Jacob and Laban Make a Covenant at Gileadby emmanuel_higgins

Genesis 31:46

And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.

Genesis 31:46 belongs to the account of Jacob's departure from Laban after God directed him to return to Canaan. Laban proposed a covenant between himself and Jacob to be a witness between them, from claimed care for his daughters and their children and assurance that he would not harm them. Jacob consented to Laban's proposal of a covenant of peace after Laban could not deny Jacob's charges of selfishness.

Jacob also set up a stone for a pillar in connection with the proposal. At Jacob's word, he and his brethren took stones and made a heap, where they ate. The heap was erected as a token of the compact and formed part of the witness and boundary in the covenant between Jacob and Laban.

They ate together upon the heap as a feast to confirm the treaty. The treaty was followed by a night of friendly communing and Laban's departure at dawn, which ended all trace of connection between the children of Abraham and the dwellers in Mesopotamia.