is by some preferred (Calvin, Rosenmiiller, nothing more than au old form of tlie same &o.). word-the sun rose upon him,-" there was Ver. 21l.-And Jacob asked him, and said, eunshine within and sunshine without. When Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. A request Judas went forth on his dark design, we indicating grant boldness on tl1e part of read, 'It was night,' John xiii. 30" (Inglis) Jncob-the boldness of faith (Heb. iv. 16 ; - and he halted upon his thigh - thus x. 19) ; and importing a desire on Jacob's carrying with him n. memorial of his conflict, part to be acquainted, not merely with tho as Paul afterwards bore about with him a desigr..ation, but with the mysterious charac- stake in his flesh (2 Cor. xii. 7). ter of the Divine ..personage with whom he Ver. 32. -Therefore the children of Israel had been contending. And he (the mysteri- eat not of the sinew which shrank,-thc ous stranger) said, Wherefore is it that thou gid hannasheh, rendered by the LXX. ro dost ask after my name 1 Cf. Judges xiii. vEupov o ivtip1CI/O'Ev, the uerve which bcc,,me 18, where the angel gives the same reply to numb, and by the Vulgatc nervus qui Manoah, adding, " seeing it is secret ; " emarcuit, the uervo which withered, is the literally, wonderful, i. c. incomprehensible long tendon or sinew nervus ischiaticus (the to mortal man ; though here the words of tendo Achillis of the Greeks) reaching from Jacob's antagonist may mean that his name, the spinal marrow to the ankle. The de- so far as it could be learnt by man, was rivation of hannasheh is unknown (Gesenius), already plain from the occurrence which had though the LXX. appear to have conuectecl taken place (Murphy, 'Speaker's Com- it with nashah, to dislocate, become feeble ; mentary,' Bush). And he blessed him there. Ainsworth with nashah, to forget (i. e. the After this, every vestige of doubt disap- sinew that forgat its place), and Fiirst "ith peared from the soul of Jacob. nashah, to be prolonged (vide '1riichaelie Ver. 30.-And Jacob called the name of Suppl.', p. 303)-which is upon the hollow the place Peniel (i. e. "the face of God." o:t the thigh, unto this day:-i. e. the dn.y Its situation must have been close to the of Moses; though the cnstom coutinues to J abbok. The reason given for its designa- the present time among the Hebrews of cut- tion follows) : for I have seen God (Elohim) ting out this sinew from the beasts they kill face to face, and my life is preserved (cf. 11nd cat (vide Ainsworth in loco); but, ac- eh. xvi. 13 ; Exod. xxiv. 11 ; miii. 20 ; cording to Michaelis (Snppl., p. 303), eo Judges vi. 22 ; xiii. 22 ; Isa. vi. 6). nemo omnino morlalium, si vel mtllo cogna- Ver. 31.-And as he passed overPenuel- tionis gradu Jaco/mm altingal, nemo (Jrcccus, this some suppose to have been the original nenw barbarus vesci t•elit-because he (i. e. the name of the place, which Jacob changed by angel) touched the hollow of .Tacob's thigh the alteration of n vowel, but it is probably in the sinew that shrank.
HOMILETICS. Vere. 24----32.-Peniel, or tlie mysterious contest. I. THE DEscnlM'ION OF THF. STRUGGLE. 1. The scene. The north bank of Jabbok (vide Exposition). 2. 'l.'he time. Night; the most suitable season for soul exercises, such as self-examination (Ps. iv. 4), meditation (Ps. ]xiii. 6), devotion (Luke vi. 12). 3. The circumstances. Jacob was alone. In solitude the human soul discovers most of itself, and enjoys most frequent interviews with God (Ps. Jxxvii. 6; Dan. x. 8; John xvi. 32). 4. J.'11e combatants. (1) Jacob: by nature the supplanter, by grnce the heir of the cove- nant; who in early life by craft had overreached his brother Esau in the matters of the family birthright and theocratic blessing, and who had now, by tho despatch of his munificent present to " my lord Esau," renounced both, so far at Jenst as renunci- ation was possible, i. e. in respect of materinl and temporal advantages. (2) A man, i. e. one who in outward appearance wore tho form of a mnn, though in reality" the visible revealer of the invisible God" (Dclitzsch); the angel of Johov11h, who hncl previously appeared in like guise to Abraham at Mamre (eh. xviii. 1), and who subsequently, in the fulness of the times, incarnated himself as the \Vorel made flesh (John i. 14). 5. 'l.'lie combat. (1) Its commencement. When precisely thi!I mystc,rious conflict began, and how Jacob wus engaged at the moment of tho unknown wrestler's approach, are points upon which the narrative is silent, though it is probable that Jacob was employed in fervent supplication, and that, without knowing how, he suddenly became conscious of being involved in u close phpical etrugglo with a poweiful nntagonist. Perhaps this was designed to suggest that God's approaches to the praying soul are mostly sudden and inexplicable ( cf. John iii. 8). (2) Its character. 'l'hongh unque~tionably depicted in the narrative as a THR BOOK OF GENESIS. [er:. xx:m. 24-39.