Genesis 32

Jacob Wrestles at the Jabbok

Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until dawn. When the man saw that he could not overcome Jacob, he touched Jacob’s hip socket, dislocating it as they wrestled.

The man said, “Let me go, because dawn is breaking.” Jacob answered, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered.

The man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with people and have prevailed.”

Translation guide

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TSW helps readers examine how the text is shaped. Fluent helps readers hear and absorb how the passage moves as a whole. They complement one another; neither is presented as the better or more faithful Bible.

TSW

Study & Discuss

Keeps more of the source text’s wording, patterns, structure, repetition, and interpretive questions visible. Use it to slow down, notice details, prepare to teach or preach, and explore Scripture with others.

Fluent

Read & Reflect

Expresses the passage in natural English for sustained reading, prayer, devotion, teaching, and growing biblical fluency. Use it to follow the movement of a passage and absorb Scripture as a whole.

Study help

Notes

Translation notes for Genesis 32.

v01–32

English Genesis 32:1–32 corresponds to Hebrew Genesis 32:2–33. Hebrew Genesis 32:1 appears as English 31:55.

v24–30

The opponent is introduced only as ‘a man.’ The narrative does not give his name. He renames and blesses Jacob, and Jacob later says he has seen God face to face.

v25, 31–32

The anatomical expression refers to the socket or hollow of the upper thigh or hip; its exact modern anatomical identification is uncertain.

v28

Israel is associated here with struggling with God. The name can carry related senses such as God struggles, God strives, or God rules; the narrative’s own explanation governs the main text.