THE REAL MEANING OF
MIZPAH
In the Hebrew
language, the word “mizpah”
literally means ‘watch tower’ or ‘look-out.’
This term has evolved over time (in common usage) and is now taken by
many people to mean ‘blessing.’ However, that is an entirely inaccurate
definition for the term, mizpah. Unfortunately, mizpah is often confused with the
word “mitzvah,” which refers to a
collection of 613 biblical precepts describing the religious and moral conduct
of Jews (or) any good or praiseworthy deed. Let’s take a
closer look at the biblical context and historical significance of that
word, mizpah. Actually,
it originated out of a major disagreement between Jacob and his uncle,
Laban. They resolved their situation (at least semi-peacefully) by
the institution of a mizpah.
Genesis 31:44-49 (NKJV)
44 Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and
I, and let it be a witness between you and me.
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a
pillar. 46 Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took
stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 And Laban said, “This heap is a
witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, 49 also Mizpah, because
he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.
It’s important to
review the back-story of the eventual split in the family of Jacob and Laban. It
goes like this. Isaac and Rebekah named the second-born of their twin sons,
“Jacob,” which means ‘usurper’ or ‘deceiver.’ God later renamed him
“Israel,” which means ‘he struggles with God.’ Jacob’s paternal
grandparents were Abraham and Sarah. Laban was the son of Bethuel,
the son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. He
lived in Haran, a city in Mesopotamia, which today is
part of Syria. Laban’s sister was
Rebekah, who married Isaac, Jacob’s father.
Therefore, Laban was Jacob’s uncle.
Their family
struggles began when Jacob and his mother, Rebekah, tricked Isaac into
bestowing upon Jacob the blessing that was the birthright of this first-born
twin brother, Esau. Foolishly, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for
a mere bowl of stew. When Jacob fled to Haran, it wasn’t long
before he and Uncle Laban began looking for ways to get the best of each
other. First of all, Jacob agreed to work seven years to marry Laban's
daughter Rachel, but when the time was
completed, Laban pulled a honeymoon-night switch and Jacob wound up with Leah instead. Jacob
had to spend another seven years of indentured servitude to marry his true
love, Rachel.
Over the course of
14 years, all of the children of Jacob were born, the
future heads of the 12 tribes of Israel. After
those years of service had ended, Jacob wanted to take his two wives and return
home, but Laban convinced him to remain for 6 more years to tend his
flocks. This was a very costly mistake for Laban. During that time,
Laban treated Jacob badly and changed his wages ten times. However,
Jacob’s strange-but-effective management of the flocks resulted in Jacob
becoming far more wealthy than Laban, all at the expense of his
uncle. The end result was that Jacob bankrupted Laban.
Major division in
the family resulted when Laban’s sons began saying that, “Jacob has taken all
that was our father’s; and from what was our father’s he has gained all this
wealth.” (Genesis 31:1). Fearing that
some hostile action would be taken against him by his uncle and cousins, Jacob
fled with his family and newly acquired wealth.
Three days later,
Laban discovered that Jacob had fled, and because Jacob had to move slowly with
his large family and flocks, Laban caught up to him. Although Laban may
have originally planned to harm Jacob and take back his daughters,
grandchildren and flocks, God intervened and warned Laban not to do anything to
Jacob. With God watching,
Jacob and Laban’s final parting was not all that friendly, but at least it was
semi-peaceful. Three additional translations of the mizpah covenant are included
below. The second and third translations clearly indicate that
the mizpah originated
out of basic skepticism between the two family members. The parting
of Jacob and Laban commenced a covenant of sorts, but it was one that was based
so much on distrust that
there was a definite need for God,
Himself, to be the continual watch
tower and look-out over
their broken relationship.
Genesis 31:49 (King James
Version)
49 And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between
me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
Genesis 31:49 (English Standard Version)
And Mizpah, for he said, “The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight.”
And Mizpah, for he said, “The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight.”
Genesis 31:49 (International Standard Version)
It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, “May the LORD watch between you and me, when we are estranged from each other.”
It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, “May the LORD watch between you and me, when we are estranged from each other.”
The covenant of
Jacob and Laban implies that The
Lord, who sees and knows all, would continually watch, not just over
them, but over their actions. And, and The Lord would bring upon
each person either evil or good, depending on whether they would keep or break
their covenant. We conclude from the foregoing series of events that
the mizpah was not originally designed, nor
intended, to be a blessing. So, before you offer the mizpah as a prayer-of-benediction,
you must be aware of its true meaning and intent. My sisters and brothers,
today I wish for you a mitzvah …not
a mizpah!
Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all
else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!
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