the Week of Proper 13 / Ordinary 18
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Contemporary English Version
Genesis 31:49
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- CondensedParallel Translations
and Mitzpah, for he said, "The LORD watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another.
And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
and Mizpah, because he said, "Yahweh watch between me and you when we are out of sight of each other.
It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, "Let the Lord watch over us while we are separated from each other.
It was also called Mizpah because he said, "May the Lord watch between us when we are out of sight of one another.
and Mizpah (watchtower), for Laban said, "May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent from one another.
and Mizpah, for he said, "May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.
Also he called it Mizpah, because he said, The Lorde looke betweene me and thee, when we shalbe departed one from another,
and Mizpah, for he said, "May Yahweh watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.
and also HaMitzpah [the watchtower], because he said, "May Adonai watch between me and you when we are apart from each other.
—and Mizpah; for he said, Let Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we shall be hidden one from another:
Then Laban said, "Let the Lord watch over us while we are separated from each other." So that place was also named Mizpah.
and Mizpah, for he said, "The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another's sight.
And a watchtower; for he said. Let the LORD watch between me and you, because we are parting one from another.
Laban also said, "May the Lord keep an eye on us while we are separated from each other." So the place was also named Mizpah.
and also Mizpah, for he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight.
also, Watchtower; for he said, May Jehovah watch between you and me, for we are hidden, when we are out of sight, each from his neighbor.
and a testimony, for he sayde: The LORDE loke betwene me and ye, whan we are departed ye one from ye other:
and Mizpah, for he said, Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
And Mizpah, for he said, May the Lord keep watch on us when we are unable to see one another's doings.
And Mispah: for he said, the Lord loke betwene thee and me when we are departed one from another,
and Mizpah, for he said: 'The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
And Mizpah: for he said, The LORD watch betweene me and thee when we are absent one from another.
And the vision of which he said—Let God look to it between me and thee, because we are about to depart from each other, —
and Mizpah, for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
and also Mizpah, because he said, "May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent from one another.
And Laban addide, The Lord biholde, and deme bitwixe vs, whanne we schulen go awei fro yow;
Mizpah also, for he said, `Jehovah doth watch between me and thee, for we are hidden one from another;
and Mizpah, for he said, Yahweh watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another.
And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
and Mizpah, for he said, "Yahweh watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another.
also Mizpah, [fn] because he said, "May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.
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.
They were given the name of Mizpah also. For Laban said, "May the Lord watch between you and me when we are apart from each other.
and the pillar Mizpah, for he said, "The Lord watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other.
also, The Watch Tower, as to which it is said, Yahweh watch betwixt me and thee, when we are parted one from another.
The Lord behold and judge between us, when we shall be gone one from the other.
and the pillar Mizpah, for he said, "The LORD watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other.
and Mizpah, for he said, "May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Mizpah: i.e. a beacon, or watch-tower, Judges 10:17, Judges 11:11, Judges 11:29, Mizpeh, 1 Samuel 7:5, 1 Kings 15:22, Hosea 5:1
Reciprocal: Genesis 26:28 - Let there Joshua 11:3 - land Joshua 13:26 - Ramathmizpeh Joshua 15:38 - Mizpeh 2 Kings 25:23 - Mizpah
Cross-References
and he told them: Your father isn't as friendly with me as he used to be, but the God my ancestors worshiped has been on my side.
You know that I have worked hard for your father
The rulers of Ammon called their soldiers together and led them to Gilead, where they set up camp. The Israelites gathered at Mizpah and set up camp there.
So Jephthah went back to Mizpah with the leaders of Gilead. The people of Gilead gathered at the place of worship and made Jephthah their ruler. Jephthah also made promises to them.
So Jephthah went back to Mizpah with the leaders of Gilead. The people of Gilead gathered at the place of worship and made Jephthah their ruler. Jephthah also made promises to them. After the ceremony, Jephthah sent messengers to say to the king of Ammon, "Are you trying to start a war? You have invaded my country, and I want to know why!" The king of Ammon replied, "Tell Jephthah that the land really belongs to me, all the way from the Arnon River in the south, to the Jabbok River in the north, and west to the Jordan River. When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they stole it. Tell Jephthah to return it to me, and there won't be any war." Jephthah sent the messengers back to the king of Ammon, and they told him that Jephthah had said: Israel hasn't taken any territory from Moab or Ammon. When the Israelites came from Egypt, they traveled in the desert to the Red Sea and then to Kadesh. They sent messengers to the king of Edom and said, "Please, let us go through your country." But the king of Edom refused. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he wouldn't let them cross his country either. And so the Israelites stayed at Kadesh. A little later, the Israelites set out into the desert, going east of Edom and Moab, and camping on the eastern side of the Arnon River gorge. The Arnon is the eastern border of Moab, and since the Israelites didn't cross it, they didn't even set foot in Moab. The Israelites sent messengers to the Amorite King Sihon of Heshbon. "Please," they said, "let our people go through your country to get to our own land." Sihon didn't think the Israelites could be trusted, so he called his army together. They set up camp at Jahaz, then they attacked the Israelite camp. But the Lord God helped Israel defeat Sihon and his army. Israel took over all of the Amorite land where Sihon's people had lived, from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and from the desert in the east to the Jordan River in the west. The messengers also told the king of Ammon that Jephthah had said: The Lord God of Israel helped his nation get rid of the Amorites and take their land. Now do you think you're going to take over that same territory? If Chemosh your god takes over a country and gives it to you, don't you have a right to it? And if the Lord takes over a country and gives it to us, the land is ours! Are you better than Balak the son of Zippor? He was the king of Moab, but he didn't quarrel with Israel or start a war with us. For three hundred years, Israelites have been living in Heshbon and Aroer and the nearby villages, and in the towns along the Arnon River gorge. If the land really belonged to you Ammonites, you wouldn't have waited until now to try to get it back. I haven't done anything to you, but it's certainly wrong of you to start a war. I pray that the Lord will show whether Israel or Ammon is in the right. But the king of Ammon paid no attention to Jephthah's message. Then the Lord 's Spirit took control of Jephthah, and Jephthah went through Gilead and Manasseh, raising an army. Finally, he arrived at Mizpah in Gilead, where
Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to strengthen the town of Ramah. Then he used these same stones and wood to fortify the town of Geba in the territory of Benjamin and the town of Mizpah.
The Lord said: Listen, you priests! Pay attention, Israel! Listen, you members of the royal family. Justice was your duty. But at Mizpah and Mount Tabor you trapped the people.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Mizpah,.... Which being an Hebrew word, it looks as if the heap had also this name given it by Jacob, which signifies a "watch" or "watchtower"; though, by what follows, it seems to be given by Laban, who could speak Hebrew as well, as Syriac, or Chaldee:
for he said, the Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another; or "hid one from another" q; when being at a distance, they could not see each other, or what one another did in agreement or disagreement with their present covenant: but he intimates, that the Lord sees and knows all things, and therefore imprecates that God would watch over them both, them and their actions, and bring upon them the evil or the good, according as their actions were, or as they broke or kept this covenant.
q × ×¡×ª×¨ "abscondemur", Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius; "absconditi erimus", Junius Tremellius, Piscator so Ainsworth.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Jacobâs Flight from Haran
19. תרפ×× teraÌpıÌym, Teraphim. This word occurs fifteen times in the Old Testament. It appears three times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the Pentateuch. It is always in the plural number. The root does not appear in Biblical Hebrew. It perhaps means âto live well,â intransitively (Gesenius, Roedig.), âto nourish,â transitively (Furst). The teraphim were symbols or representatives of the Deity, as Laban calls them his gods. They seem to have been busts (ÏÏοÏÎ¿Î¼Î±Î¹Ì protomai, Aquila) of the human form, sometimes as large as life 1 Samuel 19:13. Those of full size were probably of wood; the smaller ones may have been of metal. In two passages Judges 17:1-13; Judges 18:0; Hosea 3:4 they are six times associated with the ephod. This intimates either that they were worn on the ephod, like the Urim and Thummim, or more probably that the ephod was worn on them; in accordance with which they were employed for the purposes of divination Genesis 30:27; Zechariah 10:2. The employment of them in the worship of God, which Laban seems to have inherited from his fathers Joshua 24:2, is denounced as idolatry 1 Samuel 15:23; and hence, they are classed with the idols and other abominations put away by Josiah 2 Kings 23:24.
47. ש××××Ö¼×ª× ××ר yegar-sÌaÌhaÌduÌtaÌ', Jegar-sahadutha, âcairn of witnessâ in the Aramaic dialect of the old Hebrew or Shemite speech. ×××¢× galâeÌd, Galâed; and ×××¢× gıÌlâaÌd, Gilâad, âcairn of witnessâ in Hebrew especially so called (see Genesis 11:1-9).
49. ××¦×¤× mıÌtspaÌh, Mizpah, âwatch-tower.â
Jacob had now been twenty years in Labanâs service, and was therefore, ninety-six years of age. It has now become manifest that he cannot obtain leave of Laban to return home. He must, therefore, either come off by the high hand, or by secret flight. Jacob has many reasons for preferring the latter course.
Genesis 31:1-13
Circumstances at length induce Jacob to propose flight to his wives. His prosperity provokes the envy and slander of Labanâs sons, and Laban himself becomes estranged. The Lord now commands Jacob to return, and promises him his presence to protect him. Jacob now opens his mind fully to Rachel and Leah. Rachel, we observe, is put first. Several new facts come out in his discourse to them. Ye know - Jacob appeals to his wives on this point - âthat with all my might I served your father.â He means, of course, to the extent of his engagement. During the last six years he was to provide for his own house, as the Lord permitted him, with the full knowledge and concurrence of Laban. Beyond this, which is a fair and acknowledged exception, he has been faithful in keeping the cattle of Laban. âYour father deceived me, and changed my wages ten times;â that is, as often as he could.
If, at the end of the first year, he found that Jacob had gained considerably, though he began with nothing, he might change his wages every following half-year, and so actually change them ten times in five years. In this case, the preceding chapter only records his original expedients, and then states the final result. âGod suffered him not to hurt me.â Jacob, we are to remember, left his hire to the providence of God. He thought himself bound at the same time to use all legitimate means for the attainment of the desired end. His expedients may have been perfectly legitimate in the circumstances, but they were evidently of no avail without the divine blessing. And they would become wholly ineffectual when his wages were changed. Hence, he says, God took the cattle and gave them to me. Jacob seems here to record two dreams, the former of which is dated at the rutting season. The dream indicates the result by a symbolic representation, which ascribes it rather to the God of nature than to the man of art. The second dream makes allusion to the former as a process still going on up to the present time. This appears to be an encouragement to Jacob now to commit himself to the Lord on his way home. The angel of the Lord, we observe, announces himself as the God of Bethel, and recalls to Jacob the pillar and the vow. The angel, then, is Yahweh manifesting himself to human apprehension.
Genesis 31:14-19
His wives entirely accord with his view of their fatherâs selfishness in dealing with his son-in-law, and approve of his intended departure. Jacob makes all the needful preparations for a hasty and secret flight. He avails himself of the occasion when Laban is at a distance probably of three or more daysâ journey, shearing his sheep. âRachel stole the teraphim.â It is not the business of Scripture to acquaint us with the kinds and characteristics of false worship. Hence, we know little of the teraphim, except that they were employed by those who professed to worship the true God. Rachel had a lingering attachment to these objects of her familyâs superstitious reverence, and secretly carried them away as relics of a home she was to visit no more, and as sources of safety to herself against the perils of her flight.
Genesis 31:20-24
Laban hears of his flight, pursues, and overtakes him. âStole the heart,â κλεÌÏÏειν Î½Î¿Ï Íν kleptein noun. The heart is the seat of the understanding in Scripture. To steal the heart of anyone is to act without his knowledge. The river. The Frat, near which, we may conclude, Jacob was tending his flocks. Haran was about seventy miles from the river, and therefore, Labanâs flocks were on the other side of Haran. âToward mount Gilead;â about three hundred miles from the Frat. âOn the third day.â This shows that Labanâs flocks kept by his sons were still three daysâ journey apart from Jacobâs. His brethren - his kindred and dependents. âSeven daysâ journey.â On the third day after the arrival of the messenger, Laban might return to the spot whence Jacob had taken his flight. In this case, Jacob would have at least five days of a start; which, added to the seven days of pursuit, would give him twelve days to travel three hundred English miles. To those accustomed to the pastoral life this was a possible achievement. God appears to Laban on behalf of Jacob, and warns him not to harm him. âNot to speak from good to badâ is merely to abstain from language expressing and prefacing violence.
Genesis 31:25-32
Labanâs expostulation and Jacobâs reply. What hast thou done? Laban intimates that he would have dismissed him honorably and affectionately, and therefore, that his flight was needless and unkind; and finally charges him with stealing his gods. Jacob gives him to understand that he did not expect fair treatment at his hands, and gives him leave to search for his gods, not knowing that Rachel had taken them.
Genesis 31:33-42
After the search for the teraphim has proved vain, Jacob warmly upbraids Laban. âThe camelâs saddle.â This was a pack-saddle, in the recesses of which articles might be deposited, and on which was a seat or couch for the rider. Rachel pleads the custom of women as an excuse for keeping her seat; which is admitted by Laban, not perhaps from the fear of ceremonial defilement Leviticus 15:19-27, as this law was not yet in force, but from respect to his daughter and the conviction that in such circumstances she would not sit upon the teraphim. âMy brethren and thy brethrenâ - their common kindred. Jacob recapitulates his services in feeling terms. âBy day the drought;â caused by the heat, which is extreme during the day, while the cold is not less severe in Palestine during the night. âThe fear of Isaacâ - the God whom Isaac fears. Judged - requited by restraining thee from wrong-doing.
Genesis 31:43-47
Laban, now pacified, if not conscience-stricken, proposes a covenant between them. Jacob erects a memorial pillar, around which the clan gather a cairn of stones, which serves by its name for a witness of their compact. âJegar-sahadutha.â Here is the first decided specimen of Aramaic, as contradistinguished from Hebrew. Its incidental appearance indicates a fully formed dialect known to Jacob, and distinct from his own. Gilead or Galeed remains to this day in Jebel Jelâad, though the original spot was further north.
Genesis 31:48-54
The covenant is then completed. And Mizpah. This refers to some prominent cliff from which, as a watch-tower, an extensive view might be obtained. It was in the northern half of Gilead Deuteronomy 3:12-13, and is noticed in Judges 11:29. It is not to be confounded with other places called by the same name. The reference of this name to the present occurrence is explained in these two verses. The names Gilead and Mizpah may have arisen from this transaction, or received a new turn in consequence of its occurrence. The terms of the covenant are now formally stated. I have cast. The erection of the pillar was a joint act of the two parties; in which Laban proposes, Jacob performs, and all take part. âThe God of Abraham, Nahor, and Terah.â This is an interesting acknowledgment that their common ancestor Terah and his descendants down to Laban still acknowledged the true God even in their idolatry. Jacob swears by the fear of isaac, perhaps to rid himself of any error that had crept into Labanâs notions of God and his worship. The common sacrifice and the common meal ratify the covenant of reconciliation.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 31:48-49. I think these two verses are badly divided, and should be read thus:
Genesis 31:48. And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day.
Genesis 31:49. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed and Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
Mizpah — ××¢×¤× mitspah signifies a watch-tower; and Laban supposes that in consequence of the consecration of the place, and the covenant now solemnly made and ratified, that God would take possession of this heap, and stand on it as on a watch-tower, to prevent either of them from trenching on the conditions of their covenant.
