Who Wrestled with Jacob?
Proposes that Jacob's nocturnal wrestling match (Gen. 32:23-32) allegorizes an internal struggle between two competing impulses — one urging him to claim the promised land despite the risk of war with Esau, the other favoring a safe, prosperous life beyond its border — reading the coming of dawn and the crossing of the river as symbols of Jacob's resolution of that inner conflict and his readiness to become Israel.
Blumenthal proposes reading Jacob’s nocturnal wrestling match (Gen. 32:23-32) as an allegory for an internal struggle between two competing impulses: one pressing him to claim the promised land despite likely war with Esau, the other favoring a safer, prosperous life beyond its border. He argues that the coming of dawn and Jacob’s subsequent crossing of the river symbolize the resolution of that inner conflict, preparing him to become Israel.
Fred Blumenthal is a retired businessman who divides his time between Jerusalem and Cedarhurst, New York. He was educated at the Samson Raphael Hirsch School and the Yeshiva of Frankfurt, Germany.
Cite this article
Fred Blumenthal. "Who Wrestled with Jacob?." Jewish Bible Quarterly 38, no. 2 (April – June 2010): 119–123.
Fred Blumenthal. "Who Wrestled with Jacob?." Jewish Bible Quarterly, vol. 38, no. 2, 2010, pp. 119–123.