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Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking.” But he answered, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” Said the other, “What is your name?” He replied, “Jacob.” Said he, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed.”

(Genesis 32:25–29)

In American artist Wayne Forte’s 6-and-a-half-foot-tall charcoal drawing of Jacob’s bout with the angel, the human and the divine seem locked in an eternal struggle. The unnamed man-angel closes his eyes in concentration; Jacob appears as if he will never close his eyes again. It is difficult to tell, in the drawing as well as the biblical text, who has the upper hand.

For Israeli poet Yitzhak Lamdan, in his work “Israel” (published 1930), Jacob’s struggle never ends. It is a recurring nightmare. Each night, Jacob prevails, but with grave injuries and doubts:

“You have contended

with gods and with men

and you have prevailed”—

Is this all the blessing

you apportioned me,

mysterious one?

Woe is me, I know,

against all of you