Genesis 32:24
in Genesis 32So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
KJV
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 32
Commentary
7 notes on this verseTherefore Jacob, who had purified his heart of all pretenses and was manifesting a peaceable disposition, first cast off all that was his, then remained behind alone and wrestled with God. For whoever forsakes worldly things comes nearer to the image and likeness of God. What is it to wrestle with God other than to enter upon the struggle for virtue, to contend with one who is stronger and to become a better imitator of God than the others are?
This site's exposition
Jacob was left all alone
on Genesis 32:24-25
Jacob is left all alone, and a man wrestles with him until daybreak and strikes the socket of Jacob's hip and dislocates it. Ambrose reads the stripping away of all Jacob owned as what left him free to wrestle. Henry, following Hosea 12:4, says the weapons were weeping and pleading.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
We are told by the prophet ( Hos. xii. 4 ) how Jacob wrestled: he wept, and made supplication; prayers and tears were his weapons. It was not only a corporal, but a spiritual, wrestling, by the vigorous actings of faith and holy desire; and thus all the spiritual seed of Jacob, that pray in praying, still wrestle with God.
2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. Jacob, having got clear of Laban, pursues his journey homewards towards Canaan: when God has helped us through difficulties we should go on our way heaven-ward with so much the more cheerfulness and resolution. Here is Jacob's convoy in his journey (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Lord, what will become of that promise, if they be all cut off? Jacob having piously made God his friend by a prayer, is here prudently endeavouring to make Esau his friend by a present. He had prayed to God to deliver him from the hand of Esau - His prayer did not make him presume upon God's mercy, without the use of means.
And Jacob was left alone,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And there wrestled a man with him - This was doubtless the Lord Jesus Christ, who, among the patriarchs, assumed that human form, which in the fullness of time he really took of a woman, and in which he dwelt thirty-three years among men. He is here styled an angel, because he was μεγαλης βουλης Αγγελος, (see the Septuagint, Isa 9:7), the Messenger of the great counsel or design to redeem fallen man from death, and bring him to eternal glory; see Gen 16:7. But it may be asked, Had he here a real human body, or only its form?
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּוָּתֵ֥ר | vaiyivater | and he remained | H3498 → | 106 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֖ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| לְבַדּ֑וֹ | levado | to only him | H905 → | 200 times |
| וַיֵּאָבֵ֥ק | vaiyeavek | and he wrestled | H79 → | |
| אִישׁ֙ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| עִמּ֔וֹ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| עַ֖ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עֲל֥וֹת | alot | came up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| הַשָּֽׁחַר׃ | hashachar | the dawn | H7837 → | 23 times |
וַיִּוָּתֵ֥רand he remained
vaiyivaterH3498 →106 times
יַעֲקֹ֖בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
לְבַדּ֑וֹto only him
levadoH905 →200 times
וַיֵּאָבֵ֥קand he wrestled
vaiyeavekH79 →
אִישׁ֙a man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
עִמּ֔וֹwith him
imoH5973 →1050 times
עַ֖דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
עֲל֥וֹתcame up
alotH5927 →890 times
הַשָּֽׁחַר׃the dawn
hashacharH7837 →23 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ephesians 6:12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
it leads to
- Colossians 1:13
He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,
- 2 Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Ephesians 2:2
in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the…
- Colossians 2:15
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
- Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
- Colossians 1:13
Through
Luke 13:24“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
it leads to
- Matthew 7:13–14
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
- 2 Peter 1:10
Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble,
- Matthew 7:13–14
Through
Genesis 32:28Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
it leads to
- Revelation 2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone…
- Revelation 2:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Jacob and the Blessed Life; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.