Jacob's Struggle at Peniel: A Historical and Literary Analysis
This paper analyzes the historical context and literary implications of Jacob's struggle at Peniel recounted in Genesis 32: 22-32. First, the paper explains key terms and references mentioned in the biblical narrative. In addition, references to legend and folklore are also analyzed. Then, the paper describes the oral culture of the times and the intended audience of biblical stories. Finally, the paper offers insight in the use of this story as a sermon.
The story of Jacob's struggle at Peniel is argued, by some, to be an actual historical account of a real event (Skinner 411). Still, although the physical elements of Jacob's struggle are possibly quite real, legends and folklore of the time also influenced the substance of this particular biblical narrative. In this part of the paper, critical terms are explained to encourage a more involved understanding of the historical and literary significance of Jacob's struggle with God. To elucidate upon its historical and literary context, the key terms, names and references are analyzed here.
Important to understanding this biblical narrative are the geographical locations of the sites mentioned in the text. The location of the struggle is named by Jacob as Peniel, which means, "face of God." The river, Jabbok, that and Jacob and his family crossed is identified as what is now known as the Blue River that is located in Jordan (Skinner 408-410).
Legends of antiquity serve as an appropriate backdrop for Jacob's struggle with an unnamed opponent. According to legend, spirits of the night must depart at dawn and explain, at least in part, the time frame of Jacob's struggle (Skinner 409). Indeed, Jacob's physical struggle ends with the breaking of the dawn.
As to the question of the identity of the divine opponent, it has been argued that it was God. However, research shows that, originally, the opponent r...