The Wrestling of Jacob. The narrative, for which Hosea 12:3-5 should be compared. is distributed between J and E by recent critics. Gunkel attributes Genesis 32:23-24 a, Genesis 32:25 a, Genesis 32:26-28; Genesis 32:31 a to E; Genesis 32:22; Genesis 32:24; Genesis 32:25 b, Genesis 32:29 f., Genesis 32:31 b to J. The older critics treated the section as a unity, generally attributing it to J. So much uncertainty hangs over the analysis, that it is best to take the story as it stands. It has been so filled with deep, spiritual significance (Charles Wesley's Come, O Thou traveller unknown is a classic example) that it is difficult for the modern reader to think himself back into its original meaning. Like the story of the angel marriages (Genesis 6:1-4), it belongs to a most antique stage of religious belief. It is no wrestling in prayer with God for His blessing, nor in the primitive form of the story was Yahweh the superhuman antagonist. It is a literal physical wrestling, in which one of the wrestlers puts the thigh bone of the other out of joint, in which the human combatant holds his adversary in so firm a grip that he fears the day will dawn before he is gone. It is a local deity, whether a god of the border who seeks to prevent entrance to the land, or of the Jabbok (wrestled, in Genesis 32:24 is ye-' abek) who, like other river gods, as Frazer has pointed out, resisted the crossing and sought to kill those who attempted it. The two are not unequally matched, the wrestling continues long; in Genesis 32:26 a Jacob's thigh is dislocated by a stroke of the foe, in Genesis 32:26 b by the efforts he makes himself. We have no reason to suppose that Jacob guessed the supernatural character of his opponent till he begged to be released since dawn was at hand. It is a widespread, primitive belief that gods or spirits must disappear at daybreak. Jacob therefore, had him at a disadvantage, and lamed and in agony though he was, he nerved himself to hold on just a little longer, to wring from him the blessing which, as a superhuman being, he was able to bestow. He learns Jacob's name (apparently up to that point he was unaware of it), and changes it to Israel in token that he had persevered (so Driver renders) with God. (Perhaps LXX, Vulg. should be accepted here, mg.) So Jacob asks his adversary for his name (Genesis 32:29). The name is, to primitive thought, an essential part of the personality: to know it is to get its bearer into one's power. Hence great precautions are taken that it shall not be known, and it is not uncommon for savages to pass under an assumed name, the true name being hidden. This applies to gods as well as men. Great pains are taken in prayer to secure that right names shall be employed, not simply that the deity intended shall be reached, but that pressure may be brought upon him by the efficacy of their use. This crude conception gave place to ideas more refined, but after the name was no longer used as a spell to coerce the deity, the old thought of the wonder-working power inherent in it still lingered. It was attached in Judaism to the Ineffable Name, and similar thoughts naturally gathered about the name of Jesus. The invocation of His name, or the prayer offered in His name, carried with them His power, so that demons were cast out, diseases healed, baptism administered, and discipline exercised (1 Corinthians 5:3-5 *) in His name. The terminology still survives, especially in hymns. But as to Manoah (Judges 13:17 f.) so to Jacob, at least in the present form of the story, the name is not disclosed; yet he receives the blessing. The origin of the name Peniel is explained; Jacob has seen God face to face, yet the sight has not been fatal; he bears the mark of the struggle, but his life has not paid the forfeit. The story also accounts for the abstinence of the Israelites from the sinew of the thigh socket, i.e. probably the sciatic nerve, a taboo which curiously, is not mentioned elsewhere in the OT. It is known among other peoples.
Genesis 32:22. Jabbok: the Zerka (p. 32), a tributary which discharges into the Jordan about 25 miles N. of the Dead Sea. The ford is probably 3 miles to the E. of this point.
Genesis 32:28. Israel: strictly God is the subject; cf. mg 2.