פרשת ויצא תש"כ - יעקב ולבן

And now that thou art surely gone, because thou sore longest after thy father’s house, wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?’

And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.’

And Laban said to Jacob: ‘Behold this heap, and behold the pillar, which I have set up betwixt me and thee.

This heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.

אם אני THAT I WILL NOT — Here the word אם is used in the sense of אשר “that”, as (Genesis 24:33) “until that (אם) I have spoken my words”.

עד...אם אני, the expression אם אני and אם אתה in this verse must be understood as if the Torah had written שאני and שאתה, “that I,“ “that you.” We find the word אם used in that sense in Genesis 24,19 עד אם כלו לשתות, “until they have finished drinking,” as we pointed out there.

אם אני לא אעבור עליך, “I will not cross this stonepile with hostile intent against you. Lavan undertakes not to join anyone bent on attacking Yaakov in return for Yaakov’s promise not to do this in the event that he will be attacked.

The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us.’ And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

אלוהי אביהם, Lavan meant that Yaakov could not take offence at Lavan pairing Nachor’s god and Yaakov’s G’d in a single expression. He had chosen Nachor to underline that Nachor’s god was also the god of Terach, who was the father of both Avraham and Nachor.

והיה לעד means and LET GOD BE FOR A WITNESS.

לאחיו UNTO HIS BRETHREN — really his sons, who were like brothers to him since they were standing by him in trouble and in battle (Genesis Rabbah 74:13).

והמצפה אשר אמר AND MIZPAH (literally, the Mizpah); BECAUSE HE SAID etc . — The word והמצפה and the Mizpah must refer to some well-known place bearing this name (for there are several places named Mizpah) it refers to the Mizpah which is in Mount Gilead — as it is written (Judges 11:29) “and he passed over Mizpah of Gilead”. Why was it also called Mizpah? Because each of them said to the other, “The Lord watch (יצף) between me and thee that thou shouldst not violate this covenant”.

And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha; but Jacob called it Galeed.

And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.