Bible Strands
Genesis 31:48
Then Laban declared, “This mound is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore the place was called Galeed.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Laban addresses Jacob at their parting in the hill country of Gilead after a seven-day pursuit. He designates a stone mound to formally mark their boundary and end their conflict.
The words — The Hebrew עֵד ('ed) translates literally as "witness," combined with בֵּינִי וּ/בֵינְ/ךָ (between me and you) to define the heap as a permanent witness to their mutual agreement.
The thread — The text states the mound's function as a witness, a pattern repeated in Joshua 24:27 where a stone serves as a witness to Israel's covenant. The location also anchors the broader Gilead region boundaries noted in Deuteronomy 2:36.
Why it lands — The verse records how ancient parties used physical markers to legally bind agreements and prevent future hostilities. It requires recognizing that covenant peace relies on visible, mutually acknowledged boundaries rather than abstract promises.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;
Cross-references
- Joshua 24:27 And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”
- Genesis 31:23 So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.
- Deuteronomy 2:36 From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
- Deuteronomy 3:16 and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites.
- Joshua 13:8 The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them: