22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two slave women, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok.(A) 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions.

Jacob Wrestles with God

24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.(B) 25 When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip. 26 Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 “What is your name?” the man asked.

“Jacob,” he replied.

28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,”(C) he said. “It will be Israel[a] because you have struggled with God(D) and with men and have prevailed.”

29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”

But he answered, “Why do you ask my name?” (E) And he blessed him there.

30 Jacob then named the place Peniel,[b] “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.”(F) 31 The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel[c](G)—limping because of his hip. 32 That is why, still today, the Israelites don’t eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because he struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. 32:28 In Hb, the name Israel sounds like “he struggled (with) God.”
  2. 32:30 = Face of God
  3. 32:31 Variant of Peniel
  4. 32:32 Or tendon

Jacob Wrestles With God

22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons(A) and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.(B) 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.(C) 24 So Jacob was left alone,(D) and a man(E) wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip(F) so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”(G)

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,”(H) he answered.

28 Then the man said, “Your name(I) will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a](J) because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”(K)

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”(L)

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?”(M) Then he blessed(N) him there.

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[b] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face,(O) and yet my life was spared.”

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,[c](P) and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip,(Q) because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 32:28 Israel probably means he struggles with God.
  2. Genesis 32:30 Peniel means face of God.
  3. Genesis 32:31 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel