Genesis 32:24

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Jacob	יַעֲקֹ֖ב ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · proper noun, a man's name
left	וַיִּוָּתֵ֥ר vai.yi.va.Ter	H3498	to jut over or exceed · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
wrestled	וַיֵּאָבֵ֥ק vai.ye.'a.Vek	H79	to bedust · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
man	אִישׁ֙ 'ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
breaking	עֲל֥וֹת a.Lot	H5927	to ascend · verb, qal infinitive construct
day	הַשָּֽׁחַר ha.Sha.char	H7837	dawn (literal · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Hosea 12:3-5 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, ag…
Genesis 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Luke 13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Genesis 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Genesis 30:8 And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
Luke 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 32:24–end

We have here the remarkable story of Jacob's wrestling with the angel and prevailing, which is referred to, Hos 12:4. Very early in the morning, a great while before day, Jacob had helped his wives and his children over the river, and he desired to be private, and was left alone, that he might again more fully spread his cares and fears before God in prayer. Note, We ought to continue instant in prayer, always to pray and not to faint: frequency and importunity in prayer prepare us for mercy. While Jacob was earnest in prayer, stirring up himself to take hold on God, an angel takes hold on him. Some think this was a created angel, the angel of his presence (Isa 63:9), one of those that alway…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 32:24

There wrestled a man with him--This mysterious person is called an angel (Hos 12:4) and God (Gen 32:28, Gen 32:30; Hos 12:5); and the opinion that is most supported is that he was "the angel of the covenant," who, in a visible form, appeared to animate the mind and sympathize with the distress of his pious servant. It has been a subject of much discussion whether the incident described was an actual conflict or a visionary scene. Many think that as the narrative makes no mention in express terms either of sleep, or dream, or vision, it was a real transaction; while others, considering the bodily exhaustion of Jacob, his great mental anxiety, the kind of aid he supplicated, as well as the ana…

Read the whole note in the console

Adam Clarke on Genesis 32:24

And there wrestled a man with him - This was doubtless the Lord Jesus Christ, who, among the patriarchs, assumed that human form, which in the fullness of time he really took of a woman, and in which he dwelt thirty-three years among men. He is here styled an angel, because he was μεγαλης βουλης Αγγελος, (see the Septuagint, Isa 9:7), the Messenger of the great counsel or design to redeem fallen man from death, and bring him to eternal glory; see Gen 16:7. But it may be asked, Had he here a real human body, or only its form? The latter, doubtless. How then could he wrestle with Jacob? It need not be supposed that this angel must have assumed a human body, or something analogous to it, in ord…

The Church Fathers

Therefore Jacob, who had purified his heart of all pretenses and was manifesting a peaceable disposition, first cast off all that was his, then remained behind alone and wrestled with God. For whoever forsakes worldly things comes nearer to the image and likeness of God. What is it to wrestle with God other than to enter upon the struggle for virtue, to contend with one who is stronger and to become a better imitator of God than the others are? Because Jacob's faith and devotion were unconquerable, the Lord revealed his hidden mysteries to him by touching the side of his thigh. For it was by descent from him that the Lord Jesus was to be born of a virgin, and Jesus would be neither unlike nor unequal to God. The numbness in the side of Jacob's thigh foreshadowed the cross of Christ, who would bring salvation to all people by spreading the forgiveness of sins throughout the whole world and would give resurrection to the departed by the numbness and torpidity of his own body. On this account the sun rightly rose on holy Jacob, for the saving cross of the Lord shone brightly on his lineage. And at the same time the Sun of justice rises on the person who recognizes God, because he is himself the everlasting Light.
— Ambrose of Milan, On Jacob and the Blessed Life

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Angel — A word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a “messenger,” and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger (Job 1:14: 1 Sam.…
Angels — By the word “angels” (i.e. “messengers” of God) we ordinarily understand a race of spiritual beings of a nature exalted far above that of man, although infinitely removed from that of God—whose…
Penuel — Face of God, a place not far from Succoth, on the east of the Jordan and north of the river Jabbok. It is also called “Peniel.” Here Jacob wrestled (Gen. 32:24-32) “with a man” (“the angel”, Hos.…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Boldness, Holy · Exemplified: Jacob — Exemplified: Jacob
Christ Is God · Acknowledged by the Old Testament saints — Acknowledged by the Old Testament saints
Communion With God · Exemplified: Jacob — Exemplified: Jacob
Day · Artificial, divided into: Break of — Artificial, divided into: Break of
Israel · 1. A name given to Jacob — 1. A name given to Jacob
Perseverance · .Jacob, in prayer — .Jacob, in prayer
Prayer, Answers To · Exemplified: Jacob — Exemplified: Jacob
Religion · .Jacob

Genesis 32:24

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 32:24–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 32:24

Adam Clarke on Genesis 32:24

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 32:24

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 32:24–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 32:24

Adam Clarke on Genesis 32:24

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Genesis 32:24

John Calvin on Genesis 32:24

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 32:23-24

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 32:24

Rashi on Genesis 32:15