Genesis 32:25

 Genesis 32:25 

And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

a. ASV:  And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: And he seeth that he is not able for him, and he cometh against the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh is disjointed in his wrestling with him;  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: And when [the [a]Man] saw that He did not prevail against [Jacob], He touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with Him.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. NLT: When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket.  [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

e. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: [Genesis 32:25 in our Bible is Genesis 32:26 in the Jewish Bibles] [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]

1. “And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh…”

a. [And when he] saw {strong: 7200 râʼâh, raw-aw'; a primitive root; to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative):—advise self, appear, approve, behold, × certainly, consider, discern, (make to) enjoy, have experience, gaze, take heed, × indeed, × joyfully, lo, look (on, one another, one on another, one upon another, out, up, upon), mark, meet, × be near, perceive, present, provide, regard, (have) respect, (fore-, cause to, let) see(-r, -m, one another), shew (self), × sight of others, (e-) spy, stare, × surely, × think, view, visions.]

b. that [Strong: 3588 kîy, kee; a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent; (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed:—and, (forasmuch, inasmuch, where-) as, assured(-ly), but, certainly, doubtless, else, even, except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then, therefore, (al-) though, till, truly, until, when, whether, while, whom, yea, yet.]

c. [he] prevailed [Strong: 3201 yâkôl, yaw-kole'; or (fuller) יָכוֹל yâkôwl; a primitive root; to be able, literally (can, could) or morally (may, might):—be able, any at all (ways), attain, can (away with, (-not)), could, endure, might, overcome, have power, prevail, still, suffer.]

d. not [against him] [Strong: 3808 lôʼ, lo; or לוֹא lôwʼ; or לֹה lôh; (Deuteronomy 3:11), a primitive particle; + not (the simple or abstract negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles:—× before, + or else, ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (× as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.]

e. [he] touched [Strong: 5060 nâgaʻ, naw-gah'; a primitive root; properly, to touch, i.e. lay the hand upon (for any purpose; euphemistically, to lie with a woman); by implication, to reach (figuratively, to arrive, acquire); violently, to strike (punish, defeat, destroy, etc.):—beat, (× be able to) bring (down), cast, come (nigh), draw near (nigh), get up, happen, join, near, plague, reach (up), smite, strike, touch.]

f. [the] hollow [Strong: 3709 kaph, kaf; from H3721; the hollow hand or palm (so of the paw of an animal, of the sole, and even of the bowl of a dish or sling, the handle of a bolt, the leaves of a palm-tree); figuratively, power:—branch, foot, hand((-ful), -dle, (-led)), hollow, middle, palm, paw, power, sole, spoon.]

g. [of his] thigh [Strong: 3409 yârêk, yaw-rake'; from an unused root meaning to be soft; the thigh (from its fleshy softness); by euphemistically the generative parts; figuratively, a shank, flank, side:—× body, loins, shaft, side, thigh.]

2. “...and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.”

a. [and the] hollow [Strong: 3709 kaph, kaf; from H3721; the hollow hand or palm (so of the paw of an animal, of the sole, and even of the bowl of a dish or sling, the handle of a bolt, the leaves of a palm-tree); figuratively, power:—branch, foot, hand((-ful), -dle, (-led)), hollow, middle, palm, paw, power, sole, spoon.]

b. [of] Jacob’s [Strong: 3290 Yaʻăqôb, yah-ak-obe'; from H6117; heel-catcher (i.e. supplanter); Jaakob, the Israelitish patriarch:—Jacob.]

c. thigh [Strong: 3409 yârêk, yaw-rake'; from an unused root meaning to be soft; the thigh (from its fleshy softness); by euphemistically the generative parts; figuratively, a shank, flank, side:—× body, loins, shaft, side, thigh.]

d. [was] out of joint [Strong: 3363 yâqaʻ, yaw-kah'; a primitive root; properly, to sever oneself, i.e. (by implication) to be dislocated; figuratively, to abandon; causatively, to impale (and thus allow to drop to pieces by rotting):—be alienated, depart, hang (up), be out of joint.]

e. [as he] wrestled [Strong: 79 ʼâbaq, aw-bak'; a primitive root, probably to float away (as vapor), but used only as denominative from H80; to bedust, i.e. grapple:—wrestle.]

f. with [him] [Strong: 5973 ʻim, eem; from H6004; adverb or preposition, with (i.e. in conjunction with), in varied applications; specifically, equally with; often with prepositional prefix (and then usually unrepresented in English):—accompanying, against, and, as (× long as), before, beside, by (reason of), for all, from (among, between), in, like, more than, of, (un-) to, with(-al).]

1). Many commentators teach that this was a theophany, an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ in human form, such as Genesis 18. I agree with this. There are a number of details in this story that convinces me of this. The passage in Genesis 32 and the companion passage in Hosea 12 give clues regarding it.Jacob said that he had seen God face to face (Genesis 32:32:30). In Hosea 12 it refers to Jacob having strength with God. This episode is a mixture of physical and spiritual elements. Each element will be dealth with in the individual verses.    

a). Genesis 32:24-30 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

32:27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

32:29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

b). Hosea 12:3, 4 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:

12:4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;

2). The Rabbinic commentary on this is quite ridiculous, and the only reason I am including it is because it is so off the wall. 

a). Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: The struggle with the angel. The confrontation between Jacob and a “man” was one of cosmic events in Jewish history. The Rabbis explained that this man was the guardian angel of Esau (Rashi), in the guise of a man. The sages teach that every nation has a Heavenly power, an angel that guides its destiny on earth, and acts as an “intermediary,” between nation and God….Esau’s guardian angel is different from all the others, for just as Esau epitomizes evil, so his angel is the prime spiritual force of evil--Satan himself. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.] 

3). An additional note on this. Angels are infinite in strength, in fact I believe that this angel was the Angel of the Covenant, a theophany of the pre-incarnate Christ. This same person slew 185,00 Assyrian soldiers.

a). 2 Kings 19:35  And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.