Jacob is alone on the night before he is going to meet his brother. Suddenly, a man appears and wrestles with him. Ramban explains the deeper meaning behind this strange event.
The Verses – Genesis 32:25-26
25 (KJV 24). And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the dawn.
26 (KJV 25). And when he saw that he could not overcome him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
Before we go any further, let’s clear up some confusion about the numbering of these verses.
It turns out there are differences in how verses are numbered in Jewish bibles compared to the King James Version and others. In Jewish bibles, Genesis 31 has 54 verses and Genesis 32 has 33 verses. By way of contrast, the KJV counts the first verse of Genesis 32 as the end of Genesis 31.
- Hebrew Genesis 32:1 in KJV is 31:55
- Hebrew Genesis 32:2-33 in KJV is 32:1-32
In this article I am discussing Genesis 32:25-26 (or in KJV 32:24-25) about the “man” who wrestled with Jacob.
Who Was This Man?
Ramban bases his commentary on the phrase “and when he saw that he could not overcome him.”
He begins by quoting a verse:
20. Bless the Lord, O you His angels, you mighty ones, who do His word, listening to the voice of His word!
Ramban teaches us several things by quoting this verse.
First, he accepts the Jewish tradition that the “man” who wrestled with Jacob was an angel appearing in human form. (Rashi, based on a midrash, writes that this was the guardian angel of Esau. Ramban does not state this explicitly, but hints at the idea later.)
Second, we learn from Psalms that angels are “mighty ones” [Hebrew: giborei koach]. The Hebrew could also be translated as “mighty warriors” or “powerful warriors” or “mighty in strength.”
Since angels are intrinsically stronger than flesh and blood, this angel should have been able to defeat Jacob. Why wasn’t the angel successful?
That brings us to the third point: angels only do what God has commanded them to do.
This angel was not permitted to defeat and destroy Jacob. However, he was given permission to wound him.
He Touched the Hollow of His Thigh
The angel was given permission to touch Jacob’s thigh and wound him. As the verse continues: and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint.
Jacob was still able to walk, but was noticeably hampered.
32 (KJV 31). And as he [Jacob] passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he limped upon his thigh.
Deeds of the Fathers
There is a Jewish tradition that the events that happened to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are a foreshadowing of what will happen to their offspring.
This concept is often called “the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children” [Hebrew: ma’aseh avot siman l’banim].
One of the early mentions of this concept (using different wording) is in Midrash Tanchuma:
The Holy One, blessed be He, gave Abraham a sign that whatever happened to him would happen to his descendants.
Ramban discusses this concept in his commentary on Genesis 12:6:
6. And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem …
Ramban explains:
and Abram passed through the land. I will tell you a principle by which you will understand all the coming portions of Scripture concerning Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is indeed a great matter which our Rabbis mentioned briefly, saying: “Whatever has happened to the patriarchs is a sign to the children.” It is for this reason that the verses narrate at great length the account of the journeys of the patriarchs, the digging of the wells, and other events. Now someone may consider them unnecessary and of no useful purpose, but in truth they all serve as a lesson for the future: when an event happens to any one of the three patriarchs, that which is decreed to happen to his children can be understood.
Ramban also elaborated on this idea in his introduction to Genesis 32.
There is yet in this section a hint for future generations, for everything that happened to our father [Jacob] with his brother Esau will constantly occur to us with Esau’s children…
A Sign for the Future
So it’s not surprising that Ramban views Genesis 32:26 (KJV 32:25) as another instance of “the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children.”
He writes, based on Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 77:3, that the angel touching the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was a hint of the persecution that his descendants would face.
Who is going to be persecuting Jacob’s offspring? Though there are many candidates, in this section Ramban is looking at the persecution of the Jewish people by Rome.
According to Jewish tradition, Esau is considered the progenitor of Rome and what we would generally call “Western Civilization.”
In particular, the midrash mentions the persecution of the Jews by the Romans after the destruction of the Temple.
he touched the hollow of his thigh – he touched the righteous men and women, the prophets and prophetesses, who are destined to come from him. Who is that? This is the generation of religious persecution.
Ramban also quotes another midrash that describes one of the tortures the Romans inflicted on some of their victims:
Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said: If a person would say to me: Give your life for the sanctification of the name of the Holy One blessed be He, I will give it, but only if they kill me immediately. But, in a generation of persecution, I would not be able to bear it. What did they do in the generation of persecution? They brought iron balls and heated them in fire and placed them under their armpits and would take their lives.
Ramban concludes this section by commenting that in other generations the descendants of Esau / Rome did even worse things to their victims. There is no need to elaborate on those pogroms and tortures in this article.
The Positive Message
Ramban ends his comments on Genesis 32:26 on a positive note.
Despite the persecutions and tortures that Jacob’s descendants may encounter, they will endure them.
And, eventually, the persecutions will end.
This is hinted at just a few verses later.
18. And Jacob came whole [Hebrew: shaleim] to the city of Shechem …
Just as Jacob endured his encounter with the angel and recovered, so too will his descendants be able to endure throughout the ages.
Further Reading
Click here for a summary of Parshat Vayishlach.
Why did Jacob bow when he met his brother?
“…so too will his descendants be able to endure…”. Even red hot iron balls placed under armpits! ( And worse, as we sadly know). Excellent commentary, Reb Shlomo