Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hosea 12:4
Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him [in] Bethel, and there he spoke with us;
4. he had power over ] Rather, he contended with.
he wept, &c.] (The subject is Jacob, not the angel.) This feature is not given in Genesis 32; it is however well adapted to the hortatory object of Hosea. The Septuagint has, ‘they wept’, &c.
he found him in Beth-el ] (The subject is Jehovah.) Two visions of Jacob’s are recorded in explanation of the name Bethel (Gen 28:10-22; Gen 35:9-15). They proceed from different documents, and either of them may have been current in the circle to which Hosea belonged; the latter is of course pure conjecture. The Septuagint strangely has, ‘They found me in the house of On’ (i.e. Aven or Beth-aven instead of Bethel, comp. Hos 4:15).
there he spake with us ] i.e. ‘in the loins of Jacob’ (Horsley, &c.); comp. the twofold use of ‘Israel’ in Hos 12:12-13. But this spoils the consistency of the historical picture. The Peshito, Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and probably the Septuagint ( ), read with him, i.e. with Jacob. (This is better than assimilating the pronoun in the preceding clause, with a few Hebrew MSS.)
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He wept and made supplication unto Him – Jacobs weeping is not mentioned by Moses. Hosea then knew more than Moses related. He could not have gathered it out of Moses, for Moses relates the words of earnest supplication; yet the tone is that of one, by force of earnest energy, wresting, as it were, the blessing from God, not of one weeping. Yet Hosea adds this, in harmony with Moses. For vehement desires and earnest petitions frequently issue in tears. To implore means to ask with tears . Jacob, learning, that God Himself thus deigned to deal with him, might well out of amazement and wonder, out of awful respect to Him, and in earnest desire of a blessing, pour out his supplication with tears. Herein he became an image of Him, Who, in the days of His flesh, offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared Heb 5:7.
: This which he saith, he prevailed, subjoining, he wept and made supplication, describes the strength of penitents, for in truth they are strong by weeping earnestly and praying perseveringly for the forgiveness of sins, according to that, From the days of John the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Whosoever so imitates the patriarch Jacob, who wrestled with the Angel, and, as a conqueror, extorted a blessing from him, he, of whatever nation he be, is truly Jacob, and deserveth to be called Israel. : Yea, herein is the unconquerable might of the righteous, this his wondrous wrestling, herein his glorious victories, in glowing longings, assiduous prayers, joyous weeping. Girt with the might of holy orison, they strive with God, they wrestle with His judgment, and will not be overcome, until they obtain from His goodness all they desire, and extort it, as it were, by force, from His hands.
He found him in Bethel – This may mean either that God found Jacob, or that Jacob found God; which are indeed one and the same thing, since we find God, when He has first found us. God found, i. e., made Himself known to Jacob twice in this place; first, when he was going toward Haran, when he saw the vision of the ladder and the angels of God ascending and descending, and the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham and the God of Isaac; and Jacob first called the place Bethel; secondly, on his return, when God spake with him, giving him the name of Israel. Both revelations of God to Jacob are probably included in the words, He found him in Bethel, since, on both occasions, God did find him, and come to him, and he found God. In Bethel, where God found Jacob, Israel deserted Him, setting up the worship of the calves; yea, he deserted God the more there, because of Gods mercy to his forefather, desecrating to false worship the place which had been consecrated by the revelation of the true God; and choosing it the rather, because it had been so consecrated.
And there He spake with us – For what He said to Jacob, He said not to Jacob only, nor for Jacobs sake alone, but, in him, He spake to all his posterity, both the children of his body and the children of his faith. Thus it is said, There did we rejoice in Him Psa 66:6, i. e., we, their posterity, rejoiced in God there, where He so delivered our forefathers, and, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham, for he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him Heb 7:9-10. And Paul saith, that what was said to Abraham, therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness, was not written for his sake alone, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead Rom 4:23, Rom 4:4. There He spake with us, how, in our needs, we should seek and find Him. In loneliness, apart from distractions, in faith, rising in proportion to our tears, in persevering prayer, in earnestness, which clings so fast to God, that if God would cast us into Hell, He should, as one said Himself go with us, so should Hell not be Hell to us, God is sought and found.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. He had power over the Angel] Who represented the invisible Jehovah.
He wept, and made supplication] He entreated with tears that God would bless him; and he prevailed. The circumstance of his weeping is not mentioned in Genesis.
He found him in Beth-el] It was there that God made those glorious promises to Jacob relative to his posterity. See Ge 28:13-15.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He; your famous progenitor of whom you boast.
Had power; behaved himself as a prince with God, Gen 32:28.
Over; with: the angel was willing to be conquered, or Jacob could not have gotten the victory.
The angel; called God, Hos 12:3, and, Hos 12:5, is Jehovah, Lord of hosts. He was no created angel, but the uncreated Angel Christ, the Messiah, eternal God by nature and essence, angel by office and voluntary undertaking.
And prevailed; got the victory, went out of the field a conqueror, but not by such arms and methods as you use. You are conquered by man because of your sins, he conquered with God by faith and prayer.
He, not the angel, as some through mistake, but your father Jacob,
wept: by this we know he prayed with tears, though the story say not so, with sense of his own unworthiness, with earnestness for the mercy he desired, and apprehensive of the majesty of him with whom he wrestled. But you, quite contrary, proud as if worthy, regardless of the best part of the blessing, and earnest only for the meaner part, seek it not of God, but idols.
And made supplication unto him: it is Christ who is here intended; it was no mere creature, Jacob might not have prayed to such, but it was the Creator of angels and the Redeemer of man, the blessed Jesus, to whom every knee ought to bow, Phi 2:10.
He, God,
found him, Jacob, full of weariness, fears, and solicitude on his journey to Laban, Gen 28:12,20, when prayers obtained a blessing; but with this, and more directly, when on his return after this wrestling bout, Gen 35:1, &c., God appeared to him, Gen 35:7-15, and blessed him. Beth-el; formerly called Luz, but by Jacob new named and called Beth-el, Gen 28:19.
There he, God,
spake, renewed his promise and confirmed the blessing, with us: by the current of the words in their grammatical order it should be,
he spake to him; but it is, not without good reason, changed to the plural first person, us, as posterity were in Jacobs loins, and blessed with him. Yet more, where God appeared to Jacob he commanded him to build an altar there to God, to restore religion and reform his family from idolatry, which he did, Gen 35:4. But you, children of this Jacob by natural descent, are of another and far different humour; though you have been called and exhorted to leave your idols, yet these two hundred years you have kept them, and will, I see, keep them: this is your sin, and in it you are obstinate, and I will punish such a Jacob as you.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. the angelthe uncreatedAngel of the Covenant, as God the Son appears in the Old Testament(Mal 3:1).
made supplication Ge32:26: “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”
he found himThe angelfound Jacob, when he was fleeing from Esau into Syria: the Lordappearing to him “in Beth-el” (Gen 28:11-19;Gen 35:1). What a sad contrast,that in this same Beth-el now Israel worships the golden calves!
there he spake with us“withus,” as being in the loins of our progenitor Jacob(compare Ps 66:6, “They .. . we;” Heb 7:9;Heb 7:10). What God there spoketo Jacob appertains to us. God’s promises to him belong to all hisposterity who follow in the steps of his prayerful faith.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed,…. This is repeated in different words, not only for the confirmation of it, it being a very extraordinary thing, and difficult of belief; but to direct to the history here referred to, where the person Jacob prevailed over is called a man, and here the angel; and so Josephus u calls him a divine Person; not a created angel, not Michael, as the Rabbins say, unless the Messiah is meant by him; nor Jacob’s guardian angel, as Kimchi, every man being thought by some to have one; and much less Esau’s evil angel, that was against Jacob, as Jarchi and Abarbinel; for of him he would never have sought nor expected a blessing; but an uncreated Angel, the Son of God, the same that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, and that redeemed Jacob from all evil,
Ge 48:16; called an Angel, being so not by nature, for he is superior to angels in both his natures, divine and human; but by office, being sent to reveal the will of God, and to do the work of God in the redemption and salvation of men; the same that is called the Angel of the great council in the Greek version of Isa 9:6; and the Angel of God’s presence, Isa 63:9; and the Angel or messenger of the covenant, Mal 3:1; the phrases used denote, as before, the power and prevalence Jacob had with this divine Person in prayer; whereby he obtained the blessing of him, even deliverance from his brother Esau, as well as others respecting him and his posterity;
he wept, and made supplication unto him; not the angel, entreating Jacob to let him go, as Jarchi and Kimchi, and so some Christian interpreters; who think that an angel in human form may be said to weep, as well as to eat and drink; and the rather, since this angel was not the conqueror, but the conquered; and since Christ, in the days of his flesh, both prayed and wept, and shed tears; but the case here is different; and though he was prevailed over, it was through his own condescension and goodness: but rather Jacob is meant, as Abarbinel and others; who wept not on account of the angel’s touching his thigh, and the pain that might put him to; for he was of a more heroic spirit than to weep for that, who had endured so much hardship in Laban’s service, in heat and cold; and besides, notwithstanding this, he kept wrestling with him, and afterwards walked, though haltingly: but he wept either because he could not get out the name of the person he wrestled with; or rather the tears he shed were for the blessing he sought of him; for it is joined with his making supplication, and is expressive of the humble, yet ardent, affectionate, fervent, and importunate request he made to obtain it; and here we have another proof of the deity of Christ, in that supplication was made to him, and he is here represented as the object of that part of religious worship, prayer, as he often is in the New Testament. This circumstance is not expressed in
Ge 32:1, though it may be gathered from what is there said; however, the prophet had it by divine inspiration; and the truth of it is not to be doubted of, being not at all inconsistent with, but quite agreeable to, that history;
he found him [at] Bethel; either the angel found Jacob in Bethel, as he did more than once, both before and after this time,
Ge 28:12; it is good to be in Bethel, in the house of God; happy are those that dwell there, and are found there living and dying, doing the will and work of God there: or rather Jacob found God or the angel in Bethel; God is to be found in his own house, there he comes and blesses with his gracious presence; here Christ the Angel of his presence is; here he meets with his people, and manifests himself unto them. There is in the words a tacit reflection on Israel, or the ten tribes, that bore the name of Jacob; the patriarch found God in Bethel, Christ the Angel of the Lord; but now, instead of him, there was a calf set up in this place, Israel worshipped; and therefore it was called Bethaven, the house of an idol, or iniquity, instead of Bethel, the house of God;
and there he spake with us; not with Esau and his angel, concerning Isaac’s blessing of Jacob, as Jarchi; nor with Jacob and his angel, as the father of Kimchi; nor with the prophet, and with Amos, to reprove Israel there for the worship of the calves, as Kimchi himself; but with all the Israelites, of whom the prophet was one; who were then in the loins of Jacob, when he conversed with God, and God with him, at Bethel: or, as Saadiah interprets it, “for us” for our sakes, on our account; or “concerning us”; concerning the multiplication of Jacob’s posterity, and the giving the land of Canaan to them, as the Lord did at both times he appeared to Jacob in Bethel; see
Ge 28:14; and it is in the house of God, where Christ is as a son, that he speaks with and to his people, even in his word and ordinances there.
u Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 20. sect. 2.)
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And since this was especially worthy of being remembered, he repeats, that he had power with the angel, and prevailed. But we have already said how Jacob prevailed not indeed of himself, but because God had so distributed his power, that the greater part was in Jacob himself. I am therefore wont, when I speak of the wrestling and of the daily contests with which God exercises the godly, to adduce this similitude, — That God fights with us with his left hand, and defends us with his right hand, that is, he assails us in a weak manner, (so to speak,) and at the same time stretches forth his right hand to defend us: he displays, in the latter instance, his greater power, that we may become victorious in the struggle. And this mode of speaking, though at the first view it seems harsh, does yet wonderfully set forth the grace and goodness of God, inasmuch as he deigns to humble himself for our sake, so as to choose to concede to us the praise of victory; not indeed that we may become proud of ourselves, but that he may be thus more glorified, when he prefers exercising his power in defending us rather than in overwhelming us, which he could do with one breath of his mouth. For he has no need of making any effort to reduce us to nothing: if he only chooses to blow on the whole human race, the whole world would in a moment be extinguished. But the Lord fights with us, and at the same time suffers us not to be crushed; nay, he raises us up on high, and, as I have already said, concedes to us the victory. Let us now go on.
The Prophet adds, that he wept and entreated: He wept, he says, and made supplication unto him Some explain this clause of the angel; but I know not whether weeping was suitable to him. The saying may be indeed defended that the angel was as it were a suppliant, when he yielded up the conquest to the holy man; for it was the same as though he who owns himself unequal in a contest were to throw himself on the ground. Then they explain weeping thus, “The angel entreated the patriarch when he said, ‘Let me go;’ and this was a confession of victory.” The sense would then be, that the patriarch Jacob did not gain any ordinary thing when he came forth a conqueror in the struggle; for God was in a manner the suppliant, for he conceded to him the name and praise of a conqueror. But I prefer explaining this of the patriarch, and to do so is, in my judgement, more suitable. It is not indeed said that Jacob wept; that is, it is not, I own, stated distinctly and expressly by Moses; but weeping may be taken for that humility which the faithful ever bring to the presence of God: and then weeping was meet for the patriarch; for he so gained the victory in the combat, that he did not depart without grief and loss, inasmuch as we know that his leg was put out of joint, and that his thigh was dislocated so that he was lame all his life. Jacob then obtained the victory, and there triumphed with God’s approbation: but yet he departed not whole, for God had left him lame. He felt then no small grief, since this weakness in his body continued through life. Hence weeping did not ill become the holy man, who was humbled in the struggle, though he carried away the palm of victory.
And this ought to be carefully noticed; for here the Prophet meets all calumnies, when he so moderates the sentence, that he takes away nothing from God and his glory, though he thus splendidly adorns the victory of the patriarch. He was then a prince with God; he prevailed also, he became a conqueror, — but how? He yet wept and entreated him; which means, that there was no cause for pride that he carried away the palm of victory from the contest, but that God led him to humility even by the dislocation of his thigh or leg: and so he entreated him. The praying of Jacob is related by Moses, which he made, when he asked to be blessed. But the less, as the Apostle says, is blessed by the greater, (Heb 7:7.) Then Jacob did not exalt himself, as blind men do, who claim merit to themselves; but he prayed to God, and asked to be blessed by Him, who owned himself to be overcome. And this ought to be carefully observed, especially the additional circumstance; for we hence learn that there is no cause why they who are proved by temptations should flee away from God, though our flesh indeed seeks ease, and desires to be spared.
But when a temptation is at hand, we withdraw ourselves, and there is no one who would not gladly make a truce, and also hide himself at a distance from the presence of God. Inasmuch then as we desire God to be far from us, when he comes forth as an antagonist to try our faith, this praying of Jacob ought to be remembered; for though he had his leg disjointed, though he was worn out with weariness, he did not yet withdraw himself, he did not wish the departure of the angel, but retained him as it were by force: “Thou shalt bless me; I would rather contend with thee, and be wholly consumed, than to let thee go before thou blesses me.” We hence see that we ought to seek the presence of God; though he may severely try us, though we may suffer much, though our strength fail, though we may be made lame through life, we ought not yet to shun the presence of God, but rather embrace him with both arms, and retain him as it were by force; for it is much better to groan under our burden, and to feel his power who is above us, than to continue free from toil, and to rot in our pleasures, as they do whom God forsakes. And we see how much such an indulgence ought to be dreaded by us; for unless we are daily sharpened by various temptations, we immediately gather rust and other evils. It is therefore necessary, in order that we may continue in a sound state, that our contests should be daily renewed: and hence I have said, that we ought to seek the presence of God, however severe the wresting may be.
It follows, He found him in Bethel To remove every ambiguity, I would render it, “In Bethel he had found him.” It is indeed a verb in the future tense; but it is certain that the Prophet speaks of the past. But when we take the past tense, ambiguity in the language still remains; for some thus understand the place, that God had afterwards found Jacob in Bethel, or, that Jacob had found God; that is, when the name of Israel was confirmed to him, after the destruction of the town of Sichem; for, to console his grief, God appeared to him there again. They then explain this of a second vision in that place. But it seems to me that the Prophet had another thing in view, even this, that God had already found Jacob in Bethel, that he had met him when he fled to Syria, and went away through the fear of his brother. It was then for the first time that God appeared to his servant, and exhorted him to faithfulness: he promised to him a safe return to his own country. The Prophet then means, that Jacob gained the victory, because God had long before began to embrace him in his love, and also testified his love when he had manifested himself to him in Bethel. Hence he found him in Bethel. This might indeed be referred to Jacob, “He found him in Bethel;” that is, he found God. But as it is immediately added, There he spake with us, and as this cannot be applied to any other than to God himself, I am inclined to add also, that God had found Jacob in Bethel. And the Prophet commends to us again the gratuitous goodness of God towards Jacob, because he deigned to meet him on his way, and to show that he was the leader of Jacob on his journey: for he did not think previously that God was nigh him, as he says himself,
‘
This is the house of God, and the gate of heaven, and I knew it not,’ (Gen 28:16.)
When therefore the holy man thought himself to be as it were cast away by God, and destitute of all aid, when he was alone and without any hope, God is said to have found him; for of his own good will he presented himself to him, when the holy man hoped no such thing, nor conceived such a thing in his mind. Hence God had already found his servant in Bethel; and there he spake, or (that the same strain may be continued) had spoken to him.
There he had spoken with us. Some take עמנו, omnu, for עמו, omu (87), he had spoken with him; and they do this, being forced by necessity; for they find no sense in the words that God spake with us in Bethel. But there is no need to change the words contrary to rules of grammar. Others who dare not to depart from the words of the Prophet, imagine a sense wholly different. Some say, “He spake with us there;” that is, “The Lord speaks by me, Hosea, and by Amos, who is my colleague and friend: for we denounce on you, by his authority, utter ruin and destruction; and God has made known to us at Bethel whatever we bring to you.” But how strained is this, all must see: this is to wrest Scripture, and not to explain it. Others also speak still more frigidly: “There he spake with us,” as though the angel had said, “Wait, the Lord will speak with us; I have called thee Israel, but the Lord will at length come, who will ratify what I now say to thee:” as if he was not indeed the eternal God; but this he immediately expresses when he says Jehovah is his memorial, Jehovah of hosts But thus the Jews trifle, who are like irrational beings whenever there is a reference made to Christ.
There does not seem, however, to be any great reason why we should toil much about the Prophet’s words: and some even of the Rabbis (not to deprive them of their just praise) have observed this to be the meaning, That the Lord had so spoken with Jacob, that what he said belonged to the whole people. For doubtless whatever God then promised to his servant appertained to the whole body of the people, and all his posterity. Why then do interpreters so greatly torment themselves, when it is evident that God spake through the person of one man with all the posterity of Abraham? And this agrees best with the context; for the Prophet now applies, so to speak, to the whole people what he had hitherto recorded of the patriarch Jacob. That they might not then think that the history of one man was related, he says that it belongs to all. How so? Because the Lord had so spoken with holy Jacob, that his voice ought to resound in the ears of all. For what was said to the holy man? Did God only reveal himself to him? Did he promise to be a Father only to him? Nay, he adopted his whole seed, and extended his favour to all his posterity. Since then he had so spoken to all the Israelites, they ought now to be more ashamed of their defection, inasmuch as they had so much degenerated from their father, with whom they were yet connected. For there was a sacred bond of unity between Jacob and his children, since God embraced them all in his love, and favoured them all with his adoption. We now perceive the mind of the Prophet. Let us proceed —
(87) This is an instance in which critics, from not understanding the drift of a passage, have suggested emendations, which seem plausible, and yet take away an important meaning, as we shall see in the present case, from Calvin’s explanation. Horsley takes the same view with Calvin, though Newcome does not. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Hos 12:4. Yea, he had power over the angel, &c. Concerning this translation, see the notes on Genesis 32. Houbigant reads the last clause of the verse, And there he spake with him: even Jehovah God of Hosts, Hos 12:5.: therefore the angel with whom Jacob wrestledthe angel of the covenantis Jehovah God of Hosts.
He wept He had wept. Of weeping, Archbishop Newcome says, “we read nothing in Genesis 32.” Certainly we read nothing of Jacob’s weeping upon the occasion of the wrestling or colluctation at Peniel. But as the weeping and supplicating stand connected here with the finding of God at Beth-el, it is evident that this weeping and supplicating were previous to any meeting with God at Bethel; consequently, previous to Jacob’s first meeting with God at Beth-el. Now, previous to the first meeting, there was weeping as well as supplicating; for we read, that previous to that meeting Jacob was in distress, and that God answered him in that distress: Gen 35:3. I allow therefore that the weeping and entreaty, which procured the very extraordinary favour of God’s appearance to Jacob in the dream at Beth-el, (Genesis 28.) are mentioned here, as part of the means by which he obtained that strength which enabled him to prevail over the angel. The remark of Luther, upon this extraordinary conflict between Jacob and the glorious personage called the angel, is so excellent, that I cannot but subjoin a translation of it here:
“Various have been the sentiments of learned men concerning this wrestling or colluctation of Jacob. But the history evidently shews, that Jacob was apparently brought to the utmost hazard of his life, and that all the powers of his body were forcibly assailed by his unknown antagonist. He therefore called forth the whole strength of every part of his frame against his opponent, in order to defend his life. Yea, he not only wrestled with all the powers of his body; but his faith was brought into the fullest exercise: he was above all things comforted and supported in this instant peril, from the certainty that he was commanded by Jehovah to return into the land of Canaan. In the next place, with his whole heart he laid hold of the promise given to him in Beth-el by Jehovah, in which protection was most indubitably promised. While therefore he thus agonized, and was so strongly opposed by his unknown antagonist, although he summoned all his bodily powers to his assistance, he still more mightily contended with the hand of faith, eyeing the promise, and confidently resting upon God according to his word, to be preserved and delivered from this imminent danger. Thus by faith he conquered God.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Hos 12:4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him [in] Bethel, and there he spake with us;
Ver. 4. Yea, he had power over the angel ] That Angel of the covenant, Mal 3:1 , the Angel of the great council ( ), as the Seventy render Isa 9:6 , the Lord Christ, who redeemed Jacob from all evil, Gen 48:16 , and is called Elohim in the former verse. Jacob is reproved for asking his name, an argument of his majesty. God, as he surmounteth all creatures, and hath no parallel, so he surpasseth all notion, and is above all name. The Africans call him Amon, that is, Heus, tu, cluis es? Our best eloquence of him is a humble silence: or if we say anything, to say as in the next verse following, Jehovah, God of hosts, Jehovah is his memorial.
And prevailed
He wept and made supplication
“ Verbum, preces, et lachrymae,
Miserae arma sunt Ecclesiae. ”
We read not till this text of his weeping for the blessing (no more we do of the earthquake in Hezekiah’s days, till
He found him in Bethel
There he spake with us
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the Angel. Defined in Hos 12:5.
prevailed = He (the Angel) overcame him (Jacob). See notes on Gen 32:28. Hence the change of Jacob’s name to “Israel” = God commands.
he wept: i.e. Jacob. This is the Figure of speech Hysteresis (App-6), by which former histories are supplemented by later Divine inspiration.
He found him: i.e. God found Jacob in Beth-el. Reference to Pentateuch (Gen 28:17, Gen 28:19). Note the implied contrast, Beth-el being now the seat of idolatry.
He spake = Jehovah spake. See next verse.
with us. Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and Syriac read “with him”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
angel
(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
angel: Gen 32:29, Gen 48:15, Exo 3:2-5, Isa 63:9, Mal 3:1, Act 7:30-35
made: Gen 32:9-12, Heb 5:7
found: Gen 28:11-19, Gen 35:9
spake: Psa 66:6, 1Th 4:17, Heb 6:13-18
Reciprocal: Gen 28:19 – the name Gen 32:25 – that he Gen 32:26 – I will not Gen 35:1 – Bethel Gen 48:3 – appeared Gen 48:16 – Angel Num 22:22 – and the angel Jdg 13:21 – knew 1Sa 26:25 – prevail Est 8:3 – besought him with tears Job 16:20 – poureth Ecc 5:6 – before Son 3:4 – I held Son 8:5 – I raised Isa 38:3 – wept Isa 45:11 – command Jer 31:9 – come Zec 3:1 – the angel Zec 3:6 – the Mat 15:25 – came Eph 6:18 – supplication Col 2:1 – what Jam 5:16 – The effectual
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Hos 12:4. The power referred to in the preceding verse is recorded in Gen 32:25. As long as the angel conducted his wrestling as a man, he was unable to prevail against Jacob: and only when he employed his supernatural talent as an angel, did he succeed in the contest. The events of this verse are not chronological, for the wrestling with the angel took place many years after the night at Bethel. At that time the people of Judah were In existence only in the loins of Jacob, but the things said and done were regarded as pertaining to the interests of said people, lienee the word us with which tie verse closes.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Hos 12:4-5. He had power over the angel Called God, Hos 12:3, and Jehovah, God of hosts, Hos 12:5, namely, God by nature and essence, and an angel by office and voluntary undertaking. He wept and made supplication unto him He prayed with tears from a sense of his own unworthiness, and with earnestness for the mercy he desired. Jacobs wrestling with the angel was, as has been just intimated, not only a corporal conflict, but likewise a spiritual one; from bodily wrestling he betook himself to spiritual weapons; he poured forth tears with earnest supplications and prayers, and strove, not so much for victory, as for a blessing: the only way for a feeble, impotent creature, to prevail over his Creator. The observations of Luther, upon this extraordinary conflict between Jacob and the person called the angel, are so excellent, that the intelligent reader will be glad to be presented here with a translation of them. Different views are wont to be entertained concerning the nature of this wrestling. But the history shows that Jacob had come into imminent danger of his life, and was assaulted by an unknown antagonist with his whole power. He therefore himself also exerted his bodily strength to the utmost against this antagonist, that he might defend his life. Nevertheless, he did not contend only with the strength of his body; his faith also wrestled: and first, in such an immediate danger, he comforted himself that he had been ordered by God to return into the land of Canaan [to which country, in obedience to God, he was now journeying.] Then with his whole heart he laid hold on the promise made him by the Lord in Beth-el, where he was fully assured of the divine protection. When therefore he was in distress, and assaulted by an unknown enemy with all his might, although he used his own strength, yet he contended more strenuously by faith, beholding the promise, and concluding with certainty that God, according to his word, would be present with him in so great a danger, and would save him. And with this faith, [so to speak,] he prevailed over God; for although Christ tried Jacob in this conflict, nevertheless he could do nothing against, or contrary to, his word, on which Jacob relied. Jacobs supplication and tears, here mentioned, probably refer to those earnest prayers which he poured out to God, as is recorded Gen 32:9-11. The conflict here spoken of, in which Jacob had power with God, ended in an assurance that his prayers were answered. He found him in Beth-el This refers to Gods appearing to Jacob after the former vision, as is related Gen 35:9; Gen 35:14, when God renewed his promise of giving the land of Canaan to his posterity. The prophet takes particular notice of the place where God appeared to him: as if he had said, He appeared in that very place where you worship a golden calf as your god! And there he spake with us Who were then in Jacobs loins. The Alexandrian copy, however, of the LXX. reads, There he spake with him; as if the expression alluded to the above-mentioned passage, where God is said to have talked with Jacob. But the present Hebrew reading contains a very important meaning, signifying, that God did not only speak to him there, but likewise did, by so doing, instruct his posterity to the latest generation. Certainly the things spoken concerned Jacobs posterity, as much, or more, than himself. Even the Lord God of hosts He that appeared and spake, who promised the blessing, and commanded the reformation at Beth-el, was Jehovah, the eternal and unchangeable God; who can perform his promise, and execute his threat; who is a most terrible enemy, and a most desirable friend. The Lord is his memorial That is, the name Jehovah is Gods memorial; his appropriate, perpetual, incommunicable name, expressing his essence; the name by which he will be known and remembered to all generations; the name which especially distinguishes him from all false gods, and sets forth his glory more than any other name whatsoever: see note on Exo 3:14.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
12:4 Yea, he had {e} power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: {f} he found him [in] Bethel, and there he spake with us;
(e) Read Gen 32:24-32 .
(f) God found Jacob as he lay sleeping in Bethel Gen 28:12 , and spoke with him there in such a way that the fruit of that speech appertained to the whole body of the people, of which we are.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
One important instance of Jacob contending with God was when he wrestled with the angel at Peniel and prevailed over him by weeping and pleading with him to bless him (Gen 32:22-32). This event was a turning point in Jacob’s life because he finally realized that he could not succeed simply by manipulation and trickery. He recognized His need for God’s help and turned to Him in desperation. It was the occasion of Jacob’s repentance. God had prepared Jacob for this event by allowing him to experience several years of conflict with his uncle Laban (cf. Gen 31:42).
Another significant event in Jacob’s life was when he returned to Bethel, where God had appeared to him in a dream years earlier (Gen 28:10-22). This return to Bethel, and the act of worship Jacob performed there, were in obedience to God’s word to him to go there and fulfill his former vow (Gen 35:1-14). This too was an act of submissive obedience and resulted in God changing Jacob’s name to Israel (prince with God) again, blessing him, and renewing the Abrahamic Covenant with him.
It is ironic that the place where Jacob got right with God was Bethel since Bethel was the place where the Israelites had gotten wrong with Him by worshipping idols. Jacob’s return to God at Bethel provided a good example for the Israelites to get right with Him there too.