Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)“You won’t be called Yacob anymore,” the man said, “but you’ll be ‘Yisra’el’ (or ‘Israel’, which means ‘he struggled with God’), because you have struggled with God and with men, and you won.”
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative, blue:Elohim.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXΕἶπε δὲ αὐτῷ, τί τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐστίν; ὁ δὲ εἶπεν, Ἰακώβ. (Eipe de autōi, ti to onoma sou estin; ho de eipen, Yakōb. )
BrTrAnd he said to him, What is thy name? and he answered, Jacob.
ULTThen he said, “Your name will not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
USTThen the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but rather it will be Israel, which means “he who wrestles with God,” because you have wrestled with God and with people, and you have won.”
BSB § Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob,[fn] but Israel,[fn] because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
32:28Jacob means he grasps the heel or he deceives.
NET“No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, “but Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have prevailed.”
LSVAnd He says, “Your name is no longer called Jacob, but Israel; for you have reigned with God and with men, and prevail.”
FBV“Jacob will no longer be you name,” said the man. “Instead you will be called Israel, because you fought with God and with men and you won.”
T4TThe man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. Your name will be Israel, which means ‘he struggles with God’, because you have struggled with God and with people, and you have won.”
LEBAnd he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,[fn] for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
32:28“Israel” means “he struggles with God,” or “God struggles”
BBEAnd he said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel: for in your fight with God and with men you have overcome.
JPS(32-29) And he said: 'Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.'
ASVAnd he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
DRABut he said: Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel: for if thou hast been strong against God, how much more shalt thou prevail against men?
YLTAnd he saith, 'Thy name is no more called Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast been a prince with God and with men, and dost prevail.'
DrbyAnd he said, Thy name shall not henceforth be called Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast wrestled with [fn]God, and with men, and hast prevailed.
RVAnd he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
WbstrAnd 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.
KJB-1769And 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.[fn] (And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou/you power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. )
KJB-1611[fn]And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Iacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God, and with men, and hast preuailed. (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)
BshpsHe sayde: thy name shalbe called no more Iacob, but Israel: For as a prince hast thou wrasteled with God, and with men, and hast preuayled. (He said: thy/your name shall be called no more Yacob, but Israel: For as a prince hast thou/you wrasteled with God, and with men, and hast preuayled.)
GnvaThen said he, Thy name shalbe called Iaakob no more, but Israel: because thou hast had power with God, thou shalt also preuaile with men. (Then said he, Thy name shall be called Yacob no more, but Israel: because thou/you hast had power with God, thou/you shalt also prevail with men. )
CvdlHe sayde: Thou shalt nomore be called Iacob, but Israel, for thou hast stryuen with God and with men, and hast preuayled. (He said: Thou shalt no more be called Yacob, but Israel, for thou/you hast striven with God and with men, and hast preuayled.)
WyclAnd the man seide, Thi name schal no more be clepid Jacob, but Israel; for if thou were strong ayens God, hou miche more schalt thou haue power ayens men. (And the man said, Thi name shall no more be called Yacob, but Israel; for if thou/you were strong against God, how miche more shalt thou/you have power against men.)
LuthEr sprach: Wie heißest du? Er antwortete: Jakob. (He spoke: How heißest du? He replied: Yakob.)
ClVgAt ille: Nequaquam, inquit, Jacob appellabitur nomen tuum, sed Israël: quoniam si contra Deum fortis fuisti, quanto magis contra homines prævalebis?[fn] (But ille: Nequaquam, he_said, Yacob appellabitur nomen tuum, but Israel: quoniam when/but_if on_the_contrary God fortis fuisti, quanto magis on_the_contrary homines prævalebis? )
32.28Nequaquam, inquit Jacob, appellabitur nomen tuum, sed, etc. HIERON. in Q. Hebr. Josephus in libro primo Antiquitatum, etc., usque ad nos magis Scripturæ, et angeli, vel Dei, qui Isræl ipsum vocavit, auctoritate ducimur, quam cujuslibet eloquentiæ sæcularis.
32.28Nequaquam, he_said Yacob, appellabitur nomen tuum, sed, etc. HIERON. in Q. Hebr. Yosephus in libro primo Antiquitatum, etc., until to we magis Scripturæ, and angeli, or of_God, who Isræl ipsum he_called, auctoritate ducimur, how cuyuslibet eloquentiæ sæcularis.
32:28Jacob: See study note on 25:26. • Israel (“God fights”): God first had to fight with him, but now God would fight for him. Jacob’s name was thus full of promise for Jacob and his descendants. • you have fought with God and with men: Through his entire life, Jacob had been seizing God’s blessing by his own abilities and by any means possible. Jacob knew the importance of the blessing, but he was too self-sufficient and proud to let the blessing be given to him. He had been fighting God long before this encounter. • and have won: He had prevailed in his struggles with Esau and with Laban; now he prevailed in obtaining God’s blessing.
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to=him/it what? name,your and=he/it_said Yaakob )
Alternate translation: “Then the man said to Jacob,”
לֹ֤א יַעֲקֹב֙ יֵאָמֵ֥ר עוֹד֙ שִׁמְךָ֔
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to=him/it what? name,your and=he/it_said Yaakob )
The wording here is similar to what God said when he changed Abram’s name to Abraham (Gen 17:5) and Sarai’s name to Sarah (17:15). After that, Abraham and Sarah were no longer called by their previous names. In the case of Jacob, he continues to be referred to by both of his names in this chapter (Jacob in verses 29-30, 32; Israel in verse 32) and throughout the rest of the Bible, including by God (Gen 46:2). It could be that although God was changing Jacob’s primary name to “Israel,” he was still known by his previous name too. You could put some of that information in a footnote. Alternate translation: “You will no longer be named Jacob,”
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to=him/it what? name,your and=he/it_said Yaakob )
If you include the meaning of the name Israel in your translation or in a footnote, make sure it fits with how you translate struggled in the following clause.
כִּֽי שָׂרִ֧יתָ עִם אֱלֹהִ֛ים וְעִם אֲנָשִׁ֖ים
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to=him/it what? name,your and=he/it_said Yaakob )
The Hebrew word for struggled here is more general than the word for “wrestled” in verses 24 and 25. Alternate translation: “because you have struggled against both God and men”
וַתּוּכָֽל
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to=him/it what? name,your and=he/it_said Yaakob )
See how you translated prevailed in verse 25 and Gen 30:8. It may be necessary to translate this term in slightly different ways, depending on the context. Alternate translation: “and you have overcome.”
Though the patriarch Isaac moved from place to place several times within southern Canaan, compared to his father Abraham and his son Jacob, Isaac appears to have been a bit of a homebody. In fact, unless Isaac resettled in places not recorded in Scripture, the farthest extent he ever traveled appears to have been only about 90 miles (113 km). Yet, as the child of God’s promise to Abraham to build a great nation from his descendants, Isaac’s relatively simple life served as a critical bridge from Abraham to the beginnings of the twelve tribes of Israel, who were descended from Isaac’s son Jacob. It is likely that Isaac was born at Beersheba (see Genesis 21:1-24), and later Abraham offered him as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah (located at Jerusalem; see 2 Chronicles 3:1). Then Abraham, Isaac, and those with them returned to Beersheba (Genesis 22:1-19). When Isaac reached adulthood, his father sent a servant to bring back a bride for him from Aram-naharaim, far north of Canaan. When his bride, Rebekah, arrived, Isaac had just come from Beer-lahai-roi and settled in the Negev (Genesis 24:62). Later Isaac resettled with Rebekah in Beer-lahai-roi, and this may have been where their twins son Esau and Jacob were born. A famine forced Isaac to go to Gerar (Genesis 26:1-6) in “the land of the Philistines.” The distinct people group known as the Philistines in later books of the Bible did not arrive until the time of the Judges, so the term here must have referred to another people group living in this region, and this is supported by the fact that King Abimelech’s name is Semitic, not Aegean (the likely origin of the later Philistines). While Isaac was there, he repeated his father’s error (Genesis 20) by lying to the king that his wife was only his sister. Isaac also became increasingly prosperous at Gerar, so the Philistines told him to leave their region. Isaac moved away from the town of Gerar and settled further away in the valley of Gerar. There he dug a well, but the Philistines claimed it for themselves, so he called it Esek, meaning “argument.” So Isaac’s men dug another well and called it Sitnah (meaning “hostility”), but it led to more quarreling, so he dug yet another well and called it Rehoboth (meaning “open space”). The locations of these two later wells are not certain, but they may have been located near Ruheibeh as shown on this map. Then Isaac moved to Beersheba and built an altar. He also dug a well there, and King Abimelech of the Philistines came and exchanged oaths of peace with him. It was likely at Beersheba that Isaac blessed his sons Esau and Jacob, and both sons eventually left Canaan (see “Jacob Goes to Paddan-Aram” map). When Jacob later returned, he traveled to Mamre near Hebron and reunited with Isaac. Sometime after this Isaac died, and Jacob and Esau buried him there.
Jacob Travels to Southern Canaan
Genesis 32-36
As with many of the stories of the Bible, the events of Jacob’s life are often misunderstood by readers as disjointed pericopes arranged primarily for theological and cultural purposes. Because of this, readers often fail to see that these stories follow a clear geographical progression of the patriarch throughout the land of Canaan. This realistic and coherent geographical framework behind the stories gives strong support to the belief that these stories are authentic, historical accounts of the experiences of Jacob and his ancestors. The overall framework for virtually all of Jacob’s stories is very simple: Jacob is born and raised in southern Canaan but comes into conflict with his twin brother Esau, so he flees to Paddan-aram in Mesopotamia (Genesis 25-28; see “Jacob Goes to Paddan-Aram” map). There he builds a large family and great wealth (Genesis 29-30) and eventually returns to southern Canaan, likely retracing the exact steps he followed when he fled (Genesis 31-35; see also “Jacob Returns to Canaan” map). During this time, Esau moves to the hill country of Seir, likely just south of southern Canaan (“Edom and the Land of Seir” map), and establishes his own family there, giving rise to the nation of Edom (Genesis 36). Though the primary intent of Jacob’s return was no doubt to resettle in Canaan, comments made during his reunion with Esau near Peniel may reveal that he also intended to travel even further to Seir to visit his brother there (Genesis 33:12-14). After crossing from Mahanaim to Peniel in Gilead, Jacob reunites with Esau and settles in Succoth for a time and builds a house for himself and booths for his cattle. He eventually crosses the Jordan River and enters Canaan, stopping first at the ancient city of Shechem. There Jacob’s daughter Dinah is defiled by the son of the region’s leader, and her brothers take revenge by killing all the men of the city. Thus, Jacob is forced to leave, but first he calls upon all his household to purify themselves. He collects their idols and rings and buries them beneath a tree in Shechem. Upon reaching Bethel, Jacob builds an altar and calls it El-bethel. The nurse of Jacob’s mother Rebekah also dies at Bethel and is buried under an oak below the town, leading them to call the place Allon-bacuth (“oak of weeping”). Jacob and his family leave for Bethlehem, but very soon after they start the journey Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and then dies. Jacob buries her along the way, apparently near a place called Zelzah (or perhaps Elzah; see 1 Samuel 10 and “Saul Search for His Donkeys” map). Jacob continues on and camps beyond the tower of Eder, perhaps near Bethlehem, since that seems to have been his original destination. Finally Jacob reaches Mamre and Hebron. Soon after this Isaac dies, and Esau and Jacob bury him. The story of Jacob’s journey ends at Genesis 35, and we are not explicitly told if Jacob traveled even further to Seir. Genesis 36, however, catalogs the descendants of Esau, the Edomites, perhaps indicating that Jacob did indeed fulfill the intentions he stated in Genesis 33:12-14.
