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Genesis 32:25
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When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
And when he saw that he didn't prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him.
When the man saw he could not defeat Jacob, he struck Jacob's hip and put it out of joint.
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh: and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
When he saw that he didn't prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled.
When the Man saw that He had not prevailed against Jacob, He touched his hip joint; and Jacob's hip was dislocated as he wrestled with Him.
And whanne the man seiy that he miyte not ouercome Jacob, he touchide the senewe of Jacobis hipe, and it driede anoon.
and he seeth that he is not able for him, and he cometh against the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh is disjointed in his wrestling with him;
When the man saw that He could not overpower Jacob, He struck the socket of Jacob's hip and dislocated it as they wrestled.
When the man saw that he could not win, he struck Jacob on the hip and threw it out of joint.
and Ya‘akov was left alone. Then some man wrestled with him until daybreak.
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him.
But when the man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob, he gave him a blow in the hollow part of his leg, so that his leg was damaged.
And when he sawe that he coulde not preuayle agaynst hym, he smote hym vpon the hucklebone of his thigh, and the hucklebone of Iacobs thigh loosed out of ioynt as he wrastled with him.
And when he saw that he did not prevail against him, he touched the joint of his thigh; and the joint of Jacob's thigh was dislocated as he wrestled with him.
When the man saw that he could not defeat Jacob, he touched Jacob's leg and put it out of joint.
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
And when he saw, that he preuailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh: and the hollow of Iacobs thigh was out of ioynt, as hee wrestled with him.
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
When the man saw that he was not winning he touched the joint of Jacob's thigh. And Jacob's thigh was put out of joint while he fought with him.
When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
And when he saw, that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, - and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was put out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
And he sawe that he could not preuaile against him: therefore he touched the holowe of his thigh, and the holowe of Iaakobs thigh was loosed, as he wrestled with him.
And when the man saw that he did not prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacobs thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
When the man saw that he was not winning the struggle, he hit Jacob on the hip, and it was thrown out of joint.
And when he saw that he could not overcome him, he touched the sinew of his thigh, and forthwith it shrank.
When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob's thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
And he saw that he prevailed not against him; and he touched the broad part of his thigh, and the broad part of Jacob’s thigh was benumbed in his wrestling with him.
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him.
When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip.
When he saw that he didn't prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Ya`akov's thigh was strained, as he wrestled.
And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob's hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him.
And He saw that He had not prevailed against him. And He touched on his hip socket, and Jacob's hip socket was unhinged as he wrestled with Him.
And whan he sawe yt he might not ouercome him, he touched the senowe of his thye, and ye senowe of his thye shrancke in wrestlinge with him.
When the man saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.
When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of its socket.
When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
And he saw that he had not prevailed against him, so he touched the socket of his thigh; and so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
that he: Genesis 19:22, Numbers 14:13, Numbers 14:14, Isaiah 41:14, Isaiah 45:11, Hosea 12:3, Hosea 12:4, Matthew 15:22-28, Luke 11:5-8
touched: Genesis 32:32, Psalms 30:6, Psalms 30:7, Matthew 26:41, Matthew 26:44, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
Reciprocal: Genesis 30:8 - Naphtali Genesis 32:31 - he halted Daniel 10:8 - turned Matthew 20:31 - but they cried Mark 6:5 - General Luke 13:24 - Strive
Cross-References
Run there quickly, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there." (This incident explains why the town was called Zoar.)
Jacob sent messengers on ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region of Edom.
He commanded them, "This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now.
I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent this message to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.'"
The messengers returned to Jacob and said, "We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him."
Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels.
"If Esau attacks one camp," he thought, "then the other camp will be able to escape."
Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord , you said to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.'
Jacob stayed there that night. Then he sent as a gift to his brother Esau
two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him,.... That he, the man, or the Son of God in the form of man, prevailed not against Jacob, by casting him to the ground, or causing him to desist and leave off wrestling with him; not because he could not, but because he would not, being willing to encourage the faith of Jacob against future trials and exercises, and especially under his present one: besides, such were the promises that this divine Person knew were made to Jacob, and so strong was Jacob's faith at this time in pleading those promises in prayer to God, that he could not do otherwise, consistent with the purposes and promises of God, than suffer himself to be prevailed over by him:
he touched the hollow of his thigh; the hollow part of the thigh or the groin, or the hollow place in which the thigh bone moves, and is said to have the form of the hollow of a man's hand recurved:
and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him; that is, the huckle bone, or the thigh bone, was moved out of the hollow place in which it was: this was done to let Jacob know that the person he wrestled with was superior to him, and could easily have overcome him, and obliged him to cease wrestling with him if he would; and that the victory he got over him was not by his own strength, but by divine assistance, and by the sufferance of the himself he wrestled with; so that he had nothing to boast of: and this shows the truth and reality of this conflict; that it was not visionary, but a real fact, as well as it teaches the weakness and infirmities of the saints, that attend them in their spiritual conflicts. The word used in this and the preceding verse comes from a root which signifies dust; it being usual with wrestlers to raise up the dust with their feet when they strive together, as Kimchi g remarks, as well as it was common with the ancients to wrestle in dust, and sand h; and hence the phrase "descendere in arenam", combatants were called "arenarii".
g Sepher Shorash rad ××ק. h "Fulva luctantur arena." --Virgil.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Jacob Wrestles in Prayer
3. ××× ×× machaÌnaÌyıÌm, Machanaim, âtwo camps.â
22. ××ק yaboq, Jabboq; related: ×קק baÌqaq âgush or gurgle outâ or ××ק 'aÌbaq in niphal, âwrestle.â Now Wady Zurka.
29. ×ש×ר×× yıÌsÌraÌ'eÌl, Jisrael, âprince of God.â
31. ×¤× ××× penıÌy'eÌl = ×¤× ×Ö¼×× penuÌ'eÌl, Peniel, Penuel, âface of God.â
After twenty years spent in Aram, Jacob now returns to Kenann. As his departure was marked by a great moment in his spiritual life, so he is now approaching to a crisis in his life of no less significance
Genesis 32:1-3
Jacob has a vision of the heavenly host. This passage, recording Labanâs farewell and departure, closes the connection of Jacob with Haran and all its toils of servitude, and is hence, annexed to the previous chapter in the English version. In the distribution of the original text, it is regarded as the counterpart of the two following verses, in which Jacobâs onward progress is mentioned, and so placed with them at the beginning of a new chapter. âThe angels of God met him.â Twenty years ago Jacob saw the mystical ladder connecting heaven and earth, and the angels of God thereupon ascending and descending from the one to the other. Now, in circumstances of danger, he sees the angels of God on earth, encamped beside or around his own camp Psalms 34:8. He recognizes them as Godâs camp, and names the place Mahanaim, from the double encampment. This vision is not dwelt upon, as it is the mere sequel of the former scene at Bethel. Mahanaim has been identified with Mahneh, about eight miles from the cairn of Laban and Jacob.
Genesis 32:4-9
Jacob now sends a message to Esau apprising him of his arrival. Unto the land of Seir. Arabia Petraea, with which Esau became connected by his marriage with a daughter of Ishmael. He was now married 56 years to his first two wives, and 20 to his last, and therefore, had a separate and extensive establishment of children and grandchildren. Jacob endeavors to make amends for the past by an humble and respectful approach to his older brother, in which he styles himself, âthy servantâ and Esau, âmy lord.â He informs him of his wealth, to intimate that he did not expect anything from him. âFour hundred men with him.â This was a formidable force. Esau had begun to live by the sword Genesis 27:40, and had surrounded himself with a numerous body of followers. Associated by marriage with the Hittites and the Ishmaelites, he had rapidly risen to the rank of a powerful chieftain. It is vain to conjecture with what intent Esau advanced at the head of so large a retinue. It is probable that he was accustomed to a strong escort, that he wished to make an imposing appearance before his brother, and that his mind was in that wavering state, when the slightest incident might soothe him into good-will, or arouse him to vengeance. Jacob, remembering his own former dealings with him, has good cause for alarm. He betakes himself to the means of deliverance. He disposes of his horde into two camps, that if one were attacked and captured, the other might meanwhile escape. He never neglects to take all the precautions in his power.
Genesis 32:10-13
Next, he betakes himself to prayer. He appeals to the God of Abraham and Isaac, to Yahweh the God of promise and performance. âI am less than;â unworthy of all the mercy and truth of God. âWith my staff.â Jacob seems to have left his home without escort and without means. It was evidently intended that he should return in a short time; but unforeseen circumstances lengthened the period. âMe, the mother with the children.â Me is used here in that pregnant sense which is familiar in Scripture, to include his whole clan; as Ishmael, Israel, Edom, often stand for their respective races. He then pleads the express promise of God Genesis 28:13-15; Genesis 31:3.
Genesis 32:14-22
Jacob sends forward a present to Esau. âHe lodged there that night.â Mahanaim may have been about twenty-five miles from the Jabbok. At some point in the interval he awaited the return of his messengers. Abiding during the night in the camp, not far from the ford of the Jabbok, he selects and sends forward to Esau his valuable present of five hundred and fifty head of cattle. âThat which was come into his hand,â into his possession. The cattle are selected according to the proportions of male and female which were adopted from experience among the ancients (Varro, de re rust. II. 3). âEvery drove by itself,â with a space between, that Esau might have time to estimate the great value of the gift. The repetition of the announcement of the gift, and of Jacob himself being at hand, was calculated to appease Esau, and persuade him that Jacob was approaching him in all brotherly confidence and affection. âAppease him.â Jacob designs this gift to be the means of propitiating his brother before he appears in his presence. âLift up my face,â accept me. âLodged that night in the camp;â after sending this present over the Jabbok. This seems the same night referred to in Genesis 32:14.
Genesis 32:23-32
Jacob wrestles with a man. âPassed over the ford of Jabbok.â The Jabbok rose near Rabbath Ammon, and flowed into the Jordan, separating North Gilead from South, or the kingdom of Og from that of Sihon. âJacob was left alone,â on the north side, after all had passed over. âA man wrestled with him.â When God has a new thing of a spiritual nature to bring into the experience of man, he begins with the senses. He takes man on the ground on which he finds him, and leads him through the senses to the higher things of reason, conscience, and communion with God.
Jacob seems to have gone through the principles or foundations of faith in God and repentance toward him, which gave a character to the history of his grandfather and father, and to have entered upon the stage of spontaneous action. He had that inward feeling of spiritual power which prompted the apostle to say, âI can do all things.â Hence, we find him dealing with Esau for the birthright, plotting with his mother for the blessing, erecting a pillar and vowing a vow at Bethel, overcoming Laban with his own weapons, and even now taking the most prudent measures for securing a welcome from Esau on his return. He relied indeed on God, as was demonstrated in many of his words and deeds; but the prominent feature of his character was a strong and firm reliance on himself. But this practical self-reliance, though naturally springing up in the new man and highly commendable in itself, was not yet in Jacob duly subordinated to that absolute reliance which ought to be placed in the Author of our being and our salvation. Hence, he had been betrayed into intrusive, dubious, and even sinister courses, which in the retributive providence of God had brought, and were yet to bring him, into many troubles and perplexities. The hazard of his present situation arose chiefly from his former unjustifiable practices toward his brother. He is now to learn the lesson of unreserved reliance on God.
âA manâ appeared to him in his loneliness; one having the bodily form and substance of a man. Wrestled with him - encountered him in the very point in which he was strong. He had been a taker by the heel from his very birth, and his subsequent life had been a constant and successful struggle with adversaries. And when he, the stranger, saw that he prevailed not over him. Jacob, true to his character, struggles while life remains, with this new combatant. touched the socket of his thigh, so that it was wrenched out of joint. The thigh is the pillar of a manâs strength, and its joint with the hip the seat of physical force for the wrestler. Let the thigh bone be thrown out of joint, and the man is utterly disabled. Jacob now finds that this mysterious wrestler has wrested from him, by one touch, all his might, and he can no longer stand alone. Without any support whatever from himself, he hangs upon the conqueror, and in that condition learns by experience the practice of sole reliance on one mightier than himself. This is the turning-point in this strange drama. Henceforth Jacob now feels himself strong, not in himself, but in the Lord, and in the power of his might. What follows is merely the explication and the consequence of this bodily conflict.
And he, the Mighty Stranger, said, Let me go, for the dawn ariseth. The time for other avocations is come: let me go. He does not shake off the clinging grasp of the now disabled Jacob, but only calls upon him to relax his grasp. âAnd he, Jacob, said, I will not let thee go except thou bless meâ. Despairing now of his own strength, he is Jacob still: he declares his determination to cling on until his conqueror bless him. He now knows he is in the hand of a higher power, who can disable and again enable, who can curse and also bless. He knows himself also to be now utterly helpless without the healing, quickening, protecting power of his victor, and, though he die in the effort, he will not let him go without receiving this blessing. Jacobâs sense of his total debility and utter defeat is now the secret of his power with his friendly vanquisher. He can overthrow all the prowess of the self-reliant, but he cannot resist the earnest entreaty of the helpless.
Genesis 32:28-30
âWhat is thy name?â He reminds him of his former self, Jacob, the supplanter, the self-reliant, self-seeking. But now he is disabled, dependent on another, and seeking a blessing from another, and for all others as well as himself. No more Jacob shall thy name be called, but Israel - a prince of God, in God, with God. In a personal conflict, depending on thyself, thou wert no match for God. But in prayer, depending on another, thou hast prevailed with God and with men. The new name is indicative of the new nature which has now come to its perfection of development in Jacob. Unlike Abraham, who received his new name once for all, and was never afterward called by the former one, Jacob will hence, be called now by the one and now by the other, as the occasion may serve. For he was called from the womb Genesis 25:23, and both names have a spiritual significance for two different aspects of the child of God, according to the apostleâs paradox, âWork out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasureâ Philippians 2:12-13. âTell now thy name.â
Disclose to me thy nature. This mysterious Being intimates by his reply that Jacob was to learn his nature, so far as he yet required to know it, from the event that had just occurred; and he was well acquainted with his name. And he blessed him there. He had the power of disabling the self-sufficient creature, of upholding that creature when unable to stand, of answering prayer, of conferring a new name, with a new phase of spiritual life, and of blessing with a physical renovation, and with spiritual capacity for being a blessing to mankind. After all this, Jacob could not any longer doubt who he was. There are, then, three acts in this dramatic scene: first, Jacob wrestling with the Omnipresent in the form of a man, in which he is signally defeated; second, Jacob importunately supplicating Yahweh, in which he prevails as a prince of God; third, Jacob receiving the blessing of a new name, a new development of spiritual life, and a new capacity for bodily action.
Genesis 32:31-32
Peniel - the face of God. The reason of this name is assigned in the sentence, âI have seen God face to face.â He is at first called a man. Hosea terms him the angel (Hosea 12:4-5 (3, 4). And here Jacob names him God. Hence, some men, deeply penetrated with the ineffable grandeur of the divine nature, are disposed to resolve the first act at least into an impression on the imagination. We do not pretend to define with undue nicety the mode of this wrestling. And we are far from saying that every sentence of Scripture is to be understood in a literal sense. But until some cogent reason be assigned, we do not feel at liberty to depart from the literal sense in this instance. The whole theory of a revelation from God to man is founded upon the principle that God can adapt himself to the apprehension of the being whom he has made in his own image. This principle we accept, and we dare not limit its application âfurther than the demonstrative laws of reason and conscience demand.â If God walk in the garden with Adam, expostulate with Cain, give a specification of the ark to Noah, partake of the hospitality of Abraham, take Lot by the hand to deliver him from Sodom, we cannot affirm that he may not, for a worthy end, enter into a bodily conflict with Jacob. These various manifestations of God to man differ only in degree. If we admit anyone, we are bound by parity of reason to accept all the others.
We have also already noted the divine method of dealing with man. He proceeds from the known to the unknown, from the simple to the complex, from the material to the spiritual, from the sensible to the super-sensible. So must he do, until he have to deal with a world of philosophers. And even then, and only then, will his method of teaching and dealing with people be clearly and fully understood. The more we advance in the philosophy of spiritual things, the more delight will we feel in discerning the marvelous analogy and intimate nearness of the outward to the inward, and the material to the spiritual world. We have only to bear in mind that in man there is a spirit as well as a body; and in this outward wrestling of man with man we have a token of the inward wrestling of spirit with spirit, and therefore, an experimental instance of that great conflict of the Infinite Being with the finite self, which grace has introduced into our fallen world, recorded here for the spiritual edification of the church on earth.
âMy life is preserved.â The feeling of conscience is, that no sinner can see the infinitely holy God and live. âAnd he halted upon his thigh.â The wrenching of the tendons and muscles was mercifully healed, so as to leave a permanent monument, in Jacobâs halting gait, that God had overcome his self-will.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 32:25. The hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint — What this implies is difficult to find out; it is not likely that it was complete luxation of the thigh bone. It may mean no more than he received a stroke on the groin, not a touch; for the Hebrew word naga often signifies to smite with violence, which stroke, even if comparatively slight, would effectually disable him for a time, and cause him to halt for many hours, if not for several days. I might add that in this place-the groin, a blow might be of fatal consequence; but as the angel gave it only as a proof of his power, and to show that he could not prevail because he would not, hence the blow was only disabling, without being dangerous; and he was probably cured by the time the sun arose.
