Jegar-Sahadutha
/ˌdʒɛɡɑːr səˈhædəθə/noun
A biblical place-name for the stone cairn marking the covenant between Jacob and Laban in Genesis 31:47.
Did you know?Genesis 31:47 deliberately preserves two names for the same monument: Laban gives it the Aramaic name Jegar-Sahadutha, while Jacob calls it the Hebrew Gal-ed.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic era
Proto-Semitic
*ygr / *ś-h-d
“Reconstructed Semitic roots associated with a heap or pile, and with witnessing or testimony; the exact Proto-Semitic vocalization is uncertain.”
Biblical Aramaic
Aramaic
יְגַר שָׂהֲדוּתָא — yegar sahadutha
“Heap of witness; the Aramaic name given by Laban to the stone cairn in Genesis 31:47.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
גַּלְעֵד — Gal-ed
“Heap of witness; Jacob’s Hebrew name for the same covenant monument.”
Hellenistic period
Greek
Γαλαάδ — Galaad
“Greek rendering of Gal-ed, later associated with the biblical region and name Gilead.”
Late Antique period
Latin
Galaad
“Latin biblical form derived from the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name.”
Modern English
English
Jegar-Sahadutha
“An English biblical transliteration of the Aramaic place-name, commonly glossed as “Heap of Witness.””