Galeed

Galeed is the name Jacob gives to the heap of stones raised at the close of his covenant with Laban. The same heap carries an Aramaic name from Laban — Jegar-sahadutha — and a Hebrew name from Jacob, both meaning "witness-heap." The site is preserved in the narrative as the memorial of the non-aggression pact between the two men.

The Witness-Heap of Jacob and Laban

When the two parties conclude their boundary covenant, each names the heap in his own tongue: "And Laban called it Jegar-saha-dutha: but Jacob called it Galeed" (Gen 31:47). The etiology is then made explicit, with the heap itself standing as the legal witness: "And Laban said, This heap is witness between me and you this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed:" (Gen 31:48).