Story of our Names
Building Relationships
Names Matter
In the Bible, names are not just labels—they carry identity, story, and calling. Sometimes a name tells you where someone has come from. Sometimes it reveals who they are becoming.
There are moments when God even gives people new names:
- Abram becomes Abraham
- Sarai becomes Sarah
- Simon becomes Peter
And sometimes, a name change comes after struggle.
Jacob wrestles through the night, and in the morning he is given a new name—Israel. Not because everything is resolved, but because something real has happened in him.
We all carry names.
Given to us. Chosen for us. Sometimes questioned. Sometimes grown into.
Tonight, we begin with something simple:
Today we will share the stories of our names.
Genesis 32:24–28
Jacob Wrestls at the Jabbok
24And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
25When he saw that he did not prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
26Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”
27And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
28Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.”
Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau
1Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” So he called that place Mahanaim.
3Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,
4instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob: I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now;
5and I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I send to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.’”
6The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
7Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps,
8thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and strikes it, then the camp that is left will escape.”
Jacob's Prayer
9And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will do you good,’
10I am not worthy of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant; for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.
11Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and strike me, the mothers with the children.
12Yet you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”
Jacob Sends Gifts to Esau
13So he spent that night there. And from what he had with him he took a gift for his brother Esau:
14two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
15thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
16These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me, and put a space between drove and drove.”
17He instructed the foremost, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’
18then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob; they are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and moreover he is behind us.’”
19He likewise instructed the second and the third, and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you meet him,
20and you shall say, ‘Moreover your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “I may appease him with the gift that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”
21So the gift passed on ahead of him, and he himself spent that night in the camp.
Jacob Wrestls at the Jabbok
22That same night he rose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
23He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise sent across what was his.
24And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
25When he saw that he did not prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
26Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”
27And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
28Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.”
29Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.
30So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.”
31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his thigh.
32Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hollow of the thigh, because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh at the sinew.
Notes
v24“A man wrestled with him” is left undefined. The text does not resolve whether the opponent is human, divine, or angelic, preserving ambiguity central to the episode.
v25The touch that dislocates the thigh is both minimal and decisive. The injury reframes the struggle: power is shown not by domination but by wounding that endures.
v26“Let me go, for the day is breaking” introduces urgency without explanation. Jacob’s refusal ties release to blessing, binding the encounter to transformation rather than escape.
v27–28The naming exchange shifts identity. “Jacob” (the one who grasps) is replaced with “Israel” (one who strives). The reason given—striving with God and humans—does not resolve how both are true.
Notes
v01–02“God’s camp” names the encounter without explaining it. The doubling (angels / camp / Mahanaim, “two camps”) anticipates Jacob’s own divided camp and frames the chapter in mirrored realities.
v03–05Jacob’s message is carefully structured: self-lowering (“your servant”) and status reporting (wealth) function together. The speech seeks favor without naming past conflict.
v06–08“Four hundred men” is reported without interpretation. Jacob supplies the meaning (threat), and his division into “two camps” echoes Mahanaim while revealing fear-driven strategy.
v09–12The prayer holds tension between promise and fear. Jacob appeals to God’s prior word while confessing unworthiness, grounding petition in both memory and vulnerability.
v13–21The gift sequence is deliberately staged. Repetition of “your servant” and “my lord” intensifies the asymmetry. “I may appease him… see his face” links gift, face, and acceptance without certainty.
v22–23Crossing at night marks a threshold. What is sent across contrasts with what remains: Jacob is left alone, setting the conditions for the encounter.
v24“A man wrestled with him” is left undefined. The text does not resolve whether the opponent is human, divine, or angelic, preserving ambiguity central to the episode.
v25The touch that dislocates the thigh is both minimal and decisive. The injury reframes the struggle: power is shown not by domination but by wounding that endures.
v26“Let me go, for the day is breaking” introduces urgency without explanation. Jacob’s refusal ties release to blessing, binding the encounter to transformation rather than escape.
v27–28The naming exchange shifts identity. “Jacob” (the one who grasps) is replaced with “Israel” (one who strives). The reason given—striving with God and humans—does not resolve how both are true.
v29The refusal to give a name mirrors earlier divine reticence. Blessing is granted without full disclosure, maintaining asymmetry between Jacob’s knowledge and the one who blesses.
v30“Face to face” and “my life is preserved” stand together in tension. Seeing God does not result in death here, yet the statement acknowledges the risk inherent in the encounter.
v31–32The limp becomes a lasting sign. The narrative moves from personal wound to communal practice, linking memory, body, and identity across generations.
Vocabulary
v24אָבַק (’avaq)
“To wrestle.” Possibly related to “dust,” evoking close, ground-level struggle.
v28יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra’el)
“Israel.” Interpreted as “one who strives with God” or “God strives.” The ambiguity remains active within the name.
Vocabulary
v02מַחֲנַיִם (maḥanayim)
“Two camps.” The dual form signals doubling—divine and human camps, and Jacob’s own divided strategy.
v06אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת אִישׁ (arba me’ot ish)
“Four hundred men.” A number associated with force; the text leaves its intent ambiguous, heightening tension.
v11חֶסֶד (ḥesed)
“Steadfast love.” Covenantal loyalty expressed in action, not sentiment.
v11אֱמֶת (’emet)
“Faithfulness” or “truth.” Reliability over time; paired with ḥesed to name God’s consistent character.
v20כָּפַר (kaphar)
“Often ‘appease’ or ‘cover.’” Carries the sense of covering offense; here applied to relational repair, not ritual.
v24אָבַק (’avaq)
“To wrestle.” Possibly related to “dust,” evoking close, ground-level struggle.
v28יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra’el)
“Israel.” Interpreted as “one who strives with God” or “God strives.” The ambiguity remains active within the name.
v30פְּנִיאֵל / פְּנוּאֵל (Peni’el / Penu’el)
“Face of God.” The place name encodes Jacob’s claim of encounter and survival.
v32גִּיד הַנָּשֶׁה (gid hanasheh)
“Sinew of the thigh.” A specific anatomical term tied to communal dietary practice, preserving the memory of Jacob’s wound.
- What is the story of your name?
- Who chose your name?
- How have you felt about your name over time?
- If you could rename yourself, would you?
Closing Blessing
God who calls us by name,
You know us.
You have known us from the beginning.
We thank you for the names we carry,
and for the stories within them.
Receive what has been shared here—
the words spoken,
and the things held quietly.
Hold each person in your care.
Be near to what is clear,
and to what is still unfolding.
Teach us to listen well,
to honor one another,
and to walk gently with each story.
Call us again as your people—
known and loved by you.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Scripture on this page is from The Shared Word Translation (SWT), an ongoing translation project within ChurchCommons.org.