⁴⁵So Jacob took a large rock and set it up on its end. ⁴⁶He told his relatives to gather rocks, so they took the rocks and piled them up; then they ate beside the pile. ⁴⁷Laban named that place in his language A Pile to Remind Us, and Jacob gave the place the same name in Hebrew.

⁴⁸Laban said to Jacob, “This pile of rocks will remind us of the agreement between us.” That is why the place was called A Pile to Remind Us. ⁴⁹It was also called Mizpah, ⁿ because Laban said, “Let the Lord watch over us while we are separated from each other. ⁵⁰Remember that God is our witness even if no one else is around us. He will know if you harm my daughters or marry other women. ⁵¹Here is the pile of rocks that I have put between us and here is the rock I set up on end. ⁵²This pile of rocks and this rock set on end will remind us of our agreement. I will never go past this pile to hurt you, and you must never come to my side of them to hurt me. ⁵³Let the God of Abraham, who is the God of Nahor and the God of their ancestors, punish either of us if we break this agreement.”

So Jacob made a promise in the name of the God whom his father Isaac worshiped. ⁵⁴Then Jacob killed an animal and offered it as a sacrifice on the mountain, and he invited his relatives to share in the meal. After they finished eating, they spent the night on the mountain.

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Footnotes

nMizpah This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “watch.”