And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
The verse belongs to the time when Jacob, weary of Laban's service, asked to leave for his own place with his wives and children. Laban kept him because the Lord had blessed Laban for Jacob's sake, so that what little Laban had became a multitude while Jacob increased exceedingly with cattle and servants. Laban's sons then accused Jacob of taking all their father's wealth and gaining glory from it, and Jacob saw that Laban's countenance was no longer toward him as before. He feared violence from Laban's sons while still fearing Esau, leaving him perplexed not knowing which way to turn. He remembered the Bethel promise, carried his case to God, and was answered in a dream commanding him to return to the land of his fathers and to his kindred with the promise to be with him.
Mizpah in the verse means watchtower. In the verse Laban appeals to the Lord to watch over and witness the covenant between himself and Jacob during their separation when no human witness is present. The heap and pillar of stones marked their agreement and stood as witnesses and a boundary that neither man would cross into the other's territory to do harm.
Under that divine witness the covenant bound Jacob not to afflict, mistreat, or harm Laban's daughters and not to take other or additional wives besides them, lest he bring them more sorrow. This condition safeguarded the happiness of Leah and Rachel as they journeyed far away with interests entirely separate from Laban. The condition came from the knowledge that polygamy is wrong and brings unhappiness. This was shown in Jacob's family where the jealousy of Leah and Rachel led them to give their maids to Jacob, which confused the family relation and increased the daughters' unhappiness, even though Jacob had taken two wives only through Laban's trickery.
The verse belongs to the time when Jacob, weary of Laban's service, asked to leave for his own place with his wives and children. Laban kept him because the Lord had blessed Laban for Jacob's sake, so that what little Laban had became a multitude while Jacob increased exceedingly with cattle and servants. Laban's sons then accused Jacob of taking all their father's wealth and gaining glory from it, and Jacob saw that Laban's countenance was no longer toward him as before. He feared violence from Laban's sons while still fearing Esau, leaving him perplexed not knowing which way to turn. He remembered the Bethel promise, carried his case to God, and was answered in a dream commanding him to return to the land of his fathers and to his kindred with the promise to be with him.
Mizpah in the verse means watchtower. In the verse Laban appeals to the Lord to watch over and witness the covenant between himself and Jacob during their separation when no human witness is present. The heap and pillar of stones marked their agreement and stood as witnesses and a boundary that neither man would cross into the other's territory to do harm.
Under that divine witness the covenant bound Jacob not to afflict, mistreat, or harm Laban's daughters and not to take other or additional wives besides them, lest he bring them more sorrow. This condition safeguarded the happiness of Leah and Rachel as they journeyed far away with interests entirely separate from Laban. The condition came from the knowledge that polygamy is wrong and brings unhappiness. This was shown in Jacob's family where the jealousy of Leah and Rachel led them to give their maids to Jacob, which confused the family relation and increased the daughters' unhappiness, even though Jacob had taken two wives only through Laban's trickery.