Genesis — Chapter 32

AND JACOB WENT ON THE JOURNEY HE HAD BEGUN: AND THE ANGELS OF GOD MET HIM. — Two armies of angels at Mahanaim greet Jacob on his return: one from Mesopotamia, one from Canaan — signifying angelic guardianship both of his departure and his arrival, the providential handoff of guardian angels between lands. Lapide develops at length the doctrine of guardian angels of nations and territories (following Daniel 10:13, 20).

AND JACOB WAS LEFT ALONE: AND THERE WRESTLED A MAN WITH HIM UNTIL MORNING. — Jacob's wrestling with the angel: one of the most mysterious passages of Scripture. The \"man\" is identified by Hosea (12:4) as an angel; the event prefigures Christ's Incarnation, in which God wrestles with and humbles Himself to our humanity. Lapide expounds five interpretations: (1) a corporeal wrestling (literal); (2) an intellectual vision (Augustine); (3) a supernatural dream; (4) a mystical experience; (5) the most probable: a real wrestling between Jacob and an angel taking a human body. The angel \"prevails not\" = Jacob's perseverance in prayer overcomes even divine resistance. \"I will not let thee go unless thou bless me\" = the supreme act of persevering prayer. \"Your name shall be called Israel: because if thou hast been strong against God, how much more shalt thou prevail against men?\" Israel = \"he who wrestles with God\" or \"he who prevails with God.\" Jacob limped for the rest of his life — the mark of divine wrestling, a sign of humility and the memory of the grace received.