to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
go
שַׁלְּחֵ֔נִיsha.le.Che.ni
H7971
to send away · verb, piel imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
day
הַשָּׁ֑חַרha.Sha.char
H7837
dawn (literal · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
breaketh
עָלָ֖ה'a.Lah
H5927
to ascend · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
said
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙vai.Yo.mer
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
go
אֲשַֽׁלֵּחֲךָ֔'a.sha.le.cha.Kha
H7971
to send away · verb, piel imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
except
אִם'im-
H518
used very widely as demonstrative · particle
bless
בֵּרַכְתָּֽנִיbe.rakh.Ta.ni
H1288
to kneel · verb, piel perfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
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 12:4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Beth-el, and there he spake with u…
Psalms 115:12-13 The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
1 Chronicles 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be wit…
Psalms 67:1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
Song of Solomon 3:4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought…
Luke 18:1-7 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luke 24:28-29 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
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…
I will not let thee go, except thou bless me--It is evident that Jacob was aware of the character of Him with whom he wrestled; and, believing that His power, though by far superior to human, was yet limited by His promise to do him good, he determined not to lose the golden opportunity of securing a blessing. And nothing gives God greater pleasure than to see the hearts of His people firmly adhering to Him.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 32:26
Let me go, for the day breaketh - Probably meaning, that as it was now morning, Jacob must rejoin his wives and children, and proceed on their journey. Though phantoms are supposed to disappear when the sun rises, that could be no reason in this case. Most of the angelic appearances mentioned in the Old and New Testaments took place in open day, which put their reality out of question.
John Gill on Genesis 32:26
And he said, let me go, for the day breaketh,.... This was said that he might seem to be a man that was desirous of going about his business, as men do early in the morning; though the true reason perhaps was, that his form might not be more distinctly seen by Jacob, and much less by any other person:
and he said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me; for by his touching his thigh, and the effect of that, he perceived he was more than a man, even a divine Person, and therefore insisted upon being blessed by him: thus faith in prayer lays hold on God, and will not let him go without leaving the blessing it is pleading for; which shows the great strength of faith, and the efficacy of t…
The Church Fathers
You see how he does not continue fighting at daybreak. In fact, there is no fight for those who already live in the light. It is fitting for those who have been brought to such magnificence to say, "God, my God, I watch you from the light." And in addition, "In the morning you shall hear my voice, in the morning I shall wait on you, and you shall see me." When the light of justice, that is, Christ, rises in our mind and introduces his brilliance into our hearts, then we also will be waited on as noble souls and will be made worthy of the divine attention. "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous." At daybreak the fight ceases.
JACOB FOUGHT AND BLESSED. — The fact that Jacob desires to receive the blessing of that angel whom he overcame in the struggle contains a great prophecy about Christ. For it indicates to us that there is here a mystical sense, by the very fact that every man wants to be blessed by someone superior to himself. And then, how could Jacob want to be blessed by someone he defeated in the fight? Jacob overcame Christ, or rather seemed to conquer him through those Israelites who crucified Christ. And yet Jacob is blessed in those Israelites who believed in Christ, among whom was the one who said, “For I am also an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin (Rom. 11:1).” So the one and the same Jacob was lame and blessed. Lame in the whole length of his thigh, that is to say, in the multitude of those of his race, of whom it is said, “They have limped away from your paths (Ps. 17:46).” Blessed, in those of whom it is said: "there is a remnant according to the election of grace (Rom. 11:5)." [
"Let me go, because it is already morning." "Morning" we understand as the light of truth and wisdom, through whom all things were made. You will enjoy the morning when this night has gone, that is, the iniquity of this world. That's when it will be morning, when the Lord comes, in order to be seen by us as he is already seen by the angels. Because "now we see through a mirror in a riddle, but then it will be face to face." So let us hold fast to this saying, brothers, "Let me go; behold, it is already morning." But what did he say? "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." The Lord, you see, does bless us first through the flesh. The faithful know what they receive, that they are blessed through the flesh. And they know that they would not be blessed unless that flesh had been crucified and given for the life of the world. But how is Jacob blessed? In that he got the upper hand with God, in that he held on bravely and persevered and did not lose from his grasp what Adam lost. So let us, the faithful, hold on to what we receive, in order that we may deserve to be blessed.
Dictionary and topics
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 · Should be offered up: With importunity — Should be offered up: With importunity
Prayer, Answers To · Exemplified: Jacob — Exemplified: Jacob
Religion · .Jacob — .Jacob
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Let me go. God concedes the praise of victory to his servant, and is ready to depart, as if unequal to him in strength: not because a truce was needed by him, to whom it belongs to grant a truce or peace whenever he pleases; but that Jacob might rejoice over the grace afforded to him. A wonderful method of triumphing; where the Lord, to whose power all praise is entirely due, yet chooses that feeble man shall excel as a conqueror, and thus raises him on high with special eulogy. At the same time he commends the invincible perseverance of Jacob, who, having endured a long and severe conflict, still strenuously maintains his ground. And certainly we adopt a proper mode of contending, when we n…
"And when He (the unknown) saw that He did not overcome him, He touched his hip-socket; and his hip-socket was put out of joint (תּקע from רקע) as He wrestled with him." Still Jacob would not let Him go until He blessed him. He then said to Jacob, "They name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel (ישׂראל, God's fighter, from שׂרה to fight, and אל God); for thou hast fought with God and with men, and hast prevailed." When Jacob asked Him His name, He declined giving any definite answer, and "blessed him there." He did not tell him His name; not merely, as the angel stated to Manoah in reply to a similar question (Jdg 13:18), because it was פּלא wonder, i.e., incomprehensible to mortal man,…
At daybreak, the significance of this fight began to dawn on Jacob. He realized who his assailant was, and since it was futile to fight, he held on to obtain God’s blessing.
Rashi on Genesis 32:15
עזים מאתים ותישים עשרים TWO HUNDRED SHE GOATS AND TWENTY HE GOATS — Two hundred she goats have need of twenty he goats, and so too in the case of all the various species the males were in number according to the need of the females. In Genesis Rabbah 76:7 an inference is made from here as regards the minimum period imperative for the marital duty imposed by the Torah - [for] the men of leisure, every day; [for] the laborers, twice a week; [for] the donkey drivers, once a week; [for] the camel drivers, once in thirty days, [for] the sailors, once in six months. I am unable however to show exactly how this inference is arrived at. But it appears to me that we may learn from here at least that…
