And Laban called it
Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed. (Gen 31:47)
Genesis 31:47 reflects usage of
Hebrew and Aramaic by two individuals who were contemporaries: Jacob, the
father of the Israelites, referred to a certain memorial or “witness heap” by
the Hebrew term; his father-in-law, Laban, called it by its Aramaic counterpart.
(Larry Lee Walker, “Biblical Languages,” in Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible,
ed. Walter A. Elwell, 2 vols. [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House,
1988], 1:336)
47 Laban first names the
site in his own Aramaic tongue: Jegar-sahadutha.
Jacob follows with a Hebrew name: Galeed.
Jacob is bilingual (he has lived in an Aramaic-speaking country and an
Aramaic-speaking home for 20 years) and is able to translate Laban’s phrase
into Hebrew (or “Judaic/Judean” to use the OT term; see Isa. 36:11, 13). This
is the only instance in which translation is involved between Abrahamites and
Labanites, suggesting two languages sufficiently similar to each other to
permit conversation, as in the case with Abraham and the Philistines. (Victor
P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis, Chapters 18-50 [The New International Commentary
on the Old Testament; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1995], 314)
Laban the Aramean gave the place
an Aramaic name which means “witness pile” or “the pile is a witness.” (Biblical
Studies Press, The NET Bible First
Edition Notes [Biblical Studies Press, 2006], Logos Bible Software edition)
