And Jacob said unto his brethren, gather stones,.... Not to his sons, as the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi; these would not be called brethren, and were not fit, being too young to be employed in gathering large stones, as these must be, to erect a monument with; rather his servants, whom he employed in keeping his sheep under him, and might so call them, as he did the shepherds of Haran, Ge 29:4; and whom he could command to such service, and were most proper to be made use of in it; unless it can be thought the men Laban brought with him, whom Jacob before calls his brethren, Ge 31:37, are meant; and then the words must be understood as spoken, not in an authoritative way, but as a request or direction, which was complied with:and they took stones, and made an heap; they fetched stones that lay about here and there, and laid them in order one upon another, and so made an heap of them:and they did eat there upon the heap; they made it like a table, and set their food on it, and ate off of it; or they "ate by" it , it being usual in making covenants to make a feast, at least to eat and drink together, in token of friendship and good will.
The Chinese call friendship that is most firm and stable, and not to be rescinded, "stony friendship": whether from a like custom with this does not appear. le "apud", "juxta", "prope"; see Nold. Concord.
Part. Heb. p. 691. Martin. Hist. Sinic. p.