And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.
Laban assured Jacob that he cared for his daughters and their children and would do them no harm, and then proposed a covenant between them. Jacob consented to Laban's proposal of a covenant of peace after Laban could not deny the facts Jacob had brought forward. The stone Jacob set up as a pillar was the witness, token, and mark of that covenant between Jacob and Laban. The pillar was the beginning of the covenant memorial, followed by Jacob telling his brethren to gather stones into a heap.
The heap or pile of stones, together with the pillar, stood as a witness and boundary that neither man would pass beyond them to the other for harm. The pillar was named Mizpah, meaning watch-tower, with the declaration that the Lord watch between them when they were absent from one another. The treaty was confirmed by Jacob's oath by the Fear of his father Isaac. The covenant was celebrated and confirmed by eating together upon the heap, in a feast followed by a night of friendly communing. Afterward Laban and his company departed at dawn, ending all trace of connection between the children of Abraham and the dwellers in Mesopotamia.
Laban assured Jacob that he cared for his daughters and their children and would do them no harm, and then proposed a covenant between them. Jacob consented to Laban's proposal of a covenant of peace after Laban could not deny the facts Jacob had brought forward. The stone Jacob set up as a pillar was the witness, token, and mark of that covenant between Jacob and Laban. The pillar was the beginning of the covenant memorial, followed by Jacob telling his brethren to gather stones into a heap.
The heap or pile of stones, together with the pillar, stood as a witness and boundary that neither man would pass beyond them to the other for harm. The pillar was named Mizpah, meaning watch-tower, with the declaration that the Lord watch between them when they were absent from one another. The treaty was confirmed by Jacob's oath by the Fear of his father Isaac. The covenant was celebrated and confirmed by eating together upon the heap, in a feast followed by a night of friendly communing. Afterward Laban and his company departed at dawn, ending all trace of connection between the children of Abraham and the dwellers in Mesopotamia.