Jacob Wrestle in Genesis 32:24 the Bible

¶ … Jacob Wrestle in Genesis 32:24

The Bible if full of apparent contradictions, where information in one passage appears to conflict with information given in another passage. A historical understanding of the social and political circumstances surrounding the authorship of each book of the Bible often helps clarify these apparent inconsistencies and reconcile them into a single theology, which, if not completely consistent, is at least cohesive. However, Genesis 32:24, in which Jacob wrestles with an unnamed man, presents a dilemma. The passage refers to the person as a man, but also suggests that Jacob is wrestling with God. In fact, the passage is sufficiently ambiguous that even commentators have found themselves unable to reconcile its contradictions. By examining what commentators have said about the passage, it may be possible to gain a greater understanding than one gets from simply examining the text.

Jerome Kodell recognizes the ambiguity in the text, but determines that Jacob's wrestling adversary is his brother, Esau. In fact, though the wrestling is considered pivotal in Jacob's development as a godly man, Kodell recognizes that the narrative actually interrupts the rest of the story that develops between Jacob and Esau. He suggests that the encounter is "decisive for Jacob's human development and consequently for his transformation into the father of the people of God" (Kodell 1980, p. 65). Furthermore, Kodell places the episode within existing literary tradition, suggesting the similarities between it and stories that tell of fighting water demons and stories that describe demons who disappear at daybreak. While Esau is no demon, he is transformed into a mythical opponent in order to help establish Jacob's validity as the father of the people of Israel.

Steven Molen recognizes the dichotomy inherent in this passage. The characteristics linked with the man are divine. He has extraordinary strength, able to dislocate Jacob's hip at a touch. Furthermore, Jacob asserts that he has seen the face of God. To Molen, these features would suggest that, rather than wrestling a human, Jacob is wrestling with an angel (1993, p.187). However, Molen acknowledges that the divinity of Jacob's opponent is far from certain. Thoughout the passage, the opponent is consistently called a man. The terms angel and man are not interchangeable, and, had the passage been meant to suggest a divine opponent, then it seems likely that the opponent would have been so-labeled (Molen 1993, p. 188). Furthermore, the fact that Jacob says that he has seen the face of God in his opponent is not dispositive; the day after his wrestling session, upon greeting his brother Esau, Jacob uses similar language (Molen 1993, p. 188). In fact, if man is, indeed, created in God's image, then to see the face of God in a human opponent is not unusual. As a result, Molen seems unable to draw a conclusion about the identity of Jacob's foe.

J. Glen Taylor believes that the narrative must be read on two levels, as it describes Jacob's reconciliation with Esau and his reconciliation with God (Taylor 2008, p.2). As such, he believes that Jacob is wrestling both a human, most likely his brother Esau, though his opponent is never named, and God (Taylor 2008, p. 2). He supports this by asserting that the Esau is equal to God "equation runs throughout the narrative" (Taylor 2008, p. 2). Therefore, much like Molen, Taylor assumes that the ambiguity is intentional.