Jacob wrestles with God and becomes Israel
Returning to Canaan after 20 years with Laban, Jacob wrestled through the night with God at Peniel and was renamed Israel; the next day he reconciled with Esau.
He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Genesis 32:28 (World English Bible)
Jacob slipped away from Laban with his wives, children, and flocks. Laban chased him down, but the two made a covenant at Gilead. Then came the news that Esau was approaching with 400 men.
Alone by the Jabbok River, Jacob wrestled with a man until dawn and refused to let go without a blessing. The man touched his hip and renamed him Israel. Jacob called the place Peniel: “I have seen God face to face.” He limped away changed, and Esau ran to embrace him.
Places
JordanEdomCanaanGileadShechemEuphratesMount SeirMahanaimPaddan-aramSuccothJabbokPenuelMizpah
Dating notes
Twenty years in Haran (Genesis 31:38, 41) after leaving home in 1760 BC. Ussher dates the departure to 1739 BC.