World Changing Wrestling at the Jabbok

In Genesis 32:22-31, Jacob wrestles with a man at the Jabbok.  The elements of this narrative such as imagery, scene, plot, characterization, culture, geography, climax, point of view, etymology, and literary structure are interspersed in this analysis.  This paper argues the author intends to illustrate the struggle between God and Israel, resulting in the transformation of Israel into the people of God.[1]

This paper will presume without argument a post-temple writing of the passage. It will also presume that the passage functions as a “blend of history, legend, and lore, along with a considerable degree of authorial shaping.”[2] Therefore, the passage functions primarily as a counter narrative for the original audience. This paper will also presume that Jacob was an archetype for the nation of Israel.[3]

In the first scene, Jacob sent his family across the Jabbok with his possessions (Genesis 32:22-23). This scene followed Jacob running from Laban and came right before his meeting with Esau (Genesis 31-33).  Jacob was caught in between these encounters and was afraid (Genesis 32:11).  Jacob was trying to get away from Laban and prepare for his meeting with Esau by establishing a distance between both of them.[4]  Jacob sent gifts ahead of him that he planned to give to Esau in an effort to appease him (Genesis 33:10-11).  Some have said he crossed at night because he was too nervous to fall asleep.[5]   However, considering Jacob’s craftiness in the previous passages, his crossing was strategic.

The author uses the topography of the land and culturally significant aspects of the travel to establish a mood for the story.  Jacob travels from the mountains of Gilead, down into the valley to the Jabbok.[6]  The Jabbok is a tributary of the Jordan and is a confluent of three Wadi’s.[7]  It was also the northern border of Joshua’s first conquest (Joshua 12:2). The term Jabbok was derived either from the Hebrew “to empty itself” or to imitate the sound of the water flowing over the pebbles.[8]  The name is also a word play with the name Jacob and the word used for wrestling in the passage.  Jacob traveled from a treacherous, but safer, mountain region, to an easier, but dangerous, Wadi[9].  This, combined with crossing at night, increased the danger of this crossing.  Jacob likely made several trips across to bring his family and belongings across to the other side.[10]   The back and forth could symbolize Jacob’s confusion about facing Esau or returning to Laban.  All of the signs of danger set the scene for the wrestling match with the man.

The journey itself also had symbolic implications.  Many Genesis traditions used moral geography.  People coming from the north had a lineal purity and those from the south were depicted as more prosperous.[11]  Jacob, because he was heading south, was changed.  Likewise, Esau, heading north to meet Jacob, was changed. However, Jacob’s back and forth indicated some hesitation about the change, which was ultimately resolved through the wrestling match.

Sailhamer argued Jacob’s struggle was to enter Eden, which he equated with the Promised Land.[12]  An angel from God, protected the Garden of Eden and Jacob had to wrestle with the angel to return (Joshua had a similar experience, Joshua 5:13-15).  The borders lining up with the Euphrates in the East led Sailhamer to believe the Garden of Eden and the Promised Land were the same (Genesis 2:4-10 and Genesis 15:18).  Adam and Israel were both exiled to the east was also relevant to Sailhamer. However, the Jabbok is a tributary of the Jordan not the Euphrates.  It had been crossed previously when the gifts and family were sent ahead.  This would not have been allowed without first overcoming the angel.

After his family was sent over, Jacob was left alone (Genesis 32:24-25).  Sometime after this, he was caught in a wrestling match.  It is unclear whether or not Jacob planned to be alone or if this encounter was unexpected.[13]  Furthermore, this struggle was at night.  This was important on multiple levels.  This man did not want his identity revealed.[14]  Furthermore, the night symbolized Jacob being in the dark about God’s plan at this point.  Jacob did not recognize the man as divine until something supernatural was performed.[15]  Jacob, in his stubbornness, was willing to wrestle with him because of this uninformed point of view.

The nature of the man is debated because of the co-texts, language, culture, and cross references.  The word “men” was used in two previous passages.  The men were messengers of the promise to Abraham and they saved Lot from destruction at Sodom.[16] In each case, they came with the authority of God to execute God’s purposes.  Hosea 12:4 suggests the man in the Genesis 32 account was an angel from God.  In this occurrence, the man gave Jacob a name change after an intense struggle.   

 However, the question becomes, why would God try to prevent Jacob’s return to the Promised Land?  God commanded Jacob in a dream to return to his native land (Genesis 31:10-13).  Esau was the only person in the story that had something to gain by keeping Jacob out of the Promised Land.  Previously, Jacob traded lintel stew for Esau’s birthright and deceived Isaac into giving him Esau’s blessing.  Jacob used deception to take two blessings from Esau. Could this be the third?  After the man left, Israel named the place Peniel because he saw the “face of God” (Genesis 32:31).  Similar language was used in Genesis 33:10 with reference to Esau. This has led some to believe the man is either Esau himself or the angel of Esau. The brothers that were wrestling in their mother’s womb (Genesis 25:22) are still struggling to secure the inheritance.  However, if it were Esau himself, the narrative would not make much sense.  They are coming from separate directions when they meet in chapter 33. Therefore, interpreting the man as Esau’s angel makes the most sense.

Others argued Jacob’s adversary was a night or river demon.  This position looks at “popular traditions about the perils of the ford of the Jabbok”[17] and other cultural myths about river demons.  The stories of Egyptian King Pheron, and Persian Emperor Xerxes illustrate the cultural fear of bodies of water. When the Nile had flooded the land of Egypt, “the Egyptian King Pheron seized a dart and hurled it into the swirling current; but for this…he was punished by the loss of his eyesight.”[18]  Whenever the Persian army would come to a river, they would sacrifice a white horse and perform a ceremony before crossing.[19]  However, when the river took out a bridge over the Hellespont, Xerxes sentenced the straits to receive three hundred lashes and to be felted with chains.[20]  Other cultures had similar rituals to try to satisfy the river demons before crossing. In some myths, the river demon could take the form of an animal.[21]  Hebrew culture exhibits a similar fear of water.[22]  However, crossing a body of water also symbolized a transition throughout Israel’s history (crossing the Sea of Reeds in Exodus or the Jordan in Joshua, for example).  These cultural motifs are also present in this story as Jacob attempted to cross a powerful body of water at night.

            While the text certainly plays off the fear Jews and others have about rivers, “The text itself identifies this adversary only as "a man", almost as if to caution the reader against trying to spell out details that the author glimpsed only through a haze.”[23]  The author seemed to be playing off several different conceptions of the man.  These conceptions include a messenger from God similar to Lot and Abraham’s experience, Esau as seen through the “face of God” language, and surrounding cultures’ conceptions of river demons. The author’s use of ‘man’, allows the audience to see the man as an embodiment of all of them.  Jacob, because God was on his side, was able to overcome all the obstacles in his path.

 The man could not overcome Jacob.  This is not surprising, because Jacob’s strength was shown previously when he pushed the stone away from a well.[24]  Jacob might have thought he could win this match with ease because he was able to steal blessings from Esau (Genesis 27-28).   However, Jacob could not defeat him on his own at this point in the story.  The wrenching of his hip was God’s way of giving Jacob a taste of his own medicine and reminding him of his limitations.  Jacob’s physical limitation symbolized Jacob’s inability to obtain the blessing without first struggling with the man.

When the man recognized his defeat, he began to dialogue with Jacob. The dialogue (Genesis 32:26-29) was one of the most significant elements the author used to emphasize the struggle.  It started with the man stating he wanted to be let go because it was daybreak (Genesis 32:26).  This further supported the claim that this man wanted to hide his identity.  Jacob’s response showed his willingness to struggle.  He would not let go and demanded a blessing even though his hip was injured (Genesis 32:26).  Jacob also showed his selfishness by demanding a blessing after already stealing two from Esau.

Then the man asked Jacob to tell him his name (Genesis 32:27).  The man probably knew Jacobs name.[25]  He asked Jacob what his name was because He wanted Jacob to admit his character.  Jacob’s name can be translated either “deceiver”[26] or “supplanter.”[27] When Jacob says his name, it symbolized Jacob’s confession of this fact about his character.[28]  In order for Jacob to have his name changed, he needed to admit his deceptive nature.

The climax of the narrative took place when the man gives Jacob the name Israel (Genesis 32:28).[29]  The name Israel connotes the idea of a struggle with God.  However, God was the subject of the verb not the indirect object.[30]  Thus, the phrase could be translated “God struggles” showing God’s initiative in the struggle.  The same phrase was also used by the prophet Hosea in 12:4 when talking about the nation of Israel.  This leads us to think this narrative was not just about Jacob’s individual struggle with God.  It symbolized Israel as a nation in their struggle with God.  The order of the phrase has been debated in light of the difference between historical etymology and the popular etymology.[31]  Despite the ambiguity, it is clear both God and Israel were active participants in this struggle.

After Jacob was given his new name the man tells Jacob he had “striven with beings divine and human and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28, JPS).  Jacob prayed in Genesis 32:11 that God would save him from Esau. Struggling with God and overcoming was preparation for the meeting he will have with Esau (Genesis 33).  The word “human” was also a reference back to Laban and Esau who he overcame in previous chapters.  He overcame beings divine with God’s help.  Jacob was forced to rely upon God because of his wrenched hip.

The passage participates in the metanarrative of the patriarchal story of God’s restoration of creation to Himself through the Abrahamic Covenant. Jacob is the third generation of the covenantal people.  Before this point, only the youngest son received the covenantal blessing but all of Jacob’s sons would start out with the promise. God remembers His covenant in this story, and delivers Israel from the man. 

Jacob received a name change and with that name change, received a new nature. Previously, Abraham and Sarah also had their names changed (Genesis 17). This third name change in Genesis connected Abraham and Sarah to Jacob and connoted a similar magnitude of transformation and calling that was present in the Abraham account. The author created a literary structure throughout the patriarchal story.   This story was the third references to specific words and ideas in the Genesis narrative. Previously, Jacob was the third generation of promise, “man” was used in the Lot and Abraham story, and this was the third blessing Jacob receives. The number three typically had a holiness aspect associated with it.  Jacob was made whole and holy through this encounter at the Jabbok.  This made him worthy of fathering God’s people.

After this, Jacob asked the man for his name but the man asked Jacob why he would ask (Genesis 32:29).  He was essentially asking Jacob, “Do you not know who I am by now?”  Or rather, “Do you not know who I represent?”  This showed even though Jacob’s name was changed he may or may not be completely changed in his character at this point.[32]   He does not seem fully aware of the connection between this man and God.  His understanding was completed in the next chapter when he met Esau and talked about his revelation (Genesis 33:10-11).  These verses need to be looked at briefly to fully understand Jacob’s transformation in Genesis 32. 

When Jacob meets Esau in Genesis 33, he seemed to have reached an even greater level of awareness of God’s power and grace in the struggle.  This passage was the continuation of his transformation.  He tells Esau God had been gracious to him by giving him what he needed (Genesis 33:11).  This is the reason Jacob was willing to give Esau the gift he brought with him.  It was not his gift, but one that God gave him.  Jacob sees once and for all that He was not sufficient on his own strength.  His previous blessings, which he thought he obtained on his own, were all gracious gifts from God.  Jacob only partially understood that in Genesis 32.  The exact length of time between the wrestling match and his meeting with Esau is unknown.  However, it seems clear he had time to further reflect on what the wrestling match with the angel had taught him about himself and God. 

Then the man blessed Jacob (Genesis 32:29b, NIV).  This blessing could have been the confidence he would need to face Esau in the next chapter.  If he could survive an encounter with God, by wrestling Esau’s angel, he could certainly survive meeting Esau himself.  Genesis 32:30 could be seen as a second climax in the narrative.  Jacob named the place Peniel, meaning “face of God”.  However, no one sees the face of God and lives.[33]  Thus, the face of God connoted an encounter with God rather than literally seeing His face.[34]  This makes sense considering the wrestling match was at night and the identity of the man was never revealed. 

Israel leaves this encounter limping but the sun rose above him (Genesis 32:31).  His limp is a reminder of his need for God in the struggle.  The sun rising on a new day symbolizes his transformation.  This contrasts the dark imagery conveyed during the wrestling match.  Israel’s struggle will continue, but with God they can overcome.  Now that the authors intended meaning has been explained, the application for the modern audience can be understood.

            As we wrestle with the tribulations that befall us we can rest assured that God will not put on our path a obstacle that is to difficult.  This is because the one who has overcome the world is fighting on our side. “We may truly and properly say, that he fights against us with his left hand, and for us with his right hand. For while he lightly opposes us, he supplies invincible strength whereby we overcome.” [35] 

This passage also reminds us just how much we need God to help us obey Him in our daily lives.  If we try to do things on our own, like Jacob, their might be some painful consequences.  This is the temptation we all face because we want the control to do things our way.  Sometimes our desire for control creates our own difficult circumstances.  God knows this is going to happen at times.  However, God does not seem shy away from us wrestling with Him so-to-speak.  Sometimes we need to wrestle with Him and lose.  This creates in us humility and the awareness that He is God and we are not.  Then, He can transform us so we can overcome our previous character flaws and grow in our relationship with Him.

Bibliography

Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative. New York: Basic Books, 2011.

Avi-Yonah, Michael. “Jabbok” Encyclopedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berembaum and Fred Skolnik 2^nd ed. Vol. 11 Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA 2007. 6. Gale Virtual Reference Liabrary. Web. 11 November 2011.

Brueggemann, Walter, Terence E Fretheim, Jr., Walter C Kaiser, and Leander E. Keck. The New Interpreter's Bible: General Articles & Introduction, Commentary, & Reflections For Each Book of the Bible, Including the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994.

Calvin, John. “Genesis 32:24”. John Calvin’s Bible Commentary.  E-World Today. Web. 11 November 2011. http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/genesis/calvin/genesis32.htm

Frazer, James George. Folk-Lore in the Old Testament; Studies in Comparative Religion, Legend and Law. New York: Macmillan Co, 1919.

Harlow, D.C. "Creation According to Genesis: Literary Genre, Cultural Context, Theological Truth". Christian Scholar's Review. 37, no. 2: 2007. 163-198

Hamilton, Victor P. The Book of Genesis. Chapters 18-50. Grand Rapids, Mich: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1995.

Hatzopoulos, A. "The Struggle for a Blessing: Reflections on Genesis 32:24-31". ECUMENICAL REVIEW. 48, no. 4: 1996. 507-512.

McKay, H. A. "Jacob Makes It Across the Jabbok: An Attempt to Solve the Success/Failure Ambivalence in Israel's Self-Consciousness". Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. 12, no. 38: 1987. 3-13.

Perman, Matt. “Science, the Bible, and the Promised Land; An Analysis of John Sailhamer’s Genesis Unbound.” Desiring God. 1 January 1998. Web. 11 November 2011. http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/science-the-bible-and-the-promised-land

Rad, Gerhard von, and John H. Marks. Genesis: a Commentary. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1972

Ross, Allen P, “Studies in the Life of Jacob Part 2: Jacob at the Jabbok, Israel at Peniel,” Bibliotheca Sacra 137 (1980): 338-354.

Sarna, Nahum M. Genesis = Be-Reshit : the Traditional Hebrew Text with New JPS Translation. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989.

Wenham, Gordon J. Genesis. 16-50. Dallas, Tex: Word Books, 1994.

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[1] The phrase people of God is used to emphasize the relationship Israel has with God.  Our analysis of Genesis 32 will show that Israel has a relationship with God because of His grace and love towards them and not necessarily their obedience.  

[2] Harlow, D.C. "Creation According to Genesis: Literary Genre, Cultural Context, Theological Truth". (Christian Scholar's Review. 37, no. 2: 2007.). 166.

[3] This is why we use the word Israel rather than Jacob in our thesis.  Even though Jacob is the individual who is transformed, he represents the nation of Israel.  Thus, it is the nation of Israel the author is describing when they characterize Jacob.

[4] Hamilton, Victor P. The Book of Genesis. Chapters 18-50. Grand Rapids, Mich: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1995, 328.

[5] Wenham, Gordon J. Genesis. 16-50. Dallas, Tex: Word Books, 1994, 292.

[6] Frazer, James George. Folk-Lore in the Old Testament; Studies in Comparative Religion, Legend and Law. (New York: Macmillan Co, 1919.) 410

[7] Avi-Yonah, Michael. “Jabbok” Encyclopedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berembaum and Fred Skolnik 2^nd ed. Vol. 11 (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA 2007. 6. Gale Virtual Reference Liabrary. Web. 11 November 2011.)

[8] Avi-Yonah, Michael. “Jabbok” Encyclopedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berembaum and Fred Skolnik 2^nd ed. Vol. 11

[9] Wadi’s tend to flood. Some times torrential flooding can come out of nowhere making it extremely dangerous.

[10] Sarna, Nahum M. Genesis = Be-Reshit : the Traditional Hebrew Text with New JPS Translation. (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989), 227.

[11] McKay, H. A. 1987. "Jacob Makes It Across the Jabbok: An Attempt to Solve the Success/Failure Ambivalence in Israel's Self-Consciousness". (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. 12, no. 38) 7.

[12] Perman, Matt. 1 January 1998. “Science, the Bible, and the Promised Land; An Analysis of John Sailhamer’s Genesis Unbound.” (Desiring God. Web. 11 November 2011. <http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/science-the-bible-and-the-promised-land> )

[13] Ross, Allen P, “Studies in the Life of Jacob Part 2: Jacob at the Jabbok, Israel at Peniel,” Bibliotheca Sacra 137 (1980): 343.

[14] Rad, Gerhard von, and John H. Marks. Genesis: a Commentary. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1972),  321.

[15] Hamilton, The Book of Genesis, 330.

[16] Gen 18-19.

[17] Hatzopoulos, A. "The Struggle for a Blessing: Reflections on Genesis 32:24-31". (ECUMENICAL REVIEW. 48, no. 4. 1996.)  508.

[18] Frazer, James George. Folk-Lore in the Old Testament; Studies in Comparative Religion, Legend and Law. 422

[19] Frazer, Folk-Lore in the Old Testament; Studies in Comparative Religion, Legend and Law. 414

[20]Frazer, James George. Folk-Lore in the Old Testament; Studies in Comparative Religion, Legend and Law. 422

[21] Frazer, James George. Folk-Lore in the Old Testament; Studies in Comparative Religion, Legend and Law. 417

[22] This is why there is no sea in the renewed earth in Revelation 21:1

[23] Hatzopoulos, A.."The Struggle for a Blessing: Reflections on Genesis 32:24-31". 508

[24] Gen 29:10.

[25] Hamilton, The Book of Genesis, 335.

[26] Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative. New York: Basic Books, 2011, 50.

[27] Hatzopoulos, A.."The Struggle for a Blessing: Reflections on Genesis 32:24-31". 510.

[28]  Rad and Marks, Genesis: a Commentary, 321.

[29] Ibid., 322.

[30] Sarna, Genesis, 405.

[31] Wenham, Genesis, 297.  The historical etymology renders the translations God struggles whereas the popular etymology seen in many translations today is he strives with God.  We favor the historical etymology over the popular one.  God’s willingness to initiate the struggle is symbolized when the man attacks Jacob and wrenches his hip. 

[32]Brueggemann, Walter, Terence E Fretheim, Jr., Walter C Kaiser, and Leander E. Keck. The New Interpreter's Bible: General Articles & Introduction, Commentary, & Reflections For Each Book of the Bible, Including the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994, 566-567.

[33] Exod 33:20.

[34] Hamilton, The Book of Genesis, 337.

[35] Calvin, John. “Genesis 32:24”. John Calvin’s Bible Commentary.  (E-World Today. Web. 11 November 2011. http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/genesis/calvin/genesis32.htm)