Commentary on Genesis 32:24-30 by S. K. Neumiller 24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. In verse 24, Jacob is left alone, yet he wrestles with a man. Earlier in the chapter (v. 1-2) Jacob comes into contact with angels, or messengers, and then dubs the location Mahanaim (hebrew for "two camps") meaning a camp for heavenly hosts (the angels) and a camp for earthly hosts (Jacob and family). Thus the meaning of v. 24 could be that Jacob is left alone out of the earthly hosts which were previously present but are now seperated (v. 22-23). The intent of the author here is probably to communicate to the reader that the man Jacob is wrestling with is of the heavenly camp and not the earthly camp. Verse 25 continues on the theme of the two individuals wrestling which was started in v.24. This verse, as well as v. 26, 31-32 seem to imply that the wrestling was actual physical contact between the individuals. This is unusual for the Scriptures as all other wrestles that occur have a figurative spiritual interpretation, which would tend to persuade the reader that this wrestle is also a figurative spiritual one. But, the language in the passage is entirely too specific in it's implication that the struggle was physical. The physical struggle that occurs in the passage happens after Jacob has petitioned the Lord in prayer (v. 9-12), and therefore may be an antithetical parallel where the physical struggle is contrasted with the spiritual one. This verse also shows Jacob's determination to obtain the desired blessing (no doubt the same blessing asked for in v.9-12), in that even when injured by his opponent he still refuses to let him go until he gets what he wants. Verse 26 gives some insight into why the wrestle is occuring. Jacob is seeking a blessing and simply will not take "No" for an answer. It is possible that Jacob requested the blessing verbally and the the man declined to fulfil the request, so Jacob took hold of the man physically and refused to release him until he obtained the desired blessing. Verse 27 displays that the man whom Jacob has been wrestling all night with has submitted and Jacob will get what he wants. Verse 28 is prophetically foreshadowing events to come about later (compare 35:10) as well as informing Jacob that God will endorse the blessing the man pronounces upon him in as he has perservered with God and prevailed. In verse 29, Jacob apparently returns the "what is your name?" he was asked in v.27. The man's response is tantamount to a rebuke in that he not only refuses to answer Jacob's question he returns another question which when compared with Judges 13:18 shows that Jacob should have known better than to have asked it. But, this question may have been asked and included in the narrative to further display to the reader that the "man" Jacob wrestled with was not a mere mortal, but an angelic heavenly messenger. Apparently, from the context of Judges 13, angels refused to reveal their name because men would then do honor to them instead of the Lord, whom the angels are servants of. This also raises a difficult question concerning Jacob's wrestling with an angel composed of spirit only (It is my opinion that Jacob wrestled with a translated personage, and not a premortal angel of spirit only). Jacob's question may also be a challenging of the angel's authority, as the use of the term "name" is frequently referenced to in the scriptures when dealing with authority issues. But, this seems unlikely as the angels are previously identified by Jacob as God's hosts (v. 1). It also seems unlikely that Jacob would wrestle under such conditions if he was not convinced of the man's ability to bless him. In verse 30 Jacob declares that he has seen God face to face, and that his life is preserved. Upon initial reading, it is easy to interpret "and my life is preserved" as a statement dealing with surviving a viewing of God. But, from the context of chapter 32 what Jacob is seeking is protection from destruction at the hands of Esau (v. 11). Thus, his declaration "and my life is preserved" is a joyous statement that he has obtained the blessing asked for in v. 9-12. As it is plain in the verses leading up to this one Jacob has not been wrestling with God Himself, but with one of God's messengers. By cross referencing the meaning of Jacob's statement that he saw "God face to face" becomes clear. Genesis 32:20 and 33:10 convey the meaning that seeing someone's face is to find favor with them. Genesis 4:14 gives the interpretation that being cut off from God's face is to be in His disfavor. Numbers 6:22-27 further explains that to have the face of the Lord inclined towards you is to be blessed by Him. And, Dueteronomy 5:1-5 explains that communicating with the Lord's servant face to face is comparable to speaking to the Lord face to face. Thus, Jacob's statement that he saw "God face to face" means that he has obtained God's favor through a servant with the authority to bestow it. ______________________________________________________________________________ From kurtn@ocean.rutgers.edu Thu Sep 28 14:32:00 1995 Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 14:31:55 -0400 From: Kurt Neumiller To: scripture-l@blob.best.net Subject: Re: Jacob Again/Seeing Gods Face Cc: kurtn@ocean.rutgers.edu OK, over lunch I went thru my notes and heres what I stirred up: Gen 32:20 My interp on this was faulty. I was using a NAS at the time and the interp was based on that, when I checked the JPS my interp fell down on its face. Ouch. Gen 33:10 My intent in using this one was to establish "seeing Gods face" as a Hebraism. Compare Alma 33:4. Gen 4:3 presence=face according to the Hebraism. Compare Deut 4:37 and Ex 33:14 iin various translations and I suspect you will see some variation along this line. If you dont see it, let me know and I will type up the JPS redition and associated footnotes that establish the relationship. Deut 5:4-5 says that god spoke to israel face to face even though this didnt literally occur. My intent was to show that you didnt have to literally be face to face with God in order for this hebraism to be used. So the relationship I am drawing is: Israel <-> Moses <-> God Jacob <-> Angel <-> God Num 6:22-27 Included to illustrate the Hebraism, which you noted, the sons of Aaron didnt actually see the face of God. His favor was upon them. And here is a whole slew of refs that relate to the issue (not exhaustive): 2 Chron 7:14 1 Peter 3:12 Psalms 11:17, 17:15, 27:8-9 Hosea 5:15 Deut 32:19-22 Micah 3:4 Dan 9:17 Ezek. 39:23-24,29 Jer 18:17 Deut 31:17-18 Isa 54:8