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Genesis 31:49

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 31:49 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “and Mizpah, for he said, Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

and Mizpah, for he said, Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
Genesis 31:49 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 31

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
46And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made a heap: and they did eat there by the heap.
47And Laban called it Jegar-saha-dutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.
48And Laban said, This heap is witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed:
49and Mizpah, for he said, Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
50If thou shalt afflict my daughters, and if thou shalt take wives besides my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.
51And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold the pillar, which I have set betwixt me and thee.
52This heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And Mizpah, etc.] 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” f1526; 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…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“31:49 The witness pile was also called watchtower. God would watch over Jacob and Laban and keep them apart, for they could not trust each other.”
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Related study paths

Read Genesis 31 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification