ปฐมกาล 32:28 วิจารณ์

We have here Jacob still upon his journey towards Canaan. Never did so many memorable things occur in any march as in this of Jacob's little family. By the way he meets, I. With good tidings from his God (Gen 32:1, Gen 32:2). II. With bad tidings from his brother, to whom he sent a message to notify his return (Gen 32:3-6). In his distress, 1. He divides his company (Gen 32:7, Gen 32:8). 2. He makes his prayer to God (Gen 32:9-12). 3. He sends a present to his brother (Gen 32:13-23). 4. He wrestles with the angel (Gen 32:24-32).

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 32 This chapter informs us of Jacob's proceeding on in his journey, and of his being met and guarded by an host of angels, Gen 32:1; of his sending messengers to his brother Esau, acquainting him with his increase, and desiring his favour and good will, Gen 32:3, who return and report to him, that Esau was coming to him with four hundred men, which put him into a panic, and after devising ways and means for the security of himself; and those with him, at least a part, if not the whole, Gen 32:6; then follows a prayer of his to God, pressing his unworthiness of mercies, and his sense of them, imploring deliverance from his brother, and putting the Lord in mind of his promises, Gen 32:9; after which we have an account of the wise methods he took for the safety of himself and family, by sending a present to his brother, dividing those who had the charge of it into separate companies, and directing them to move at a proper distance from each other, he, his wives and children, following after, Gen 32:13; when they were over the brook Jabbok, he stopped, and being alone, the Son of God in an human form appeared to him, and wrestled with him, with whom Jacob prevailed, and got the blessing, and hence had the name of Israel, Gen 32:24; and though he could not get his name, he perceived it was a divine Person he had wrestled with, and therefore called the name of the place Penuel, Gen 32:29; the hollow of his thigh being touched by him with whom he wrestled, which put it out of joint, he halted as he went over Penuel, in commemoration of which the children of Israel eat not of that part of the thigh, Gen 32:31.

And he said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel,.... That is, not Jacob only, but Israel also, as Ben Melech interprets it, or the one as well as the other; or the one rather and more frequently than the other: for certain it is, that he is often after this called Jacob, and his posterity also the seed of Jacob, though more commonly Israel, and Israelites: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed: this is given as a reason of his name Israel, which signifies a prince of God, or one who as a prince prevails with God; which confutes all other etymologies of the name, as the upright one of God, the man that sees God, or any other: he now prevailed with God in prayer, and by faith got the blessing, as he had prevailed before with Esau and Laban, and got the better of them, and so would again of the former: hence some render the word, "and shall prevail" (i); and indeed this transaction was designed to fortify Jacob against the fear of his brother Esau; and from whence he might reasonably conclude, that if he had power with God, and prevailed to obtain what he desired of him, he would much more be able to prevail over his brother, and even over all that should rise up against him, and oppose him; and this may not only be prophetic of what should hereafter be fulfilled in the person of Jacob, but in his posterity in future times, who should prevail over their enemies, and enjoy all good things by the favour of God: for it may be rendered, "thou hast behaved like a prince with God, and with men", or, "over men thou shalt prevail". (i) "praevalebis", V. L. Sept. so the Targum of Onkelos.

A man, Scripture says, wrestled with Jacob. If he is a mere man, who is he? Where did he come from? Why does he struggle and wrestle with Jacob? What had come between them? What had happened? What was the cause of so great a conflict and struggle as that? Moreover, why is it that Jacob proves to be the stronger even to the holding of the man with whom he was struggling? And why still, because the morning star was rising, is it he who, on that account, asks a blessing from him whom he held? It can only mean that this struggle was prefiguring that future contention between Christ and the sons of Jacob, which is said to have had its completion in the gospel. For Jacob’s people struggled against this man and proved to be more powerful in the conflict, because they obtained the triumph of their own unrighteousness over Christ. Then, on account of the crime they had perpetrated, they began to limp very badly in the gait of their own faith and salvation, stumbling and slipping in their course. Though Jacob’s people proved superior by their condemnation of Christ, they still need his mercy and still need his blessing. Now this man who wrestled with Jacob says to him, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” And if Israel is a man who “sees God,” then the Lord was showing in an elegant manner that he who wrestled with Jacob was not only man but also God. Undoubtedly Jacob saw God with whom he wrestled, though it was a man whom he held in his grip. That there might not remain any doubt, he himself gave the interpretation when he said, “For you have prevailed with God, and with men you are powerful.” That is why this same Jacob, understanding now the meaning of the prefiguration and realizing the authority of him with whom he had wrestled, called the name of the place where he had wrestled “Vision of God.” Furthermore, Jacob added his reason for giving his interpretation of God: “I have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved.” For he saw God with whom he wrestled, as though he were wrestling with a man; but while as if victor he held the man, as an inferior he asked a blessing of him, as one would of God. Thus he wrestled with God and with man. Now if this struggle was then prefigured and has been actually fulfilled in the gospel between Christ and Jacob’s people—a struggle in which the people proved superior yet were found to be inferior because of their guilt—who will hesitate to acknowledge that Christ in whom this figure of a struggle was fulfilled was not only human but also God, when that very figure of a struggle seems to have proved that he is both God and human?

O holy and blessed patriarch, Jacob, be with me, be with me now by the spirit of your faith against the poisonous hissing of infidelity, and, while you prevail in the struggle with the man, plead with him as the stronger to bless you. What is this that you are asking from one who is weak? What do you expect from one who is feeble? This one for whose blessing you pray is the one whom you, as the more powerful, weaken by your embrace. The activity of your soul is not in harmony with the deeds of your body, for you think differently from the way you act. By your bodily motions during this struggle you keep this man helpless, but this man is for you the true God, not in name but in nature. You do not ask to be sanctified by adoptive but by true blessings. You struggle with a man, but you behold God face to face. You do not see with your bodily eyes what you perceive with the glance of your faith. In comparison with you he is a feeble man, but your soul has been saved by the vision of God.During this struggle you are Jacob, but after your faith in the blessing for which you prayed you are Israel. The man is subject to you according to the flesh in anticipation of the sufferings in the flesh. You recognize God in the weakness of his flesh in order to foreshadow the mystery of his blessing in the spirit. His appearance does not prevent you from remaining steadfast in the fight, nor does his weakness deter you from seeking his blessing. Nor does the man bring it about that he is not God who is man, nor is he who is God not the true God, because he who is God cannot but be the true God by the blessing, the transfer and the name.

Do you see how God revealed the complete explanation of why he demonstrated such considerateness? At the same time God taught this good man [Jacob] through the imposition of the name [Israel] who it was that he had seen and had been allowed to hold on to. Recall the text says, “You will no longer be called Jacob but Israel.” Now Israel means “seeing God.” “Since you are privileged to see God, insofar as it is possible for a human being to see him, hence I also give you this name so that it may be clear to everyone in future that you were accorded a vision.” And he added, “For you have fought with God and will thus be powerful in dealing with human beings.” No longer have any fear or expect to suffer any harm from anyone. Having gained such might in the first place as to succeed in wrestling with God, much more will you prevail over human beings and prove superior to all.

(Verse 27 and 28.) And he said to him: What is your name? He said, Jacob. And he said to him: Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but your name shall be called Israel: for you have wrestled with God, and have prevailed with men. Josephus, in the first book of Antiquities, thinks that Israel was called so because he wrestled with an angel. I carefully examined this, but I could not find it at all in Hebrew. And why should I seek the opinions of individuals, when the one who gave the name explains the etymology himself? He said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel will be your name.' Why? Aquila interprets it as 'because you have begun with God,' Symmachus as 'because I will start towards God,' the Septuagint and Theodotio as 'because you have prevailed with God.' Sarith (which is derived from the word Israel) means 'prince.' Therefore, the meaning is: Your name will not be supplanter, that is, Jacob, but your name will be prince with God, that is, Israel. For just as I am a prince, so you, who were able to wrestle with me, shall be called a prince. But if you were able to wrestle with me, who am God or an angel (for many interpret it differently), how much more so with humans, that is, with Esau, whom you should not fear! However, that which is interpreted as 'Israel' in the book of Numbers, 'a man who sees God' or 'a mind that sees God', seems to me to have been interpreted not so truly, but rather forcefully, in the common speech. For here Israel, as it is written in these letters, is spelled Iod, Sin, Res, Aleph, Lamed, which means Prince of God, or Direct of God, that is, εὐθύτατος Θεοῦ. But the word for "seeing" God is spelled Aleph, Iod, Sin, so that it is written with three letters and pronounced Is (), while "seeing" is spelled with three letters, Res, Aleph, He, and pronounced Raa (). And El () is formed by two letters, Aleph and Lamed, and it means God, or strong. Although, therefore, they are of great authority, and the shadow of their eloquence oppresses us, who have transformed the man, or rather the mind perceiving God, into the Israel: we are rather led by the authority of Scripture, and of the Angels, or of God, who called him Israel, than by any worldly eloquence. That which also follows afterwards:

Now, as I said just a little while ago, Jacob was also called Israel, which was the name generally borne by the people descended from him. This name was given him by the angel who wrestled with him when Jacob was on his way back from Mesopotamia. This angel obviously presents a type of Christ. For the fact that Jacob “prevailed over” him (the angel, of course, being a willing loser to symbolize the hidden meaning) represents the passion of Christ, in which the Jews seemed to prevail over him. And yet Jacob obtained a blessing from the very angel whom he had defeated; thus the giving of the name was the blessing. Now “Israel” means “seeing God,” and the vision of God will be the reward of all the saints at the end of the world. Moreover, the angel also touched the apparent victor on the broad part of his thigh and thus made him lame. And so the same man, Jacob, was the same time blessed and lame—blessed in those who among this same people of Israel have believed in Christ and crippled in respect of those who do not believe. For the broad part of the thigh represents the general mass of the race. For in fact it is to the majority of that stock that the prophetic statement applies, “They have limped away from their paths.”

Jacob, proceeding on his Journey, is met by the angels of God, Gen 32:1, Gen 32:2. Sends messengers before him to his brother Esau, requesting to be favourably received, Gen 32:3-5. The messengers return without an answer, but with the intelligence that Esau, with four hundred men, was coming to meet Jacob, Gen 32:6. He is greatly alarmed, and adopts prudent means for the safety of himself and family, Gen 32:7, Gen 32:8. His affecting prayer to God, Gen 32:9-12. Prepares a present of five droves of different cattle for his brother, Gen 32:13-15. Sends them forward before him, at a certain distance from each other, and instructs the drivers what to say when met by Esau, Gen 32:15-20. Sends his wives, servants, children and baggage, over the brook Jabbok, by night, Gen 32:21-23. Himself stays behind, and wrestles with an angel until the break of day, Gen 32:24. He prevails and gets a new name, Gen 32:25-29. Calls the name of the place Peniel, Gen 32:30. Is lame in his thigh in consequence of his wrestling with the angel, Gen 32:31, Gen 32:32.

Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel - ושראל Yisrael, from שר sar, a prince, or שרה sarah, he ruled as a prince, and אל el, God; or rather from איש ish, a man, (the א aleph being dropped), and ראה raah, he saw, אל el, God; and this corresponds with the name which Jacob imposed on the place, calling it פניאל peniel, the faces of God, or of Elohim, which faces being manifested to him caused him to say, Gen 32:30, ראיתי אלהים פנים אל פנים raithi Elohim panim el panim, i.e., "I have seen the Elohim faces to faces, (i.e., fully and completely, without any medium), ותנצל נפשי vattinnatsel napshi, and my soul is redeemed." We may learn from this that the redemption of the soul will be the blessed consequence of wrestling by prayer and supplication with God: "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." From this time Jacob became a new man; but it was not till after a severe struggle that he got his name, his heart, and his character changed. After this he was no more Jacob the supplanter, but Israel - the man who prevails with God, and sees him face to face. And hast prevailed - More literally, Thou hast had power with God, and with man thou shalt also prevail. עם אלהים Im Elohim, with the strong God; עם אנשים im anashim, with weak, feeble man. There is a beautiful opposition here between the two words: Seeing thou hast been powerful with the Almighty, surely thou shalt prevail over perishing mortals; as thou hast prevailed with God, thou shalt also prevail with men: God calling the things that were not as though they had already taken place, because the prevalency of this people, the Israelites, by means of the Messiah, who should proceed from them, was already determined in the Divine counsel. He has never said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye my face in vain. He who wrestles must prevail.

VISION OF ANGELS. (Gen 32:1-2) angels of God met him--It is not said whether this angelic manifestation was made in a vision by day, or a dream by night. There is an evident allusion, however, to the appearance upon the ladder (compare Gen 28:12), and this occurring to Jacob on his return to Canaan, was an encouraging pledge of the continued presence and protection of God (Psa 34:7; Heb 1:14).

Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel--The old name was not to be abandoned; but, referring as it did to a dishonorable part of the patriarch's history, it was to be associated with another descriptive of his now sanctified and eminently devout character.

The Host of God. - When Laban had taken his departure peaceably, Jacob pursued his journey to Canaan. He was then met by some angels of God, in whom he discerned an encampment of God; and he called the place where they appeared Mahanaim, i.e., double camp or double host, because the host of God joined his host as a safeguard. This appearance of angels necessarily reminded him of the vision of the ladder, on his flight from Canaan. Just as the angels ascending and descending had then represented to him the divine protection and assistance during his journey and sojourn in a foreign land, so now the angelic host was a signal of the help of God for the approaching conflict with Esau of which he was in fear, and a fresh pledge of the promise (Gen 28:15), "I will bring thee back to the land," etc. Jacob saw it during his journey; in a waking condition, therefore, not internally, but out of or above himself: but whether with the eyes of the body or of the mind (cf. Kg2 6:17), cannot be determined. Mahanaim was afterwards a distinguished city, which is frequently mentioned, situated to the north of the Jabbok; and the name and remains are still preserved in the place called Mahneh (Robinson, Pal. Appendix, p. 166), the site of which, however, has not yet been minutely examined (see my Comm. on Joshua, p. 259).