Restoration Quarterly 23 (1980)
225-31.
Copyright © 1980 by Restoration
Quarterly, cited with permission.
"You Have Prevailed"
The Function of Jacob's Encounter
at
Peniel in the Jacob Cycle
STEVE McKENZIE
Although the passage in Genesis 32:23-331
has been frequently
treated
by scholars using a variety of analytical tools,2 the question
of
the function of the passage in the context of the Jacob cycle has not
received
the attention which it merits. This article deals primarily with
that
question and proposes a more comprehensive solution to it, a
solution
which demonstrates the intimate relationship of the tradition
history
of the passage, its theology; and its purpose in the Jacob cycle.
Scholars are generally agreed that this passage
has had a long,
complex
tradition history. However, there is a wide divergence of
opinion
about the point in the history of the tradition at which
different
elements of its present form entered. The parallels cited
by
Gunkel to various elements of the story have established to
1 Genesis 32:22-32 in English
Bibles. The verses in Hebrew are always one ahead of
the
verses in English in Genesis 32. The verse enumeration in this article corresponds
to
that of the Hebrew Bible.
2 For bibliography on this
passage see F. van Trigt, "La Signification de la Lutte
de
Jacob pros du Yabboq Gen. xxxii 23-33," OTS 12 (1958), 280, and Robert
Martin-Achard,
"An Exegete Confronting Genesis 32:23-33," Structural Analysis and
Biblical Exegesis, ed. by R. Barthes et.
al., trans. by Alfred M. Johnson (
Pickwick,
1974), pp. 34f. Bibliography not given in these two articles includes:
Michael
Fishbane, "Composition and Structure in the Jacob Cycle (Gen.
25:19-35:22),"
JJS
26 (1975), 15-38; K. Luke, Studies in the
Book of Genesis (
Genesis (Assen, Amsterdam: Van
Gorcum, 1975); Martin Noth, A History of
Pentateuchal Traditions, trans. by B. W.
Anderson (
Prentice-Hall,
1972); Walter Rast, Tradition History and
the Old Testament
(Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1971), pp. 47ff.; Wolfgang Roth, "The Text Is the Medium: An
Interpretation
of the Jacob Stories in Genesis,"' Encounter
with the Text, ed. by Martin
J.
Buss (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979), pp. 103-115; Thomas L. Thompson,
"Conflict
Themes
in the Jacob Narratives," Semeia
15 (1979), 5-23; Gene M. Tucker, Form
Criticism and the Old
Testament (Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1971), pp. 41-54.
225
226 Restoration
Quarterly
a
relative degree of certainty that those elements are ancient.3 The
parallels
include: 1) the attack by a deity, often a river god, upon
a
man; 2) the victory by the human hero over the deity and the extortion
from
the deity of some blessing or gift; 3) the fact that the deity
roams
only at night and must disappear at daybreak; 4) the reluctance
of
the deity to give his name as a result of the belief that to know a
name
is to have power over its bearer. It has been argued that the
story
was originally a Canaanite myth not associated with Jacob and
probably
not associated with Peniel.4 Although the story pattern is
certainly
ancient, the Israelite tradition cannot begin any earlier
than
the point at which Jacob is identified as the hero. There is little
possibility
of precise reconstruction earlier than this point. It is also
relatively
certain that the final element of the passage, the aetiology
in
verse 33, is late. It stands outside of the inclusio
which encloses
the
story and adds no essential information to the story in terms of
its
purpose in the Jacob cycle as a whole. The earliest and latest
elements
of the passage, then, have been established to a relative
degree
of certainty. Scholars have proposed a number of reconstructions
detailing
the points at which the remaining elements of the present
tradition
entered. No one reconstruction is completely accepted, and
it
would be difficult to propose a reconstruction that is particularly
new
or convincing.
Scholars have also pointed out a large number of
the literary devices,
especially
word plays, contained within Genesis 32:23-33 and its
immediate
context.5 The words mahaneh,
"camp," and minhah,
"gift,”
are important words in Genesis 32. The story of the place
name,
Mahanayim in 32:2f. anticipates the
events narrated in the
chapter.
The reference to "two camps" seems to be deliberately
ambiguous.
Are the two camps Jacob's and Yahweh's, Jacob's and
Esau's,
or the two divisions of Jacob's caravan'?6 The verb 'abar,
"to
cross," also occurs frequently in this context (32:11, 17, 22, 23, 24;
33:3,
14), and statements using the verb form an inclusio
around the
narrative
of Jacob's encounter with the 'elohim.
The names ya’aqob
and
yabboq form a lovely word play with
the verb ye’aqeb, "he
wrestles,"
in verse 25. In fact, the two uses of the verb 'abaq with
3 Gunkel, HKAT, p. 361.
4 Luke, pp. 121ff.; McKenzie, CBQ, 25, p. 73.
5 See especially,
Schildenberger, Miscellanea Biblica B.
Ubach, p. 80.
6 See the discussion of
Fokkeiman, pp. 199ff.
McKenzie: "You Have
Prevailed" 227
‘immo, "with him," form a
framework around the narration of the
wrestling
match itself in verses 25f. The noun panim,
"face," occurs
five
times in verses 21f. and twice in 33:10, aside from its use in the
Penuel/Peniel
(vss. 31f.). Finally, the root nsl
"to deliver," found
in
verse 31 is the same verb used in Jacob's prayer in verse 12. It is
obvious
that Genesis 32:23-33 represents a sophisticated literary piece
with
intricate connections with the passages which surround it.
Some scholars have argued that the story in
Genesis 32:23-33 is
completely
out of place, that it has nothing to do with the meeting of
Jacob
and Esau. Thus the passage is nothing more than a collection of
aetiologies
about the names
tradition
against eating the sinew of the thigh. Noth is representative:
... the Penuel episode (Gen. 32:23-33 [J]),
which is bound very firmly to a
specific place, was inserted still later in a
rather loose fashion and
intrinsically has nothing at all to do with the
narrative theme "Jacob and
Esau." Rather, it is a distinctly separate
narrative which originally was
concerned with cultic matters and all sorts of
etiological secondary
interests.7
Elsewhere Noth refers to the passage as having
an "infelicitous
place
in the midst of the story of Jacob's encounter with Esau."8
Others have argued that the narrative functions
as an answer to
Jacob's
prayer in 32:10ff.9 Jacob knows that Esau will not harm him,
because
he has prevailed over a stronger opponent, the ‘elohim, from
whom
he has also extracted a blessing (vs. 29). Thus Jacob compares
seeing
the face of Esau, who has received Jacob favorably, with
seeing
the face of 'elohim (33:10). This
understanding of the function
of
Genesis 32:23-33 is good as far as it goes, but it does not take into
account
the entire Jacob cycle and the significance of the story of
Jacob's
encounter at the Jabbok in relation to the themes which
run
throughout the Jacob cycle.
Fishbane has attempted to deal with the entire
Jacob cycle.10 He
argues
that the Jacob cycle (Gen. 25:19-35:22 according to Fishbane)
consists
of a chiasm. In general, Fishbane's scheme is quite correct,
especially
with regard to the narratives in Genesis 27-33. Genesis 27:1-
7 Noth, p. 95.
8 Noth, p. 7.
9 See especially Fokkelman, p.
220, who argues that the use of the root nsl
in
vs.
31 is a direct reference back to Jacob's prayer for deliverance in vs. 12,
where
nsl has been used.
'° Fishbane, JJS, 28, pp. 15-38.
228 Restoration
Quarterly
28:9
contains traditions about the competition between Jacob and
Esau.
Jacob's encounter with God and his angels is told in 28:10-22.
In
chapter 29 Jacob meets with Laban and is deceived by him, and
30:1-24
contains an interlude about the birth of Jacob's children. The
material
which then follows in 30:25---33:20 corresponds in reverse
order
to the material in 27:1---30:24. In 30:25-31:55, Jacob and
Laban
again rival one another. Chapter 32 tells of two encounters of
Jacob
with supernatural beings and of Jacob's preparations to meet
Esau.
The next chapter contains Jacob's meeting with Esau.
The chiastic structure of the Jacob cycle is
significant in terms of the
theme
and purpose of the cycle as a whole. At the structural center of
the
chiasm lies the story of the birth of Jacob's children, the founders
and
namesakes of the twelve tribes of
observed,
the individuals, Esau and Laban, here represent the
political
entities of
tells
how the nation of
his
sons, contends with
Esau
and Laban. It further describes how Jacob/Israel prevailed over
all
opponents and gained control of the land. The specifying of the
children
of Jacob, the fathers of the tribes of
of
the narrative both structurally and functionally. The Jacob cycle is
the
story of the perseverance and prevalence of
The narrative in Genesis 32:23-33 corresponds to
the theophany in
28:10-22
thus filling a needed link in the chiastic structure. But it also
serves
a much more important function. Throughout the Jacob cycle
three
themes predominate: strife, deception, and blessing. Before their
birth,
Jacob and Esau struggle within the womb of their mother
(Gen.
25:22). Jacob is born holding onto the heel of Esau (25:26). His
name,
"Jacob," characterizes him both as a fighter
("heel-grabber")
and
as a deceiver ("supplanter"; cf. 27:36). Jacob deceives Esau into
trading
his birthright (bekorah, 25:29ff.)
and then deceives his father,
Isaac,
into granting the blessing (berekah)
to him instead of Esau
(27:5-45).
Jacob's dealings with Laban are also seen as a struggle.
Laban
strikes first, deceiving Jacob by giving him Leah instead of
Rachel
(29:15-30).11 Yahweh blesses Laban on Jacob's account so
11 The irony here deserves
comment. In the case of Jacob and Esau, the younger
brother
is favored, and the older serves the younger. Now, Jacob is appropriately
deceived
into marrying the older sister, Leah, first rather than the younger, Rachel,
for
whom he has worked.
McKenzie: "You Have
Prevailed" 229
that
Laban is reluctant to release Jacob (30:27). Jacob reciprocates
by
deceiving Laban (30:27-31:16). Again, God blesses Jacob so that
he
becomes wealthy in spite of Laban's deceptions (31:5ff.). Laban
accuses
Jacob of deceiving (31:27). He comes apparently to fight with
Jacob,
but God protects Jacob and warns Laban against doing him
harm
(31:24, 29ff.). Even Rachel deceives her father by stealing the
household
gods (31:33ff.). Jacob responds to Laban's accusations with
his
own complaints that Laban has deceived him by changing his
wages
numerous times, but God has thwarted Laban's attempts by
blessing
Jacob and protecting him (31:36-42). Finally, the encounter
with
Esau is feared by Jacob because of Esau's superior strength in
battle
(32:7). Even here Jacob acts craftily in the arrangement of his
caravan
and in sending a train of gifts to Esau (32:7, 14ff.). The
Jacob
cycle ends with a reiteration of the promise of blessing for
Jacob
(35:9-15).
These themes of strife, deceit, and blessing
come to a climax in the
narrative
of Genesis 32:23-33. Jacob now faces the most difficult
conflict
of his life, because his opponent is no longer simply a man,
but ‘elohim.
Deception is involved in the struggle when the opponent
apparently
employs a trick of fighting to put Jacob's thigh out of
joint.12
Jacob receives the most important blessing of his life in the
change
of his name to
name
is changed to
with
human as well as divine. The narrative which follows about
Jacob's
meeting with Esau helps to fill out the chiastic structure of the
Jacob
cycle, but it is clearly anticlimactic. Jacob has persevered.
Assuredly,
he will not come to harm or defeat at the hands of Esau.
He
has prevailed and is supremely blessed.
It is important to recall at this point that the
Jacob cycle, according
to
those who follow standard source analysis, is really the story of
12 Gunkel, HKAT, p. 361, argued that the original story had Jacob using a
trick of
fighting
to injure the opponent. This would be better in line with the comparative
material
in which the human tricks the deity into defeat. It also fits well the
character
of
Jacob as a deceiver in the Jacob cycle. But it is difficult to see why the
original story
would
be altered at this point, unless the change came about merely by confusion
(note
the
confusing use of pronouns in vs. 25a to denote subjects and objects). At any
rate,
if such a confusion did occur, it clearly took place before the incorporation
of
the
story into the Yahwistic Epic and thus does not alter the Yahwist's theology or
the
importance which he gives to the story.
230 Restoration
Quarterly
the
nation Israel.13 The point made by the writer is that the nation of
present
form stems largely from a time when the nation of
identify
with the patriarch as having come out of all its struggles as
victor.
This notion accords well with the conditions of
Davidic
and early Solomonic age, the era in which the Yahwistic Epic
is
usually dated.14 Most of the
Jacob cycle is, in fact, attributed to
the
Yahwist.15 Thus, the Yahwist,
writing during the era of
greatest
supremacy, describes the nation through the life story of the
patriarch
Jacob/Israel. The Yahwist describes his nation, like its
ancestor,
as having acquired the blessing of Yahweh, as a result of
which
they have endured against all their opponents, and have become
preeminent.16
Yahweh's covenant with Abraham and his promise to
bless
the patriarch, linked in Yahwistic material with, Yahweh's
13 Despite the lack of
scholarly consensus in regard to details, Wellhausen's classical
formulation
of the documentary hypothesis remains the standard approach to the
Tetrateuch
(Genesis-Numbers). Brevard Childs has observed: "Of more influence-on
the
history of scholarship was the work of scholars who continued to operate within
Wellhausen's
general framework but sought further to refine the sources. In the course
of
the refinement important weaknesses emerged which often unintentionally began
to
dissolve
the reigning consensus. . . Long after the early confidence in the classic
documentary
theory had disappeared, critical scholars continued to work with Wellhausen's
source
analysis largely because of the lack of any new consensus by which to replace
it."
Introduction to the Old Testament as
Scripture (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979)
p.
114. F. M. Cross has offered a significant modification of the documentary
hypothesis.
He
prefers to speak of J and E as variant prose forms of a single, older Epic
cycle. He
also
holds that P was never a separate source, but only the post-exilic editor of
the Epic
traditions.
Cross' view is important for understanding the purpose of the story in
Gen.
32:23-33 in the various levels of tradition. See Cross' discussion in his Canaanite
Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge: Harvard
Univ. Press, 1979), pp. 293-325.
14 F. M. Cross, Canaanite Myth, pp. ix, 124, 263ff.,
293.
15 Most of the Jacob cycle is J
material. There are sections which can only be
characterized
as Epic material, that is, J and E combined. P material exists in the
Jacob
cycle, but it is not common. Material generally attributed to P is: 25:19f.;
26:34f.;
27:46-28:9;
31:18b; 35:9-13, 15, 22b-29.
16 I have referred to Jacob's
opponent throughout simply as 'elohim.
It is a common
notion
among scholars that the Yahwist identified the opponent with Yahweh, but I am
not
convinced that this was the case. The name Yahweh is never mentioned in
32:23-33.
It also seems unlikely that J would have accepted the idea that Yahweh was
defeated
by a human. It seems more likely that J has inherited a tradition about
Jacob
defeating a minor deity and that J has remained faithful to the language of the
older
tradition, though he may not have understood it (cf. Hos. 12:4f., where the
opponent
is seen as an angel, and 'elohim and mal’ak, "angel," are found in
parallel.
The
el element in the names '
appellative
(see Cross, Canaanite Myth, pp.
45ff.).
McKenzie: "You Have
Prevailed" 231
covenant
with and blessing of David, has been observed and discussed
by
various scholars.17 In the Jacob story the Yahwist provides a
similar
link between the patriarchs, especially Jacob, and the Davidic
kingdom.
The blessing of Yahweh over Jacob brings about his
prevalence
over all opponents, his safe return to
establishment
in the land. The blessing of Yahweh over the nation
of
and,
under David, their victory over all enemies and hegemony
over
the entire land promised to the patriarchs. For the Yahwist,
of
Jacob.
In editing the Epic sources, J and E, the
Priestly tradent(s)
attached
another meaning to the Jacob cycle, one that communicated
a
message relevant to the
edited
the Epic sources in the Tetrateuch in the sixth century B.C.,
when
of
the narratives in the Jacob cycle is possibly the result of the
editorial
work of P. At any rate, for the Priestly tradent(s) also the
nation
of
importance
of the Jacob story for P was in the return of Jacob to the
also
return to the land of their heritage and again prevail over
their
opponents.19
17 Cross, pp. 323ff3 and Ronald
E. Clements, Abraham and David (
Alec
R. Allenson, 1967), pp. 47-60.
18 See Cross, pp. 293-325.
19 For P, this tradition must
have posed difficult theological problems. Since P was
monotheistic,
Jacob's opponent could not have been another deity. The opponent
could
have been understood as an angel of Yahweh, but for P, e1 consistently refers
to
Yahweh
(Cross, p. 46). Also, for P, this tradition about Jacob's struggle with God
and
particularly the name `
and
history.
Thus,
in contrast to J, P took a negative view of the tenacity common to the
patriarch
and the nation of
Jacob's
descendants.
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