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A mosaic represents the
12 tribes of Israel descended from
Jacob. The 12 tribes will eventually
populate Canaan, the Promised
Land, from the Wadi of Egypt to
the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18).GENESIS
two form a covenant before God,
making a sacrifice. Jacob promises
never to treat his wives poorly, or
take another wife besides Laban’s
two daughters.The wrestling match
As Jacob approaches Canaan, he
receives word that his estranged
brother Esau is advancing to meet
him with 400 men. Shaken by the
news, Jacob sends gifts of camels,
sheep, goats, and cattle to pacify
his brother. He then has his wives
and sons escorted across the ford
of the Jabbok, while he ruminates
on the situation on the sands.
What follows is one of the most
mysterious passages in the Old
Testament. A stranger challenges
Jacob to wrestle. The ensuing
struggle lasts the night, with
neither party prevailing. Eventually,
at daybreak, Jacob’s opponent
realizes that he cannot defeat Jacob.
To bring the wrestling match to
a close, he touches the socket of
Jacob’s hip, dislocating the bone.
Despite the pain, Jacob refuses to
release his hold until the stranger
blesses him. In reply, the stranger
tells Jacob that his name will no
longer be Jacob, but Israel (“He
struggles with God”) because he
has struggled with both God and
man and prevailed. The stranger
blesses Jacob and vanishes.
The next day, Jacob meets his
brother Esau and bows down before
him to signal that he means no
harm. The two men are reconciled.
Scholars dispute the identity of
the stranger. Some say, following
Hosea 12:3–4, that it was the Angel
of the Lord; others that it was the
spirit of Jesus Christ taking the
form of a man. Still more say it
was God Himself. ■Twelve Tribes of Israel
During his years of self-
imposed exile, Jacob prospers
both in terms of wealth and in
the number of children born
to his wives and concubines.
His first wife, Leah, bears
six sons—Reuben, Simeon,
Levi, Judah, Issachar, and
Zebulun—while Rachel, his
favorite wife, who struggles
to conceive, gives birth to
Joseph and Benjamin, the last
child causing her to die in
childbirth. In addition, Bilhah,
Rachel’s handmaiden, and
Zilpah, Leah’s servant, each
give birth to two sons by
Jacob—Dan, Naphtali, Gad,
and Asher.
Biblical tradition holds that
these 12 sons, along with two
of Jacob’s grandsons through
Joseph, would form the 12
tribes of Israel, or Israelites
after the name given to Jacob
by the stranger on the sands
at Peniel.See also: Covenants 44–47 ■ The Ten Commandments 78–83 ■
Entering the Promised Land 96–97 ■ The Fall of Jerusalem 128–31God tells Jacob to
return to Canaan.Jacob’s sons will found the
12 tribes of Israel.The stranger blesses Jacob
and names him Israel,
“struggles with God.”A stranger wrestles
all night with Jacob,
who eventually
triumphs.Nearing Canaan, Jacob
asks God for protection
from Esau.Laban pursues Jacob but
God tells him not to
harm him.Having received God’s
blessing, Jacob enters
the land of Canaan.US_056-057_Jacob_wrestles_with_God.indd 57 12/10/2017 15:01