The Ambic version and Samaritan text read ests under the newly-formed covenant; while ffarit!ia, thou hast erected, instead of yarithi, Jo.cob in his adjuration appeals to the Elohim I have erected or cast up) betwixt me and of .Abmha.m's son. And lacob aware by the thee: this heap be witness, and this pillar fear of his father Isaac (vide supra, vcr. be witness, that (litera1ly, if, here= that) I 42). will not pass over this heap to thee, and Ver. 54.-Then la.cob oft'ered sacriflce- that thou ahalt not pa88 over this heap and literally, slew a slaying, in ratification of this pillar (Laban bound himself never to the covenant-upon the mount and called pass over the heap which ho had erected as his bre~hren (La.ban's f~llowers', who may his witness ; whereas Jacob wa.s required to ~ave ~1thdrawn to a distance during the swear that he would never cross the pillar interview) to eat bread. The sacrificial and the pile, both of which were witnesses meal afterwards became an integral part of for him) nnto me, for harm. The emphatic the Hebrew ritual (Exo<l. xxiv. 3-8 ; xxix. word closes the sentence. The God of Abra- 27, 28; Levit. x. 14, 15). And they did ee.t ham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their bread, and tarried all night in the mount. father, judge'-the verb is plural, either be- Vers. 55. - And early in the morning cause Laban regarded the Elohim of N ahor os I.e.be.n rose up, and kissed his sons and his diJferent from the Elohim of Abraham (Roscn- daughters,-i. e. Rachel and Leah anJ their miiller, Keil, Kalisch, Wordsworth, 'Speak- children. It does not appear that Laban er's Commentary'), or because, though ac- kissed Jacob on taking final leave of him as knowledging only one Elohim, ho viewed he did on first meeting him (eh. xxix. 39)- him as maintaining several and distinct rela- and blessed them (cf. eh. xxiv. 60; xuiii. tions to the persons named (cf. Quarry, p. I) : and I.a.ban departed, and returned unto 499)-betwi.xt us. Laban here invokes his his place - Padan-aram (cf. eh. xviii. 33 ; own hereditary Elohim, the Elohim of .Abra- xxx. 25). ham's father, to guard his rights and inter-
HOMILETICS. Vera. 45-55.-G~leed and lrlizpah, OT the covenant of pea.ce. I. Tm: COVENANT MEMORIALS, I . .·The pillar of remembrance. The erection of the stone slab appears to have been the act of Jacob alone, and to have been designed to commemorate the important transaction about to be entered into with Laban. It is well to keep note of those engagements we make with our fellow-men in order to their punctual fulfil- ment; much more of those we make with God. It does not appear that any name was given to the'· column, and this may have been because it was intended chiefly for himself. 2. The pile of witness. This was the work both of Laban and Jacob, wl1ich they conjointly performed through the instrumentality of their brethren ; and being of the nature of a public monument, it was further characterised by a name- Laban calling it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob styling it Galeed, both expressions signifying heap of witness, and perhaps both of them naming it Mizpah, or watch- tower, from the nature of the oath which they both took on the occasion. Men who are truly sincere in their covenant engagements are never afraid to bind themselves by public attestations of their good faith, though it is certain that of all men these least require to be so bound. II. THE COVENANT WORDS. 1. The solemn engagements. On the one hand Lnban undertakes never to pass the stone heap on Gilead to do injury to Jacob-not mention- ino- the pillar, which was purely of Jacob's construction, and therefore supposed to ha~e a religious significance solely for Jacob; ond on the other hand Jncob record~ his vow never to cross the pillar and th!l pile to inflict wrong on Laban, and in addition, as Laban might be injured in bis daughters without crossing the forbidden line, never ~ afflict Rachel and Leah by taking other wives besides them. The engagement on JOth sides is to abstain from doing injury of any sort to each other ; and to this nil men are bound by both natural and revealed religion without the formality of an oath ; and much more than· other men, are Christians taken bound by God's grnco and Christ's blood to live peaceably with all men and be nt peace omongst tl1emselves. 2. Tlte impressive oaths. If it is dubious whether Labun appealed to God or only to the stone-nenp to witness his sincerity in promising not to harm Jucob, it is certain t.hat he appealed to God to keep a strict eye on Jacob (ver. 49), and inn sem:-supe~- '5titious way united the Goe! of Abraham and the God of N ahor, the God of thou •• • cc2 388 THE DOOK OF GENESIS. [UI. XXXI, 45-55
fathers, to judge between them. Jacob does not mention either pilo or pillar, but fWears by the fear of his father Isaac. III. THE COVENANT ACTIONS, 1. Tlie sacr{fice, The offering of sacrifice was esRential to the fonnntion of a covenant. As between God and man, it virtually pro- claimed that God could enter into amicable relations with sinful man only on the basis of an atonement. As between man and man, it was equivalent to un ucknow- ledgment by the covenanting parties that both required to be covered with the blood of propitiation, That Jacob, and not Laban, offered sacrifice intimates that these truths were already in some degree appreciated by Jacob, though possibly they were not understood by Laban. 2. The feast. In making this feast Jacob may only l,a"'e been following the example of his father Isaac, who similarly entertained Abimelech and his statesmen at Beersheba on the occasion of the treaty which wa~ there formed between them ; but the sacrificial fe~st afterwards became an important element in the Mosaic cultus, and was designed to express the idea of house and table fellowship between the covenanting parties. IV. THE COVENANT RESULTS, 1. The ki.ss of reconciliation. It is not certain that Laban kissed Jacob when be prepared for his departure in the morning; perhaps that was too much to expect; but he kissed Rachel and Leah and their children. It was a sign of forgiveness not alone to them, but through them also to Jacob. 2. The pakrnal benedu:twn. Laban, whose better nature appears to have returned ns the result of the covenant, or of the feast, or of the contemplated parting with his daughters, poured out bis feelings in a farewell blessing on their heads. It is the last we hear or see of Laban in the Scripture ne.rrative. Let us hope it was the renval of early kindness and piety in the old man's heart.