Genesis 32:24-26

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 32:24 sn Reflecting Jacob’s perspective at the beginning of the encounter, the narrator calls the opponent simply “a man.” Not until later in the struggle does Jacob realize his true identity.
2. Genesis 32:24 sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayyeʾaveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, yaʿaqov) and “Jabbok” (יַבֹּק, yabboq). In this way the narrator links the setting, the main action, and the main participant together in the mind of the reader or hearer.
3. Genesis 32:24 tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”
4. Genesis 32:25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5. Genesis 32:25 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6. Genesis 32:25 tn Or “injured”; traditionally “touched.” The Hebrew verb translated “struck” has the primary meanings “to touch; to reach; to strike.” It can, however, carry the connotation “to harm; to molest; to injure.” God’s “touch” cripples Jacob—it would be comparable to a devastating blow.
7. Genesis 32:26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8. Genesis 32:26 tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”
9. Genesis 32:26 tn Heb “and he said, ‘I will not let you go.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10. Genesis 32:26 sn Jacob wrestled with a man thinking him to be a mere man, and on that basis was equal to the task. But when it had gone on long enough, the night visitor touched Jacob and crippled him. Jacob’s request for a blessing can only mean that he now knew that his opponent was supernatural. Contrary to many allegorical interpretations of the passage that make fighting equivalent to prayer, this passage shows that Jacob stopped fighting, and then asked for a blessing.