Who will rise for me against evildoers, who will take a stand for me against the wrongdoers? Psalm 94:16 Robert Alter For me – Be sure you read this verse as it is written, not as you might expect it to be written. What I mean is that we might expect “Who will rise…
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24 NASB Wrestled with him – In my book Crossing: The Struggle for Identity I show that this very unusual story has a deep psychological element. No explanation of who this strange opponent is really satisfies until we recognize that Jacob is…
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24 NASB Man – In one of the strangest verses in Scripture, no clue is provided about the identity of the “man” who wrestles with Jacob. He suddenly appears. No history. No motivation. No name. We are immediately cast into the world…
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24 NASB Left alone – “Man is meaningless without God,”[1] wrote Abraham Heschel. He could have written, “Man is totally alone without God.” That’s more than just man is alone. We all know we are alone. Yes, of course, we have friends,…
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24 NASB Left alone – I just can’t get past Jacob. Maybe it’s because years ago when the financial collapse happened that started this written journey of recovery, I was tempted to think I was kind of like Job. You know, innocent. Not deserving the…
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24 NASB Left alone – Who is the “man” Jacob wrestles? Perhaps we need to listen to another story of psychological isolation. “You are the man!”[1] As I have explained in my book Crossing, Jacob isn’t wrestling with some apparition nor with the supposed pre-incarnate Christ nor with YHVH. Jacob…
What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun? Ecclesiastes 1:3 NASB What – Want to try a little exercise? Let’s see what it takes to exegetically analyze this single verse. We’ll take it a step at a time. We’ll attempt to build a model that can be used…
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24 NASB A man – Perhaps you’ve read Crossing.[1] If you haven’t, then you should. It’s a book about Jacob’s struggle for self-identity, and, of course, it’s in Scripture because it isn’t just about Jacob. It’s about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob—and you…
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24 NASB Left alone – “When you know the story to which you belong, and when you know your role in that story, you have a profound sense of purpose. That is what we are invited into: God’s ongoing work in…
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24 NASB Wrestled – On the surface, especially in translation, the story seems straightforward. Jacob is alone. He fights all night. He is defeated but tenacious. He is blessed with a new name, Israel. But nothing about this story is so…
