Then Laban declared, “This mound is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore the place was called Galeed.
Parallel translations
- WEB Laban said, “This heap is witness between me and you today.” Therefore it was named Galeed
- KJV And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;
- NKJV And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed,
- NASB Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed,
- NLT Then Laban declared, “This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of the covenant we have made today.” This explains why it was called Galeed—“Witness Pile.”
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 declares the heap a witness between them, giving rise to the name Galeed. The monument formally testifies to their agreement.
Overview
The naming of the heap as 'witness' establishes it as the enduring sign of their covenant. In a culture without written contracts for such matters, physical witnesses carried lasting legal and moral weight. The repetition emphasizes that God Himself oversees the keeping of human vows.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Josh 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.”
- Josh 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:
- Deut 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.
- Deut 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.
- Gen 31:23So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.
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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 31:48 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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