פירוש על בראשית 31:44

והיה לעד means and LET GOD BE FOR A WITNESS.

‘VEHAYAH’ FOR A WITNESS. This means, “And let the Holy One, blessed be He, serve as a witness.” These are the words of Rashi. But this is not the usual sense of the expression. Rather, Laban is saying, “And let the covenant be for a witness between us, for he who violates it should be cursed with all the curses of the covenant,”²⁴⁰Deuteronomy 29:20. similar in meaning to the verse, And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder.²⁴¹Ibid., 28:46. The meaning of the verse here may be: “Let us establish a covenant by a permanent thing which will serve as a witness between us.” For this reason, Jacob set up a stone as a pillar, and this is the meaning of that which he said, This stone-heap be witness, and this pillar be witness.²⁴²Verse 52 here. A similar meaning is found in the verse, And Joshua said unto all the people: Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us.²⁴³Joshua 24:27.

ועתה לכה, we already explained the meaning of this expression on 19,32.

ועתה, seeing I do not wish to cause them any harm.

והיה לעד ביני וביני, “which will be a witness between me and between you.” According to Rashi the subject of the word והיה is G’d, i.e. G’d will be the witness. Nachmanides says that G’d is not a part of this covenant at all, but the word ברית is the subject of the word והיה. In other words: “the covenant will serve as witness.” Anyone violating this covenant will become the victim of the curses associated with the sin of violating a solemn agreement. It is also possible to understand what happened here as follows: Lavan wanted to select a witness that endures throughout the lifetime and beyond of the parties making the agreement. This is why Yaakov erected a stone to serve as the witness. (verse 45) This is also why Lavan said in verse 48 that this heap of stones would serve as the witness to this agreement.

Come let us make a pact. Lavan wanted to give the impression that Yaakov was the offending party and that the pact was needed so that he would refrain from harming him.

God [being the witness]. Since והיה לעד is written without specifying [its subject], perforce it refers to the preceding phrase: “The God of my father.” Furthermore, if it referred to the pact, it should say והיתה (feminine form).

והיה, da ברית in der Regel weiblich ist, so kann sich והיה wohl nur auf Gott beziehen, auf welchen Jakob hingewiesen hatte, der bereits als Mittler zwischen ihnen aufgetreten; Er, sagt Laban, soll ferner der Zeuge zwischen uns sein.

והיה, the words of this covenant shall testify between me and you. The actual terms of the covenant are spelled out beginning with the words in verse 50 אם תענה וגו'.

לכה ונכרתה ברית, to ensure that you on your part will not cause me any harm either.