Wrestling at Peniel

The words

1. Daybreak

   The man wrestles with Jacob until daybreak, then asks to be released; Jacob says he will not let go without a blessing.

   Genesis 32:24 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 32:26 (opens a new tab)

2. Droves

   Separate groups of livestock.

   Jacob sends his gift animals toward Esau in separate droves, telling the servants to leave a space between one drove and the next.

   Genesis 32:13–16 (opens a new tab)

3. Face to Face

   Jacob says he has seen God face to face and that his life is preserved, explaining why he names the place Peniel.

   Did you know?

   Jacob later tells Esau that seeing his face is as though he had seen God’s face, in the KJV’s wording.

   Genesis 32:30 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 33:9–10 (opens a new tab)

4. Ford

   A shallow crossing place in a river or stream.

   Jacob takes his household across the ford of the Jabbok at night, then sends his possessions over the stream as well.

   Genesis 32:22–23 (opens a new tab) · Webster’s 1828: ford (opens a new tab)

5. Halted

   Walked with a limp.

   As the sun rises, Jacob passes on after the struggle; the KJV says he halted upon his thigh.

   Genesis 32:31 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Genesis 32:31 (opens a new tab)

6. Hollow

   The hip socket, in the NET translation.

   During the struggle, the man touches the hollow of Jacob’s thigh, and Genesis says it is put out of joint.

   Genesis 32:25 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Genesis 32:25 (opens a new tab)

7. Jabbok

   Jacob crosses the Jabbok with his wives, womenservants and eleven sons, then sends them and his possessions over the stream.

   Did you know?

   Deuteronomy later names the Jabbok as a border with the children of Ammon, giving the river another role in its land descriptions.

   Genesis 32:22–23 (opens a new tab) · Deuteronomy 3:16 (opens a new tab)

8. Jacob

   Asked his name during the encounter, Jacob gives it and is told he will be called Israel, before receiving a blessing.

   Did you know?

   The NET note points out a Hebrew sound-play among Jacob, Jabbok and the verb for wrestling, tying names to the action.

   Genesis 32:27–29 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Genesis 32:24 (opens a new tab)

9. Mahanaim

   Two camps, according to the NET note.

   Angels of God meet Jacob on his way; he calls them God’s host and names the place Mahanaim.

   Did you know?

   Mahanaim reappears when Abner brings Ishbosheth there and makes him king, in the account in 2 Samuel.

   Genesis 32:1–2 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Genesis 32:2 (opens a new tab) · 2 Samuel 2:8–9 (opens a new tab)

10. Peniel

    Face of God, according to the NET note.

    Jacob names the place Peniel after the encounter, saying that he has seen God face to face and that his life is preserved.

    Genesis 32:30 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Genesis 32:30 (opens a new tab)

11. Prevailed

    When giving Jacob the name Israel, the stranger says he has power with God and with men and has prevailed.

    Genesis 32:28 (opens a new tab)

12. Shrank

    The KJV calls the tissue the sinew which shrank, connecting the food custom with the touch upon Jacob’s thigh during the struggle.

    Genesis 32:25 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 32:32 (opens a new tab)

13. Sinew

    An older word for a tendon, muscle or nerve.

    The narrator links Israel’s refusal to eat the sinew at the thigh socket with the touch that injured Jacob during the struggle.

    Genesis 32:25 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 32:32 (opens a new tab) · Webster’s 1828: sinew (opens a new tab)

14. Thigh

    Genesis says Jacob’s thigh is put out of joint when the man touches it; he later passes on with a limp.

    Genesis 32:25 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 32:31 (opens a new tab)

15. Wrestled

    Genesis calls the one wrestling with Jacob a man; Hosea later describes Jacob’s struggle with an angel.

    Genesis 32:24 (opens a new tab) · Hosea 12:3–4 (opens a new tab)