Why this story matters

(commentary on Genesis 32-33)

(Page 2 of 3)

Who was Jacob wrestling?

There are basically three schools of thought on this: he was wrestling with an incarnation of Esau, he was wrestling with an angel, or he was wrestling with Yahweh. 

A midrash (form of Jewish interpretation) suggests Jacob was fighting a kind of spiritual emissary of Esau, implying that before Jacob could face Esau in the flesh, he had to understand why they had been fighting since birth. This view is still held by some today but it's the least popular of the three. 

More popular is the view that Jacob was wrestling with an angel. There's a verse in Hosea that backs up this idea: “He struggled with the angel and overcame him (Hosea 12: 4).” Having Jacob wrestle with an angel is convenient because it avoids the seemingly strange idea of Jacob wrestling with Yahweh. However, because the evidence is so strong, even apologists are willing to concede that Jacob was indeed wrestling with God himself.

When Jacob's opponent changes his name, he does so with seemingly unlimited authority. What's more, the name Israel  literally means "struggles with God" (Gen 32:28). At one point, Jacob's opponent says,  “you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome” (Gen. 32: 28). Upon hearing this, Jacob names the location Penuel, which literally means, “face of God”, because in Jacob’s own words, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared" (32: 30). If Jacob is not referring to his opponent with this statement, then at what other time did Jacob see God face to face?

For these reasons, and others, it is generally accepted that Jacob was wrestling with God. For example, in Bible versions where there are headings to this passage, such as the New International Version, the English Standard Version, and the New Living Translation, the heading just before the start of the match reads, “Jacob wrestles with God."

How could and all powerful God wrestle all night long with a mere mortal? And how could he be unable to get away, as the Bible tells us?

Was it a literal match?

This makes sense as allegory. Jacob has several issues to deal with, including his stealing of Esau's birthright and his lack of trust in Yahweh. He could have been “wrestling” with these issues in his mind. However, literalists have good reason for arguing against the allegorical position.

After the fight ends, Jacob supposedly walks with a limp because his opponent dislocated his hip. That seems to be more than mere allegory. The Bible also tells us, “Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon" (Gen. 32: 32) Orthodox Jews still do not eat the sciatic nerve on the hind quarters of kosher animals. Conservative Christians believe that the tangible nature of this injury is compelling evidence that the story should be taken literally. Certainly the narrator gives no indication that this is anything but a literal contest. There's an earlier incident of Jacob having a dream and the writer clearly states that he was sleeping and dreaming.

So if conservative Christians are right, that this was a literal wrestling match and, as we've seen, the best evidence points to Jacob's opponent being God, this leaves us with some tantalizing questions.

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