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PerryMullins
Dr.SteveBishop
B1320History&HermeneuticsII
28February2012
GodsRepurposingofJacob
WhenthesceneopensafterdarkattheedgeoftheJabbok,Jacobisalone.He
hassenthisfamily,servants,animals,andpossessionstoprecedehiminmeetinghis
brother Esau because Jacob has wronged his brother, and he is afraid. But the
moment the scripture says that Jacob is alone, a man appears and wrestles with
Jacob until morning. And in the midst of wrestling, Jacob finds God to be present
andfaithful,andhefindsrenewalofpurpose. InthedescriptionofJacobwrestling
at the Jabbok, the identity of Jacobs attacker speaks both to Gods role in the
salvation history of the Jewish people and to our relationship with God, and the
changing of names makes evident the central theme of healing that spans from the
Pentateuchtoourownlives.
TheDeificIdentityoftheAssailant
One of the most striking questions presented in the story of Jacob and his
struggle at the Jabbok is the nature and personhood of the man with whom Jacob
wrestles. The text tells us different things about him. When this new character is
first introduced in verse 24, he is labeled using the noun, :s, meaning a man
(Green 1976). That same translator later, in verse 28b, says that Jacob has striven
with::s,meaningGod(oragodorgods),andwith:::s,ormen.Thetextis
justvagueenoughsothatthemysteriouscharacterdoesnotclearlystateintowhich
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categoryhefalls.TheophanyisaregularoccurrenceinthePentateuch,bothbyGod
(i.e.Genesis12:7;18:2),andbymeansofdivinemessenger(i.e.Genesis16:7;21:17),
(Aalders 1981). It is clear by the nature of the mans actions and by Jacobs
responses, that this is an example of such theophany, however, the specific
presence, whether God or a divine being, is not specified. Again, the text is elusive
when,inverse29,Jacobasksthenameofhisassailant.Themansimplyreplieswith
aquestionandanaction.Accordingtothetext,Hesaid,Whyisitthatyouaskmy
name?Andthereheblessedhim,(Genesis32:29b,NRSV).Althoughthetextdoes
notmakeadefinitiveclaimtotheidentityoftheman,itdoesimplythatthemanis
supernaturalinnaturebystating,[Jacob]calledtheplacePeniel,saying,ForIhave
seenGodfacetoface,andyetmylifeispreserved,(Genesis32:30,NRSV).
The authors worldview surrounding blessing also speaks to the identity of
the man with whom Jacob wrestles. The act of being blessed, or cursed, to the
Israelites, was of great importance. This prominence probably stemmed from the
religions of surrounding cultures, in which the act of blessing was performed by
thoseclosesttotheirgodsinsuchawayastorequiredivineaction(Rudolph1952).
In those religions, the power to bless and curse was highly feared and reserved for
those with whom a deity was closely linked, for instance, someone who could call
upon the personal name of a god, someone who was near death, or someone to
whom a god had granted authority. Aalders lays out the possibilities for the man
Jacobwrestlesasbeing,Ademon,alocalgod,suchasthegodoftheriverorofthe
district, a very primitive concept of Jacobs God, an angel, or even Jacobs guardian
angel or, for that matter, Esaus guardian angel, (Aalders 1981). And although
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these are possible, many of the options seem to be derived from an unreasonable
leapfromthetext.
But the text itself may offer some clarity. When Jacob asks the mans name,
wecanassumethathedidsobecauseheperceiveddivinityandwantedtobeableto
call upon God in the future. However, the man, instead of giving his name, gives a
blessing. Because of the authors worldview, a blessing automatically connects a
person in a very intimate way with a god, and specifically the God of Israel. To
connect this mysterious man further with HaShem, the giving of a blessing echoes
JacobspastblessingsinGenesis27:28-29fromhisdyingfatherandagaininGenesis
28:1,aswellastheblessinggiventoJacobdirectlybyGodinGenesis28:13-15.The
mysterious mans blessing of Jacob clearly shows his connection with the God of
Israel.AccordingtoAalders,thistheophanymightbeanappearanceoftheangelof
theLORDthatisfoundthroughoutGenesis.Hesaysthat,TheangeloftheLORDis
then distinguished from God, but at the same time is identified with God, (Aalders
1981),almostimplyinginsufficientdistinctionbetweenthetwo.
A contemporary discussion of the name of God opens up a slew of ideas
about the identity of Jacobs assailant. There is much discussion as to which of the
documentary hypothesis authors wrote the story of Jacob wrestling at the Jabbok.
According to Gordon Wenham, some scholars have attributed this passage to the J-
source,andotherstotheE-source,whilestillothersbelieveittobeamixtureofthe
two (Wenham 1994). But even Wenham admits that the sources are so intricately
woven together that it is difficult to tell the difference in authorship. According to
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more recent scholarship, the entire passage seems to often be attributed to the E-
source(Friedman2003),butthereisstillmuchdiscussiononthematter.
If this passage is attributed to the E-source, then it probably designates the
divinepersonasthesupremeGodofIsrael.Uponfirstglance,itappearsthattheE-
source is responsible for the passage since the word::s is used to describe God.
Or is it? The word literally means gods and was, used occasionally in the [Old
Testament] of heathen gods, supernatural beings, or earthly judges, (Cross and
Livingstone 2005), although the E-source does regularly use it for the God of the
Israelites.ButcouldthispassagehavebeentheworkoftheJ-sourcereferringnotto
thesupremeGod,buttoanotherheavenlybeing,perhapsevenamessengerofGod?
According to the Anchor Bible Dictionary, The texts attributed to [the J-source]
resort, when speaking of the God of Israel, almost exclusively to the
Tetragrammaton (dePury 1992), but when speaking of other divine beings, did
the J-source ever use the term ::s as it is found in this passage? According to
RichardElliottFriedman,thereisasingleprecedentfortheJ-sourceusingtheterm
::s unattached to the God of Israel. In Genesis 6:2, a text that Friedman
attributes to the J-source, the text refers to the, sons of God, using ::s in the
compound word, ::s::. And if the J-source referred to sons of god as ::s::
once,thenwemustopenourmindstothepossibilityofaJ-sourceauthorshipofthis
particulartext,andwealsomustopenourmindstothepossibilityofthemanbeing
ofdivinenature,butnotGod.
It is clear that both the J-source and E-source are possible authors of this
particulartext,andthustheremustbemorethanonepossibilityfortheidentityof
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the mysterious person. But there is a source that seems to make the most sense
from knowledge of context and themes. According to Albert dePury, It is J who
createsthehistoryofsalvationthatbeginswiththecreationoftheworldandends
withtheentryofIsraelintoCanaan, (dePury1992).Inadditiontothepatriarchal
storiesbeinganintegralpartofthathistory,wealsoknowthattheJ-sourcedepicts
a personal God who interacts on a close level with His creation and shows concern
for His people. For example, dePury says, [HaShem] evermore takes preservative
measurestokeephumanityfromdestruction,and,Whatevergoodhappenstothe
chosen of [HaShem] is not due to their own merit, but to the gracious and hidden
forbearanceofGod,(dePury1992).ItseemsthattheJ-sourceportraysaGodwho
wouldrestore,repurpose,andblessthesinfulashedoeswithJacobattheJabbok.
In addition, according to Alan Jenks, the E-source, Emphasized the relative
remotenessofGodfromanycasualinterchangewithhumans,(Jenks1992).Thisis
in conflict with the text, because whether the man who wrestles Jacob is God or an
agent of God, he certainly speaks for the Almighty and carries the weight of Gods
presencewithhim.Inotherwords,byinteractingwithJacobthroughanypersonal
means, God is more active in Jacobs individual life than the E-source seems to
support. Also, according to Jenks, one of the most characteristic features of the E-
source is that of the fear of Godcertainly not an author who would write about
Jacob prevailing over and demanding a blessing from that same God. It seems that
modern readers should question Friedmans attribution of the authorship of this
passage to the E-source in favor of the more benevolent J-source, or even a
combinationofthetwo,andnotethatitispossiblethatthe mysterymanwrestling
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withJacobcouldhavebeen::s,thepersonalagentofGod,ratherthan::s,who
wasnecessarilyGodHimself.
ChangingofNameandRepurposing
ThechangeofnamefromJacobtoIsraelisoneofthemostinterestingdetails
ofthenarrative,asitpointstowardthegreaterpurposeandmeaningofthestoryin
theJewishhistory.NamesinthePentateuchareveryimportantandoftengivealot
of detail about a character. Jewish names from scripture and in the culture were
often, Wordplay on the sound or meaning of the name to express its significance,
(Ross 1980). So to change a name would have been to change an identity or
purpose. Names would not have been changed without significant cause from a
deityorlife-changingevent.
In the text, Jacobs fight ensues and lasts throughout the night, when finally,
the divine visitor says that he must go because daylight is at hand. So Jacob
demandsablessingandthedivinevisitoraskshisname.Thisisacriticalmomentin
the story. According to Gordon Wenham, the divine visitor has no need to ask his
opponents namesurely he must already know Jacobs name. But Wenham says
thattheassailantasksthenamebecauseofitsmeaning.IfonelooksbacktoGenesis
chapter25,itsaysofJacobsbirth,Afterwardshisbrothercameout,withhishand
grippingEsausheel;sohewasnamedJacob,(Genesis25:26a,NRSV).TheHebrew
name :r comes from the verb :r, which means to grasp by the heel or to cheat,
(Holladay 1971). Jacob goes on to cheat his brother out of both his birthright and
his blessing. And so, according to Wenham, By divulging his name, Jacob also
discloseshischaracter.Itishereaconfessionofguilt,(Wenham1994).
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The action to follow is more than just a blessingit is a kind of absolution.
ThedeitychangesJacobsname,inverse28,to:sc.Thenewnamemostevidently
comes from the root, c, meaning, To struggle, fight, (Wenham 1994), since the
text states, For you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed,
(Genesis 32:28b, NRSV), although many other more complicated meanings and
etymologies have been suggested (Ross 1980). From a modern perspective
surveying salvation in the Pentateuch, the name change can symbolize a
repurposingofJacob,anditshowsGodsfaithfulnessthroughoutthelargerstoryof
Jewishsalvationhistory,inwhichIsraelsdescendantswillberescuedbyGodoutof
slaveryandbecomeanation.Thenameservesasaremindertofuturegenerations
that,Theytoocouldeventuallyhopetotriumph,(Wenham1994).
The other name change that takes place in the text occurs after the
disappearance of the divine visitor, and it is the changing of geographic locations
name. The setting in which the narrative takes place is at the ford of the Jabbok,
sharing an acoustical resemblance to both the name, Jacob, and the verb meaning,
wrestled, (Hamilton 1995). The text says that after the struggle, Jacob called the
placePeniel,saying,ForIhaveseenGodfacetoface,andyetmylifeispreserved,
(Genesis32:30,NRSV).ThetextindicatesthattheHebrewword,:s:e,comesfrom
the noun, :e, meaning face, (Holladay 1971). The word :s, with which :e is
combined, is a name for the Canaanite supreme god, but it is often used in the
Pentateuch as a name for the God of Israel (Parsons 2012). Just as Jacob is
repurposed with his new name, so is the setting of this story given a new context.
What was once loosely translated, Wrestled has now become, Face of God. And
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thisistheplacefromwhichJacobwillgo,reassured,forgiven,andrefreshed,having
prevailedinhisstruggleagainstGodHimself,tomeethisbrotherEsau.
FromamodernChristiancontext,namesarestillveryimportant.Duringthe
baptismal liturgy, the priest, immediately preceding the baptism proper, bids the
childsparentstospeakthenameoftheirchild.SincebaptismistheriteofChristian
initiationandthebeginningofthelifeoffaith,thenameisimportant.Anametoday
can still speak to the distinctiveness of the child to which it belongs just as it did
throughout scripture. In this particular story, we have both the renaming of Jacob
andoftheJabbok.Buttheconceptofrenamingtosignifychangebecameevenmore
popularduringthecenturiessurroundingJesuslifeandministry.AccordingtoG.H.
R.Horsley,Theassumingofextranames,whichsometimesactuallyreplaceabirth
name is a phenomenon of the Greco-Roman world which spanned the period of
the2
nd
centuryBCtothe3
rd
centuryADthoughitwasnotconfinedtothisperiod
absolutely, (Horsley 1992), making it prevalent in Christian scripture and early
tradition.SaulsnamechangedtoPaulwhenhebecameaChristian.Simonsname
waschangedtoPeter,orrock,tosignifythatonhim,Jesuswouldbuildthechurch.
AndmanypeoplewhoarebaptizedtodaytakeonaChristianname.Namesremain
aboutpurposeandidentity,andtheyarestillinvolvedinoursalvationhistorytoday
justastheywerethroughoutthewritingsofthePentateuch.
Conclusion
In Jacobs struggle with God on the shores of the Jabbok, the identity of the
deity and the change of Jacobs name to Israel both speak to the larger picture of
Gods salvation, which this narrative works to illuminate. Some have made the
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conjecture that this passage is about some sort of a spiritual or emotional struggle
with God, rather than any physical struggle. But the text of the story is clear, and
this must be read as, both, and, rather than, either, or. Certainly Jacob was
wrestlingwithhisconscienceandwithGodspirituallyforinheritingtheblessingsof
hisbrotherdishonestly.Thetextmakesthatveryclear.Butthetextalsodescribesa
physical struggle. And when one acknowledges both, there are more connections
that can be made between the context of the narrative and our own contemporary
contexts. In the narrative of Jacob at the Jabbok, the deific identity of Jacobs
assailant speaks to the nature of both our relationship with God and to His role in
salvation history for the Jewish people; and the changing of names makes evident
theoverarchingthemeofrenewalthatspansfromthePentateuchtoourownlives,
giving us the opportunity to see Peniel as renamed people in renewed relationship
withGod.

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