This heap is a witness between you and me today: in many languages a pile of stones cannot be said to be a witness. Accordingly it may be necessary to translate as in Good News Translation or to say, for example, “this heap will make us remember,” or “… will keep us from forgetting,” or “… will help us keep in our hearts.”

Therefore he named it Galeed: this statement creates confusion because verse 47 has just said that Jacob called it by the name Galeed. Note that Good News Translation translates “That is why that place was named Galeed,” and most modern translations do something similar. By shifting to the passive these translations avoid saying that it is Laban who calls it Galeed. This is a possible understanding of the Hebrew, and it is recommended as a possibility to translators whose languages can use the passive voice. In some other languages an impersonal pronoun “they called it” has the same effect as the passive. Otherwise it will be necessary to follow Revised Standard Version.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .