But it was also called Mizpah (which means “watchtower”), for Laban said, “May the Lord keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this covenant when we are out of each other’s sight.
Parallel translations
- WEB and Mizpah, for he said, “Yahweh watch between me and you, 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.
- BSB It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, “May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent from each other.
- NKJV also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.
- NASB and Mizpah, for he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.
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
The site is also called Mizpah ('watchpost'), invoking the LORD to watch between the two parties when they are apart. Often quoted as a blessing, it here expresses mutual wariness.
Overview
Mizpah means 'watchtower,' and Laban calls on Yahweh to keep watch over both men when out of each other's sight. Though frequently used today as a tender benediction, in context it reflects distrust, asking God to guard against future wrongdoing. Even so, it rightly affirms that God sees and judges all hidden dealings.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Judg 11:29Then Yahweh’s Spirit came on Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon.
- Judg 10:17Then the children of Ammon were gathered together and encamped in Gilead. The children of Israel assembled themselves together and encamped in Mizpah.
- 1 Sam 7:5–6Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Yahweh for you.”
- Judg 11:11Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them. Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh in Mizpah.
- 1 Kgs 15:22Then king Asa made a proclamation to all Judah. No one was exempted. They carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha had built; and king Asa used it to build Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
- Hos 5:1“Listen to this, you priests! Listen, house of Israel, and give ear, house of the king! For the judgment is against you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread on Tabor.
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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 31:49 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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