And he said unto him, What [is] thy name? And he said, Jacob.
27. What is thy name?] This question, concerning the name which the Questioner knows, leads up to the solemn pronunciation of Jacob’s new title.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And he said unto him, what [is] thy name?…. Which question is put, not as being ignorant of it, but in order to take occasion from it, and the change of it, to show that he had granted his request, and had blessed him, and would yet more and more:
and he said, Jacob; the name given him at his birth, and by which he had always been called, and therefore tells it him at once, not staying to ask the reason of the question.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
27. What is thy name This question was the introduction of the answer to Jacob’s petition for a blessing . The answer of Jacob was the confession of his name, Jacob, supplanter; the man who took his brother by the heel, and had been guilty of many an act of wrong . Thus to confess one’s name is to confess one’s sins, and “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness . ” 1Jn 1:8.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he said, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” And he said, “Your name will no more be called Jacob, but Israel (isra-el), for you have striven (from the verb sarah) with God and with men and have prevailed.” ’
The asking of the name in such circumstances is to seek the character of the person. Jacob meant ‘he who clutches’ and refers to the supplanting of the man Esau. Israel means ‘he who strives with God’ or ‘God strives’. This change of name marks the culmination of the change whereby ‘the grasper’ becomes the one who is determined to fulfil his purpose within the will of God. Not that he is yet perfect. But his life has taken on a new direction. He is now a man of God, ‘he who strives with God’, and his future is secure within the sovereign purposes of God, ‘God strives’. Thus is he now ‘Israel’. And this change of name is the guarantee of his future hopes.
“With God and with men.” ‘With men’ may refer to his previous tussles with Esau which have resulted in his seeming predicament, or to his struggles with Laban. But they also refer to his future struggles. The word is prophetic. The point is that he has been, and, what is equally important, will be, victor in all with God’s help because he has prevailed here in prayer.
Hosea describes the incident thus. ‘In the womb he took his brother by the heel. And in his manhood he strove with God. Yes he strove with the angel and prevailed. He wept and made supplication to him.’ (Hos 12:3-4). As often ‘the angel’ is introduced to refer to the immediacy of God.
Gen 32:29 a
‘And Jacob asked him and said, “Tell me, I pray you, your name.’
Jacob” s purpose in asking the name is so that he can worship and appreciate what God is doing in the correct way (compare Jdg 13:17-18). He is asking, ‘what are you revealing yourself to be?’ He knows that this is Yahweh, but he has never had this kind of experience before. Yahweh had been the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac. He had been El Shaddai, the Almighty God in His sovereignty over the nations in the wider covenant. What is He now to be to Jacob? He is seeking an even greater special relationship with God.
(There is no suggestion here that he is trying to get power over God by knowing His name. We must not judge relationships with Yahweh by primitive ideas. To know a name could signify a total relationship. Compare how often covenants were prefixed by ‘I am –’ followed by a name.).
Gen 32:29 b
‘And he said, “For what reason do you ask me my name?” And he blessed him there.’
God does not want to introduce to Jacob a new conception of Himself. There is no need for a change of relationship. He wants to be known by the names by which He was known of old. He wants continuation not change. He is the God of Abraham and he wants Jacob to realise that he is to continue the old covenant and purposes, not become involved in new ones as a result of God revealing more of His inner nature. He is still the God of Bethel. Jacob knows all he needs to know about Him.
He had revealed Himself as El Shaddai, the Almighty God, to Abraham when sealing the wider covenant (Gen 17:1), for then a new covenant was involved. Not that the name was new, it was the significance that was new. He had revealed Himself as Yahweh, the One Who is, and Who will be what He wants to be. He would reveal Himself as the ‘I am’, revealing the essential nature of the name Yahweh, when He delivered Israel and established His covenant with them. Again it would not be the name that was new, but the significance of the name. But Jacob is to continue the covenants given to Abraham under the names of Abraham’s God.
“And he blessed him there.” Having settled the issue of His name He now ‘blesses’ Jacob. He confirms that the covenant promises will go on through him and that his future is certain. The deceitful way in which he obtained his first blessing is now forgotten. He is a new man.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 32:27. And he said unto him, What, &c. This inquiry is made, not for information, but for the sake of giving the new name following. The words should here be rendered more properly, Gen 32:28. Thy name shall be called not only Jacob, but Israel; or Israel rather than Jacob: that is, a man prevailing with God, rather than a supplanter.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
No more Jacob, which signifies a supplanter; but Israel, which means a Prince. And do not all the spiritual seed of Jacob change their name when their nature is renewed? Isa 62:4 ; Rev 3:12 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 32:27 And he said unto him, What [is] thy name? And he said, Jacob.
Ver. 27. What is thy name? ] As if the angel should say, Thou art such a fellow as I never met withal. Titles of honour are not worthy of thee. Kneel thou down “Jacob,” rise up “ISRAEL”: Thou art a conqueror, if ever any were. Factus et teipso fortior, et Creatore tuo superior. O quam hic honos non est omnium! a
a Bucholc.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
What is thy name? Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. For He knew his name.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Reciprocal: Gen 32:29 – Wherefore Gen 35:10 – General Psa 20:1 – God Hos 12:12 – Israel
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 32:27-28. What is thy name? And he said, Jacob That is, a supplanter, as the word signifies. He said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob Or, as the words should rather be rendered, shall not only be called Jacob, but Israel, or Israel rather than Jacob, a man prevailing with God, rather than a supplanter. It is evident he was afterward called Jacob, as well as Israel, but the latter name, in his posterity, nearly swallowed up the former, who were generally termed Israel, and Israelites. The word Israel means a prince with God. He is a prince indeed that is a prince with God, and those are truly honourable that are mighty in prayer. Yet this is not all; having power with God, he shall have power with men too; having prevailed for a blessing from heaven, he shall, no doubt, prevail for Esaus favour. Accordingly the latter part of the verse, literally translated, is, Because, as a prince, thou hast prevailed with God, with men thou shalt also powerfully prevail, a translation as perfectly agreeable to the Septuagint as to the Hebrew, , , and also countenanced by the Chaldee Paraphrase, and the Vulgate. Whatever enemies we have, if we can but make God our friend, we are sufficiently safe and happy: they that, by faith, have power in heaven, have thereby as much power on earth as they have need of.