Genesis 32:28

Hebrew Bible

26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, “unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” He answered, “Jacob.” 28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, “but Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have prevailed. 29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” “Why do you ask my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.

LXX Genesis 32:28

Septuagint

26 And he said to him, “Send me away, for the dawn has come up.” But he said, “I will not send you away, unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Iakob.” 28 Then he said to him, “Your name shall no longer be called Iakob, but Israel shall be your name, because you have been strong with god, and with humans you are powerful. 29 Then Iakob asked and said, “Tell me your name.” And he said, “Why do you ask this, my name?” And there he blessed him.

Wisdom of Solomon 10:12

Deuterocanon

11 When his oppressors were covetous, she stood by him and made him rich. 12 She protected Jacob from his enemies, and kept him safe from those who lay in wait for him; in his arduous contest she gave him the victory, so that he might learn that godliness is more powerful than anything else. 13 When a righteous man was sold, wisdom did not desert him, but delivered him from sin. She descended with him into the dungeon,

 Notes and References

"... But such was hardly the only way of understanding the meaning of Jacob's new name. The 'with' in 'struggled with' is somewhat ambiguous, in Hebrew as well as English. It could mean that Jacob had fought 'in the company of' or even 'with the help of' God. And even the Hebrew for 'struggle' - an extremely rare word - might be understood differently: it could also mean something like 'was strong' or 'was a ruler.' As a result, many interpreters concluded that Jacob's new name had nothing to do with struggling with (in the sense of 'against') God or even an angel of God. It meant that Jacob had been strong with the help of God or had been exalted with (that is, into the company of) God ..."

Kugel, James L. The Bible as it Was (pp. 226-227) Harvard University Press, 1998

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