Mizpah

Mizpah in the Bible

The Mizpah of Jacob and Laban

When Jacob left his uncle Laban, the two men heaped up a pile of stones in the hill country of Gilead and made a covenant not to harm each other. Laban also called this heap Mizpah. The words "The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another" explain the meaning of the name (Genesis 31:44-49).

Mizpah in Gilead

During the period of the judges, Israel encamped at Mizpah in Gilead to fight against the Ammonites. Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpah, and his home was also there (Judges 10:17; 11:11; 11:34).

Mizpah in the Territory of Benjamin

• After the outrage at Gibeah, all Israel assembled at Mizpah to deliberate over what to do about the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 20:1; 21:1).
• Samuel gathered Israel at Mizpah. The people drew water and poured it out before the LORD, fasted, and confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." When the Philistines attacked, the LORD thundered with a great thunder, and Israel prevailed. Samuel set up a stone between Mizpah and Shen and called it Ebenezer (1 Samuel 7:5-12). Mizpah was one of the places on Samuel's yearly circuit where he judged the people (1 Samuel 7:16).
• Saul was chosen king by lot at Mizpah (1 Samuel 10:17-24).
• Asa, king of Judah, fortified the town (1 Kings 15:22).
• After Jerusalem fell to Babylon, Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the Babylonians, resided at Mizpah. Jeremiah also went to him there, but Gedaliah was assassinated at Mizpah by Ishmael (2 Kings 25:23-25; Jeremiah 40:6; 41:1-3).
• After the return from exile, men of Mizpah took part in repairing the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3:7, 15, 19).

Name and Location

The name "Mizpah" derives from a Hebrew verb meaning "to watch" or "to keep watch" and is thought to have been a common name for elevated sites commanding a wide view. For this reason, several places bearing the same name, or names from the same root, appear in the Bible. Many scholars identify Mizpah of Benjamin with Tell en-Nasbeh, north of Jerusalem, while others identify it with Nebi Samwil. The location of Mizpah in Gilead is uncertain. Scholars also disagree on whether the Mizpah of Genesis 31 is the same place as the Mizpah of Gilead in Judges.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Mizpah of Benjamin is portrayed as a place where, from the end of the period of the judges into the early monarchy, the people gathered before God to repent and to make important decisions. By contrast, Hosea rebukes the leaders of Israel, saying, "ye have been a snare on Mizpah" (Hosea 5:1). The place name Mizpah does not appear in the New Testament. First Maccabees 3, which is not part of the Protestant canon, records that Judas Maccabeus gathered the people at Mizpah to pray.

Interpretations and Debates

• The use of Genesis 31:49: This verse is often quoted as a benediction entrusting an absent loved one to God. Many interpreters point out, however, that in context it belongs to a boundary covenant in which two mutually distrustful men called on God as witness.
• The pouring out of water: The text of 1 Samuel 7:6 does not explain the meaning of drawing and pouring out water. Interpretations vary: it has been understood as an expression of repentance in which the heart is poured out, as an offering to God, or as an act of self-humiliation.

In the Korean Church

First Samuel 7 is frequently used as a sermon text on repentance and revival. Some churches and organizations hold gatherings for repentance and prayer under names such as "Mizpah prayer meeting" or "Mizpah assembly," and such gatherings often invoke Mizpah together with "Ebenezer" from the same passage.