Genesis 31:47

47 and Laban calleth it Jegar-Sahadutha; and Jacob hath called it Galeed.

Genesis 31:47 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 31:47

And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha
Which in the Syriac and Chaldee languages signifies "an heap of witness"; it being, as after observed, a witness of the covenant between Laban and Jacob: but Jacob called it Galeed;
which in the Hebrew tongue signifies the same, "an heap of witness"; or "an heap, [the] witness", for the same reason. Laban was a Syrian, as he sometimes is called, ( Genesis 25:20 ) ( Genesis 31:20 Genesis 31:24 ) , wherefore he used the Syrian language; Jacob was a descendant of Abraham the Hebrew, and he used the Hebrew language; and both that their respective posterity might understand the meaning of the name; though these two are not so very different but Laban and Jacob could very well understand each other, as appears by their discourse together, these being but dialects of the same tongue.

Genesis 31:47 In-Context

45 And Jacob taketh a stone, and lifteth it up [for] a standing pillar;

46 and Jacob saith to his brethren, `Gather stones,' and they take stones, and make a heap; and they eat there on the heap;

47 and Laban calleth it Jegar-Sahadutha; and Jacob hath called it Galeed.

48 And Laban saith, `This heap [is] witness between me and thee to-day;' therefore hath he called its name Galeed;

49 Mizpah also, for he said, `Jehovah doth watch between me and thee, for we are hidden one from another;