When he saw that he didn’t prevail against him, the man touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was strained as he wrestled.
Parallel Translations
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When he saw that he didn’t prevail against him, the man touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was strained as he wrestled.
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And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
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(32-26) And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him.
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Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Genesis 32:25 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, a thorn in the flesh was given to me: a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively. Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me. He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.
- Hosea 12:3-4 In the womb he took his brother by the heel; and in his manhood he contended with God. Indeed, he struggled with the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication to him. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with us,
- Genesis 32:32 Therefore the children of Israel don’t eat the sinew of the hip, which is on the hollow of the thigh, to this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.
- Isaiah 41:14 Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 45:11 Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel and his Maker says: “You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons, and you command me concerning the work of my hands!
- Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that you don’t enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
- Genesis 19:22 Hurry, escape there, for I can’t do anything until you get there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
- Numbers 14:13-14 Moses said to Yahweh, “Then the Egyptians will hear it; for you brought up this people in your might from among them. They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you Yahweh are among this people; for you Yahweh are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them, and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.
- Psalms 30:6-7 As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” You, Yahweh, when you favored me, made my mountain stand strong; but when you hid your face, I was troubled.
- Matthew 15:22-28 Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!” But he answered her not a word. His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.” But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.” But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 25. And when he saw that he prevailed not…
25. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him. Here is described to us the victory of Jacob, which, however, was not gained without a wound. In saying that the wrestling angel, or God, wished to retire from the contest, because he saw he should not prevail, Moses speaks after the manner of men. For we know that God, when he descends from his majesty to us, is wont to transfer the properties of human nature to himself. The Lord knew with certainty the event of the contest, before he came down to engage in it; he had even already determined what he would do: but his knowledge is here put for the experience of the thing itself.
He touched the hollow of his thigh. Though Jacob gains the victory; yet the angel strikes him on the thigh, from which cause he was lame even to the end of his life. And although the vision was by night, yet the Lord designed this mark of it to continue through all his days, that it might thence appear not to have been a vain dream. Moreover, by this sign it is made manifest to all the faithful, that they can come forth conquerors in their temptations, only by being injured and wounded in the conflict. For we know that the strength of God is made perfect in our weakness, in order that our exaltation may be joined with humility; for if our own strength remained entire, and there were no injury or dislocation produced, immediately the flesh would become haughty, and we should forget that we had conquered by the help of God. But the wound received, and the weakness which follows it, compel us to be modest.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For God assaileth his with the one hand, and…
For God assaileth his with the one hand, and upholdeth them with the other.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed…
Gen 32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
Ver. 25. And when he saw that he prevailed not.] He, that is, "the angel" (Christ) "that redeemed Jacob from all evil," {Gen 48:16} and here held him up with the one hand as he strove against him with the other; and yielded himself overcome by the patriarch’s prayers and tears. Deus ipse, qui nullis contra se viribus superari potest, precibus vincitur , saith Jerome.
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He touched the hollow of his thigh.] That, if he would needs have the blessing, he might have somewhat with it, {a} that might keep him humble, not ascribing the victory to his own strength. Pride is a weed that will grow out of any ground (like misletoe that will grow upon any tree); but, for most part, from the best. Like air in all bodies, it will have a being in every soul, and creeps into every action, either in the beginning, proceeding, or conclusion. Now therefore it is God’s care to cure his people of this dangerous disease, as he did Jacob here, and afterwards Paul; {2Co 12:7} who, if he had not been buffeted, "had been exalted," and carried higher in conceit than ever he was in his ecstasy.
{a} Victoria non fit sine vulnere: luxat nobis femur: immittit stimulum carni, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Not through impotency, but in design, the angel suffered…
Not through impotency, but in design, the angel suffered himself to be conquered, to encourage Jacob’s faith and hope against the approaching danger.
The hollow of his thigh, the joint of his hip-bone, or rather the hollow in which that joint was.
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The hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, which was done that Jacob might see that it was not his own strength, but only God’s grace, which got him this victory, and could give him the deliverance which he hoped for.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when he saw that he prevailed not against…
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him,.... That he, the man, or the Son of God in the form of man, prevailed not against Jacob, by casting him to the ground, or causing him to desist and leave off wrestling with him; not because he could not, but because he would not, being willing to encourage the faith of Jacob against future trials and exercises, and especially under his present one: besides, such were the promises that this divine Person knew were made to Jacob, and so strong was Jacob's faith at this time in pleading those promises in prayer to God, that he could not do otherwise, consistent with the purposes and promises of God, than suffer himself to be prevailed over by him:
he touched the hollow of his thigh; the hollow part of the thigh or the groin, or the hollow place in which the thigh bone moves, and is said to have the form of the hollow of a man's hand recurved:
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and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him; that is, the huckle bone, or the thigh bone, was moved out of the hollow place in which it was: this was done to let Jacob know that the person he wrestled with was superior to him, and could easily have overcome him, and obliged him to cease wrestling with him if he would; and that the victory he got over him was not by his own strength, but by divine assistance, and by the sufferance of the himself he wrestled with; so that he had nothing to boast of: and this shows the truth and reality of this conflict; that it was not visionary, but a real fact, as well as it teaches the weakness and infirmities of the saints, that attend them in their spiritual conflicts. The word used in this and the preceding verse comes from a root which signifies dust; it being usual with wrestlers to raise up the dust with their feet when they strive together, as Kimchi (g) remarks, as well as it was common with the ancients to wrestle in dust, and sand (h); and hence the phrase "descendere in arenam", combatants were called "arenarii".
(g) Sepher Shorash rad (h) "Fulva luctantur arena." --Virgil.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The angel prevailed not against him - That is,…
The angel prevailed not against him - That is, this discouragement did not shake his faith, nor silence his prayer. It was not in his own strength that he wrestled, nor by his own strength that he prevails; but by strength derived from heaven. That of Job illustrates this, Job xxiii, 6. Will he plead against me with his great power? No; had the angel done so, Jacob had been crushed; but he would put strength in me: and by that strength Jacob had power over the angel, Hosea xii, 3. The angel put out Jacob's thigh, to shew him what he could do, and that it was God he was wrestling with, for no man could disjoint his thigh with a touch. Some think that Jacob felt little or no pain from this hurt; it is probable be did not, for he did not so much as halt 'till the struggle was over, ver. 31, and if so, that was an evidence of a divine touch indeed, which wounded and healed at the same time.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 25. The hollow of Jacob's thigh was out…
Verse 25. The hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint] What this implies is difficult to find out; it is not likely that it was complete luxation of the thigh bone. It may mean no more than he received a stroke on the groin, not a touch; for the Hebrew word naga often signifies to smite with violence, which stroke, even if comparatively slight, would effectually disable him for a time, and cause him to halt for many hours, if not for several days. I might add that in this place-the groin, a blow might be of fatal consequence; but as the angel gave it only as a proof of his power, and to show that he could not prevail because he would not, hence the blow was only disabling, without being dangerous; and he was probably cured by the time the sun arose.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 32:25. He prevailed not against him — The…
Gen 32:25. He prevailed not against him — The angel suffered himself to be conquered, to encourage Jacob’s faith and hope against the approaching danger: nay, he even imparted strength to him to maintain the conflict. For it was not in his own strength that Jacob wrestled, nor by his own strength that he prevailed, but by strength derived from Heaven, by which alone he had power over the angel, Hos 12:3. Jacob’s thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him — This was to humble him, and make him sensible of his own weakness, that he might ascribe his victory, not to his own power, but to the grace of God, and might be encouraged to depend on that grace for the deliverance he was so much concerned to obtain. It is probable Jacob felt little or no pain from this hurt, for he did not so much as halt till the struggle was over, Gen 32:31. If so, it evidenced itself to be a divine touch indeed, wounding and healing at the same time.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Sinew, near the coxendix, or huckel-bone. (Du Hamel) This…
Sinew, near the coxendix, or huckel-bone. (Du Hamel) This was to convince Jacob, how easily he could have gained the victory over him; and to make him remember, that it was not simply a vision, but a real wrestling. (Tirinus)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 25. When he saw that he prevailed not —…
25. When he saw that he prevailed not — That is, when the angel saw this. Let us not marvel at such an anthropomorphism, but remember that the angel of Jehovah yielded to Abraham’s intercession; ate with him like a man; found Hagar in the desert; led Lot by the hand out of Sodom, and said, “I cannot do any thing till thou escape.” These self-limitations of the Divine One are manifesting themselves continually through all the history of his revealing himself to the chosen people, and we are not competent to say that he could have revealed himself as well in any other way.
Touched the hollow of his thigh — The socket of the hip-joint, which is here called caph, (כŠ,) from its resembling the hollow palm of the hand. The angel’s touch dislocated this joint; and gave Jacob to know that the mighty wrestler could at any moment disable him, and in so far contending with him had only been graciously condescending to his weakness. “The reason of this act of the angel was very probably lest Jacob should be puffed up by the ‘abundance of the revelations.’ He might think that of his own strength, and not by grace, he had prevailed with God; as St. Paul had the thorn in the flesh sent to him lest he ‘should be exalted above measure.’ 2Co_12:7.” — Speaker’s Commentary.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 25. he saw] In the narrative, as we have…
25. he saw] In the narrative, as we have it, these words refer to the mysterious combatant with whom Jacob wrestled. But the omission of the subject both in this and the subsequent clause, in the Hebrew as well as in the English, leaves the meaning ambiguous. That it was Jacob, and not “the man,” who by some trick of wrestling got the mastery, may have been the version of the story referred to in Hos_12:4, “he had power over the angel, and prevailed.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (25) The hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of…
(25) The hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint.—The hollow is in the Hebrew the pan or socket into which the end of the thigh bone is inserted, and the verb more probably signifies that it was sprained from the over-tension of the muscles in the wrestling. But, in spite of his sprained tendons, Jacob still resisted, and could not be thrown down, and the angel, unable to gain any further advantage, at last acknowledges Jacob’s superiority, and at sunrise craves permission to depart.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And when he (the unknown wrestler) saw that he…
And when he (the unknown wrestler) saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched not struck (Knobel)the hollow of his thigh (literally, the socket of the hip); and the hollow of Jacob"s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him literally, in his wrestling with him.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 32:25 he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out…
32:25 he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket: Jacob, the deceitful fighter, could fight no more. When his assailant fought him as man to man, Jacob could hold his own. But like so many of his own rivals, he had now more than met his match.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.