An exegetical study of Genesis 32 verses 22-32 Essay

An exegetical study of Genesis 32 verses 22-32 - Essay Example and have prevailed.† 29Then Jacob asked him and said, â€Å"Please tell me your name.† But he said, â€Å"Why is it that you ask my name?† And he blessed him there. 31Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. 32Therefore to this day, the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip. (New American Standard Bible) The account of Jacob’s wrestling match at the ford of Jabbok is, admittedly, a rather difficult passage to interpret because of the surrealism of the occurrence: In the middle of the night, Jacob decides to send his wives and children and their possessions over the ford (vv. 22-23); from out of nowhere, a man appears and wrestles with Jacob who, for some reason, is left behind or stays behind on the other side of the ford (v. 24); the match goes on for an extended period, that is, until daybreak (v. 24), and Jacob demands for a blessing when the man tries to disengage (v. 26); right there, Jacob’s name is changed to Israel, and the place is named Peniel as well (vv. 28, 30). On the surface, the meaning of the passage is not made immediately clear, for as one goes through it initially, it reads as though it is a dream sequence. However, there seems to be no concrete reason to suppose such. It seems fairly clear that there was an actual crossing that occurred (v. 22), an d that Jacob was physically hurt by the encounter (v. 31b â€Å"†¦and he was limping on his thigh.†). Hence, the passage indicates rather clearly a turning point not only in Jacob’s life, but in the consequent Israelite history, as evidenced by the effects of the nocturnal encounter (v. 32). At any rate, this particular analysis of the narrative focuses on the name changes that are apparent in the text, specifically the change of Jacob’s name to Israel, and the place of the struggle being named Peniel. Such name-changing has