Jacob sent his wives and children on ahead, sent them with everything he owned, but he stayed behind for the night, stayed alone. But, not alone, after all. A man wrestled with him until daybreak.
Jacob had left home because of fear of his brother's retribution. He's not over that fear yet.
Before he enters his homeland again, a man wrestles with him. This image evokes the memory of Jacob and Esau wrestling in the womb. Further, it evokes images of metaphorical wrestling matches--Jacob getting his brother to trade his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup and later tricking his father into giving him the blessing that would have gone to Esau as the elder son. He has also engaged in metaphorical wrestling matches with his father-in-law Laban.
James Kugel reminds us that the name, Jacob, sounds like the Hebrew word for "he struggles." He then points out that although his new name, Israel, can be translated as "God rules," it also could mean "God struggles."
Who is Jacob wrestling with this time? Who has he been wrestling with all along?
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