Now come, let us make a covenant, you and I; and let it be for a witness between me and you.”
Parallel translations
- KJV Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
- BSB Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.”
- NKJV Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”
- NASB So now come, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and it shall be a witness between you and me.”
- NLT So come, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and it will be a witness to our commitment.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Laban proposes a covenant to formalize peace between him and Jacob. It shifts the tense confrontation toward a binding agreement witnessed before God.
Overview
Unable to overpower Jacob, Laban seeks a treaty to govern their future relations and protect his interests. Covenants were solemn, often sealed with signs and oaths invoking God as witness. This human pact, marked by mutual distrust, stands in contrast to God's gracious covenant freely given to Abraham's line.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Sam 20:14–17You shall not only while yet I live show me the loving kindness of Yahweh, that I not die;
- Josh 24:25–27So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
- Deut 31:26“Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of Yahweh’s covenant your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.
- Josh 22:27but it will be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may perform the service of Yahweh before him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings;’ that your children may not tell our children in time to come, ‘You have no portion in Yahweh.’
- Gen 31:48Laban said, “This heap is witness between me and you today.” Therefore it was named Galeed
- Gen 31:52May this heap be a witness, and the pillar be a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and that you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.
- Deut 31:19“Now therefore write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.
- Deut 31:21It will happen, when many evils and troubles have come on them, that this song will testify before them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants; for I know their ways and what they are doing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.”
- Gen 21:22–32At that time, Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his army spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do.
- Gen 15:18In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:
- Gen 26:28–31They said, “We saw plainly that Yahweh was with you. We said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you,
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 31:44 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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