant between himself and Jacob. Jacob leaves all the terms to Laban, with his miserable thoughts and fears, but he solemnly carries it out, and the name that was given stood too. He not only swore by the Fear of Isaac; he also offered peace offerings, and they ate bread together.
- Distrust starts the scene: the heap of stones stands there because two relatives did not trust each other out of sight.
- Sacrifice answers distrust: Jacob's offering is far better than the covenant. It puts God's rights above the claims of either man.
- Feast follows sacrifice: worshippers ate part of this offering, so a shared meal sealed the agreement and eased the tension.
- Dignity shows in who offers: Laban was the elder, the master and the father-in-law, yet Jacob takes the higher place and acts as a priest of God.
- Pattern points forward: a covenant of peace, secured by a sacrifice and witnessed by a feast. The same order appears the night Israel left Egypt — blood outside, the lamb eaten inside.