²² Later that night, he woke up, quickly took his two wives, his^[a] two women servants, and his eleven children, and forded the river at Jabbok. ²³ He took them across the river, along with all his possessions.

Jacob Struggles with God

²⁴ And so Jacob was left alone, and he struggled with a man until daybreak. ²⁵ When the man realized that he hadn’t yet won the struggle, he injured the socket^[b] of Jacob’s thigh, dislocating it as he wrestled with him, ²⁶ and said, “Let me go, because the dawn has come.”^[c]

“I won’t let you go,” Jacob^[d] replied, “unless you bless me.”

²⁷ Then the man^[e] asked him, “What’s your name?”

“Jacob,” he responded

²⁸ “Your name won’t be^[f] Jacob anymore,” the man^[g] replied, “but Israel, because you exerted yourself against both God and men, and you’ve emerged victorious.”

²⁹ “Please,” Jacob inquired, “Tell me your name.”

But he asked, “Why are you asking about my name?” And he blessed Jacob^[h] there.

³⁰ Jacob would later call that place Peniel,^[i] because “I saw God face to face, but my life was spared.”

³¹ The sun was rising above Jacob^[j] as he crossed over from Peniel, limping due to his wounded thigh. ³² Therefore, to this day the Israelis do not eat the hip tendon that connects to the thigh socket, because he had injured the socket of the thigh where the tendon connected to Jacob’s hip.