Genesis 32:29
And Jacob requested, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed Jacob there.
Then Jacob asked
The name "Jacob" in Hebrew is "Ya'akov," which means "heel-grabber" or "supplanter." This moment is significant as Jacob, who has spent much of his life wrestling with others for blessings and birthrights, now directly seeks understanding and blessing from the divine. His asking signifies a shift from deceit to direct engagement with God, reflecting a deeper spiritual maturity and desire for a personal relationship with the Almighty.

Please tell me Your name
In ancient Near Eastern culture, knowing someone's name was often associated with understanding their character or essence. Jacob's request to know the name of the divine being he wrestles with is a profound desire to understand the nature of God more fully. This echoes the human longing to comprehend the divine mystery and to have a personal connection with God, who is often beyond full human understanding.

But He replied, 'Why do you ask My name?'
The response from the divine being is intriguing and suggests that the name or essence of God is beyond human comprehension or that it is not the time for full revelation. This echoes other biblical instances where God’s name is withheld or revealed in a way that emphasizes His sovereignty and mystery, such as in Exodus 3:14, where God reveals Himself as "I AM WHO I AM." It reminds believers that while God is personal and relational, He is also transcendent and beyond full human understanding.

Then He blessed Jacob there
The blessing signifies a transformative moment for Jacob. In Hebrew, "blessed" is "barak," which implies a bestowal of favor and empowerment. This blessing is not just a continuation of the blessings Jacob received from Isaac but a direct divine endorsement and transformation. It marks a pivotal point in Jacob's life, where he is no longer just the "heel-grabber" but becomes Israel, "he who struggles with God," signifying his new identity and role in God's covenantal plan. This blessing is a reminder of God's grace and the transformative power of divine encounters, encouraging believers to seek and embrace God's purpose for their lives.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jacob
The patriarch who wrestles with a divine being. His name means "supplanter" or "heel-grabber," reflecting his earlier life of deception.

2. The Divine Being
Often interpreted as an angel or a theophany (a visible manifestation of God). This being wrestles with Jacob and blesses him, signifying a pivotal moment in Jacob's life.

3. Peniel
The place where Jacob wrestles with the divine being. The name means "face of God," indicating the significance of Jacob's encounter.

4. The Blessing
The divine being blesses Jacob, marking a transformation in his identity and relationship with God.

5. Name Inquiry
Jacob's request for the divine being's name signifies a desire for deeper understanding and relationship, though the name is not revealed.
Teaching Points
Transformation through Struggle
Jacob's wrestling with the divine being symbolizes the struggles we face in our spiritual journey. Through these struggles, God transforms us and gives us a new identity.

The Mystery of God
The divine being's refusal to reveal His name reminds us of the mystery of God. We are called to trust in God's character and promises, even when we do not fully understand Him.

Seeking God's Blessing
Like Jacob, we should earnestly seek God's blessing in our lives. This involves persistence in prayer and a willingness to be changed by God.

Identity in Christ
Just as Jacob received a new name, believers receive a new identity in Christ. We are called to live out this identity in our daily lives.

Encountering God
Jacob's encounter with God at Peniel teaches us the importance of seeking personal encounters with God, which can lead to profound spiritual growth and change.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jacob's wrestling with the divine being reflect the struggles we face in our own spiritual journeys?

2. In what ways does the mystery of God's name challenge us to trust Him more deeply?

3. How can we actively seek God's blessing in our lives today, and what might that look like practically?

4. What does it mean to have a new identity in Christ, and how should this affect our daily living?

5. Reflect on a time when you had a personal encounter with God. How did it change you, and how can you seek more of these encounters?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 32:28
The preceding verse where Jacob's name is changed to Israel, meaning "he struggles with God," highlighting the transformation in Jacob's character and destiny.

Exodus 3:13-14
Moses asks God for His name, and God responds with "I AM WHO I AM," showing the significance of divine names in understanding God's nature.

Judges 13:17-18
Manoah asks the angel of the LORD for his name, and the angel replies that it is beyond understanding, paralleling Jacob's encounter.
Blessed by GodSpurgeon, Charles HaddonGenesis 32:29
Blessed by GodArvine's AnecdotesGenesis 32:29
Blessing from GodBishop Thorold.Genesis 32:29
Blessing Sought and FoundGenesis 32:29
Deliverance from AfflictionJ. Lee.Genesis 32:29
Fulness of BlessingJ. Marsden, B. A.Genesis 32:29
God's Revelation of Himself to JacobA. G. Mercer, D. D.Genesis 32:29
Inquiry and ReplyD. C. Krumreacher.Genesis 32:29
Jacob's BlessingChristopher Ness.Genesis 32:29
LessonsG. Hughes, B. D.Genesis 32:29
PenielD. C. Krummacher.Genesis 32:29
Power of Wrestling PrayerDr. Cuyler.Genesis 32:29
The Great QuestionJ. E. C. Welldon, M. A.Genesis 32:29
The Present BlessingW. L. Watkinson.Genesis 32:29
The Search After GodC. S. Robinson, D. D.Genesis 32:29
The Secret Revealed to Wrestling JacobF. W. Robertson, M. A.Genesis 32:29
Peniel. The Face of GodR.A. Redford Genesis 32:24-32
People
Esau, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Laban, Penuel, Seir
Places
Edom, Jabbok River, Jordan River, Mahanaim, Mizpah, Peniel, Penuel, Seir
Topics
Askest, Asketh, Blessed, Blesseth, Blessing, Declare, Jacob, Please, Replied, Wherefore
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Genesis 32:22-32

     4438   eating

Genesis 32:24-30

     1443   revelation, OT
     8474   seeing God

Genesis 32:24-32

     8613   prayer, persistence

Genesis 32:27-29

     5043   names, significance

Genesis 32:29-30

     5042   name of God, significance

Library
Mahanaim: the Two Camps
And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim' (i.e. Two camps).--GENESIS xxxii. 1, 2. This vision came at a crisis in Jacob's life. He has just left the house of Laban, his father-in-law, where he had lived for many years, and in company with a long caravan, consisting of wives, children, servants, and all his wealth turned into cattle, is journeying back again to Palestine. His road
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Twofold Wrestle --God's with Jacob and Jacob's with God
'And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast shewed unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

"And He Said, Let Me Go, for the Day Breaketh. " --Genesis xxxii. 26
"And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh."--Genesis xxxii. 26. Let me go, the day is breaking, Dear companions, let me go; We have spent a night of waking In the wilderness below; Upward now I bend my way, Part we here at break of day. Let me go, I may not tarry, Wrestling thus with doubts and fears, Angels wait my soul to carry, Where my risen Lord appears; Friends and kindred, weep not so, If you love me let me go. We have travell'd long together, Hand in hand, and heart in heart, Both
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Of the Name of God
Exod. iii. 13, 14.--"And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." We are now about this question, What God is. But who can answer it? Or, if answered, who can understand it? It should astonish us in
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Gen. xxxi. 11
Of no less importance and significance is the passage Gen. xxxi. 11 seq. According to ver. 11, the Angel of God, [Hebrew: mlaK halhiM] appears toJacob in a dream. In ver. 13, the same person calls himself the God of Bethel, with reference to the event recorded in chap. xxviii. 11-22. It cannot be supposed that in chap xxviii. the mediation of a common angel took place, who, however, had not been expressly mentioned; for Jehovah is there contrasted with the angels. In ver. 12, we read: "And behold
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Jacob-Wrestling
"Lord, teach us to pray."--Luke xi. 1. "Jacob called the name of the place Peniel."--Gen. xxxii. 30. ALL the time that Jacob was in Padan-aram we search in vain for prayer, for praise. or for piety of any kind in Jacob's life. We read of his marriage, and of his great prosperity, till the land could no longer hold him. But that is all. It is not said in so many words indeed that Jacob absolutely denied and forsook the God of his fathers: it is not said that he worshipped idols in Padan-aram: that
Alexander Whyte—Lord Teach Us To Pray

The Great Shepherd
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. I t is not easy for those, whose habits of life are insensibly formed by the customs of modern times, to conceive any adequate idea of the pastoral life, as obtained in the eastern countries, before that simplicity of manners, which characterized the early ages, was corrupted, by the artificial and false refinements of luxury. Wealth, in those
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Pleading
We shall consider our text, then, as one of the productions of a great master in spiritual matters, and we will study it, praying all the while that God will help us to pray after the like fashion. In our text we have the soul of a successful pleader under four aspects: we view, first, the soul confessing: "I am poor and needy." You have next, the soul pleading, for he makes a plea out of his poor condition, and adds, "Make haste unto me, O God!" You see, thirdly, a soul in it's urgency, for he cries,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Explanatory and Biographical
INTRODUCTION TO [202]BOOK I English lyrical religious poetry is less easily divisible than our secular verse into well-marked periods, whether in regard to matter or to manner. Throughout its long course it has in great measure the groundwork of a common Book, a common Faith, and a common Purpose. And although incidents from human life and aspects of nature are not excluded (and have in this selection, when possible, been specially gathered, with the view of varying the garland here presented)--yet
Francis Turner Palgrave—The Treasury of Sacred Song

The Worst Things Work for Good to the Godly
DO not mistake me, I do not say that of their own nature the worst things are good, for they are a fruit of the curse; but though they are naturally evil, yet the wise overruling hand of God disposing and sanctifying them, they are morally good. As the elements, though of contrary qualities, yet God has so tempered them, that they all work in a harmonious manner for the good of the universe. Or as in a watch, the wheels seem to move contrary one to another, but all carry on the motions of the watch:
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

The Angel of the Lord in the Pentateuch, and the Book of Joshua.
The New Testament distinguishes between the hidden God and the revealed God--the Son or Logos--who is connected with the former by oneness of nature, and who from everlasting, and even at the creation itself, filled up the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the creation;--who has been the Mediator in all God's relations to the world;--who at all times, and even before He became man in Christ, has been the light of [Pg 116] the world,--and to whom, specially, was committed the direction
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Meditations for the Morning.
1. Almighty God can, in the resurrection, as easily raise up thy body out of the grave, from the sleep of death, as he hath this morning wakened thee in thy bed, out of the sleep of nature. At the dawning of which resurrection day, Christ shall come to be glorified in his saints; and every one of the bodies of the thousands of his saints, being fashioned like unto his glorious body, shall shine as bright as the sun (2 Thess. i. 10; Jude, ver. 14; Phil. iii. 21; Luke ix. 31;) all the angels shining
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

St. Malachy's Apostolic Labours, Praises and Miracles.
[Sidenote: 1140, October] 42. (23). Malachy embarked in a ship, and after a prosperous voyage landed at his monastery of Bangor,[576] so that his first sons might receive the first benefit.[577] In what state of mind do you suppose they were when they received their father--and such a father--in good health from so long a journey? No wonder if their whole heart gave itself over to joy at his return, when swift rumour soon brought incredible gladness even to the tribes[578] outside round about them.
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

A Treatise of the Fear of God;
SHOWING WHAT IT IS, AND HOW DISTINGUISHED FROM THAT WHICH IS NOT SO. ALSO, WHENCE IT COMES; WHO HAS IT; WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS; AND WHAT THE PRIVILEGES OF THOSE THAT HAVE IT IN THEIR HEARTS. London: Printed for N. Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, over against the Stocks market: 1679. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "a fountain of life"--the foundation on which all wisdom rests, as well as the source from whence it emanates. Upon a principle
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Fragrant Spices from the Mountains of Myrrh. "Thou Art all Fair, My Love; There is no Spot in Thee. " --Song of Solomon iv. 7.
FRAGRANT SPICES FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF MYRRH. HOW marvellous are these words! "Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee." The glorious Bridegroom is charmed with His spouse, and sings soft canticles of admiration. When the bride extols her Lord there is no wonder, for He deserves it well, and in Him there is room for praise without possibility of flattery. But does He who is wiser than Solomon condescend to praise this sunburnt Shulamite? Tis even so, for these are His own words, and were
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

A Believer's Privilege at Death
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Phil 1:1I. Hope is a Christian's anchor, which he casts within the veil. Rejoicing in hope.' Rom 12:12. A Christian's hope is not in this life, but he hash hope in his death.' Prov 14:42. The best of a saint's comfort begins when his life ends; but the wicked have all their heaven here. Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.' Luke 6:64. You may make your acquittance, and write Received in full payment.' Son, remember that
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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