Genesis 31:44

Summary

Laban proposes to Jacob that they formalize their agreement by "cutting" a covenant between them, which will then serve as a witness to their relationship. The verse consists of an invitation to act, the proposal itself, and its stated purpose.

Key words

• nikh.re.Tah ("let us make", H3772) — from the root meaning "to cut," here used for making a covenant; the data labels this form an infinitive, though the 1st-person-plural sense ("let us...") reflects the idiomatic pairing of "cut" with "covenant" common in Hebrew treaty language.
• ve.Rit ("a covenant", H1285) — feminine singular noun, the direct object of the "cutting" action, naming the formal agreement being established.
• le.Kha ("come", H1980) — qal imperative, masculine singular, directly addressing Jacob and opening the speech with a command to act.
• ha.Yah ("it will become", H1961) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the narrative flow from the imperative and cohortative-like proposal into a resulting future state ("it will become/serve as").
• 'Ed ("a witness", H5707) — masculine singular noun, the function assigned to the covenant once made, introduced by the preposition le ("into/as").

What the text says

The verse opens with ve'a.Tah ("and therefore/now", H9002 + H6258), marking a logical transition — Laban draws a conclusion from what precedes and moves to action. The imperative le.Kha ("come") addresses Jacob directly, followed by the proposal expressed through nikh.re.Tah berit ("let us make a covenant"), pairing the verb for "cutting" with "covenant" as its object. The subjects are then specified explicitly: 'aNi ("I", H0589) and 'Atah ("you", H0859A), joined by the conjunction va ("and"), emphasizing that both parties are equally involved in the action, even though the verb form itself already implies a plural subject.

The second half of the verse shifts from the cohortative-style proposal to a sequential perfect, ve.hayah ("and it will become"), which continues the narrative logic: once the covenant is made, it will then function le'Ed ("as a witness", H5707 with H9005). The location of this witnessing function is spelled out spatially with the paired construct forms beiNi ("between me") and u.veiNekha ("and between you"), each built from the same root bein ("between", H0996G) with first- and second-person suffixes, framing the covenant as something situated precisely between the two named parties.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) preserves the Hebrew core (διαθώμεθα διαθήκην, "let us make a covenant") but appends additional material — a response attributed to Jacob ("Behold, no one is with us... God is witness between me and you") — that is not present in the Hebrew text provided or in the Vulgate. The Vulgate (Clementine) renders the passage more compactly, using ineamus fœdus ("let us enter into a covenant") and omitting the explicit doubled naming of "I and you" found in the Hebrew ('aNi... 'Atah).