Zechariah 1:8

The Content of the First Vision

1:8 I was attentive that night and saw a man seated ¹  on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees ²  in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel, ³  and white horses.

Zechariah 1:11

1:11 The riders then agreed with the angel of the Lord, ⁴  who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have been walking about on the earth, and now everything is at rest and quiet.”

Zechariah 13:7

13:7 “Awake, sword, against my shepherd,

against the man who is my associate,”

says the Lord who rules over all.

Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered; ⁵ 

I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones.

Genesis 32:24-31

32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man ⁶  wrestled ⁷  with him until daybreak. ⁸  32:25 When the man ⁹  saw that he could not defeat Jacob, ¹⁰  he struck ¹¹  the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

32:26 Then the man ¹²  said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” ¹³  “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, ¹⁴  “unless you bless me.” ¹⁵  32:27 The man asked him, ¹⁶  “What is your name?” ¹⁷  He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, ¹⁸  “but Israel, ¹⁹  because you have fought ²⁰  with God and with men and have prevailed.”

32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” ²¹  “Why ²²  do you ask my name?” the man replied. ²³  Then he blessed ²⁴  Jacob ²⁵  there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ²⁶  explaining, ²⁷  “Certainly ²⁸  I have seen God face to face ²⁹  and have survived.” ³⁰ 

32:31 The sun rose ³¹  over him as he crossed over Penuel, ³²  but ³³  he was limping because of his hip.

Hosea 12:3-5

Israel Must Return to the God of Jacob

12:3 In the womb he attacked his brother;

in his manly vigor he struggled ³⁴  with God.

12:4 He struggled ³⁵  with an angel and prevailed;

he wept and begged for his favor.

He found God ³⁶  at Bethel, ³⁷ 

and there he spoke with him! ³⁸ 

12:5 As for the Lord God Almighty,

the Lord is the name by which he is remembered! ³⁹ 

[1:8]  ¹ tn Heb “riding,” but since this verb in English is usually associated with horses in motion rather than standing still, the translation uses “seated.” Cf. NAB “the driver of a red horse.”

[1:8]  ² tc The LXX presupposes הֶהָרִים (heharim, “mountains”) rather than the MT הַהֲדַסִּים (hahadassim, “myrtles”), probably because of reference to the ravine. The MT reading is preferred and is followed by most English versions.

[1:8]  ³ sn The Hebrew שְׂרֻקִּים (sÿruqqim) means “red” (cf. NIV, NCV, NLT “brown”). English translations such as “speckled” (KJV) or “dappled” (TEV) are based on the reading of the LXX (ψαροί) that attempts to bring the color of this horse into conformity with those described in Zech 6:2-3. However, since these are two different and unrelated visions, this is a methodological fallacy.

[1:11]  ⁴ sn The angel of the Lord is a special being who throughout the OT represents God himself and on occasion almost approaches divine hypostatization or incarnation (cf. Gen 18:2, 13, 17, 22; Exod 23:20-21; Josh 5:13-15; Judg 6:11-24; 13:2-20).

[13:7]  ⁵ sn Despite the NT use of this text to speak of the scattering of the disciples following Jesus’ crucifixion (Matt 26:31; Mark 14:27), the immediate context of Zechariah suggests that unfaithful shepherds (kings) will be punished by the Lord precisely so their flocks (disobedient Israel) can be scattered (cf. Zech 11:6, 8, 9, 16). It is likely that Jesus drew on this passage merely to make the point that whenever shepherds are incapacitated, sheep will scatter. Thus he was not identifying himself with the shepherd in this text (the shepherd in the Zechariah text is a character who is portrayed negatively).

[32:24]  ⁶ sn Reflecting Jacob’s perspective at the beginning of the encounter, the narrator calls the opponent simply “a man.” Not until later in the struggle does Jacob realize his true identity.

[32:24]  ⁷ sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayye’aveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, ya’aqov) and “Jabbok” (יַבֹּק, yabboq). In this way the narrator links the setting, the main action, and the main participant together in the mind of the reader or hearer.

[32:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”

[32:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:25]  ¹¹ tn Or “injured”; traditionally “touched.” The Hebrew verb translated “struck” has the primary meanings “to touch; to reach; to strike.” It can, however, carry the connotation “to harm; to molest; to injure.” God’s “touch” cripples Jacob – it would be comparable to a devastating blow.

[32:26]  ¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “dawn has arisen.”

[32:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he said, ‘I will not let you go.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:26]  ¹⁵ sn Jacob wrestled with a man thinking him to be a mere man, and on that basis was equal to the task. But when it had gone on long enough, the night visitor touched Jacob and crippled him. Jacob’s request for a blessing can only mean that he now knew that his opponent was supernatural. Contrary to many allegorical interpretations of the passage that make fighting equivalent to prayer, this passage shows that Jacob stopped fighting, and then asked for a blessing.

[32:27]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he said to him.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:27]  ¹⁷ sn What is your name? The question is rhetorical, since the Lord obviously knew Jacob’s identity. But since the Lord is going to change Jacob’s name, this question is designed to bring focus Jacob’s attention on all that his name had come to signify.

[32:28]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he said.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:28]  ¹⁹ sn The name Israel is a common construction, using a verb with a theophoric element (אֵל, ’el) that usually indicates the subject of the verb. Here it means “God fights.” This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the Lord was saying that Jacob would have victory and receive the promises because God would fight for him.

[32:28]  ²⁰ sn You have fought. The explanation of the name Israel includes a sound play. In Hebrew the verb translated “you have fought” (שָׂרִיתָ, sarita) sounds like the name “Israel” (יִשְׂרָאֵל, yisra’el ), meaning “God fights” (although some interpret the meaning as “he fights [with] God”). The name would evoke the memory of the fight and what it meant. A. Dillmann says that ever after this the name would tell the Israelites that, when Jacob contended successfully with God, he won the battle with man (Genesis, 2:279). To be successful with God meant that he had to be crippled in his own self-sufficiency (A. P. Ross, “Jacob at the Jabboq, Israel at Peniel,” BSac 142 [1985]: 51-62).

[32:29]  ²¹ sn Tell me your name. In primitive thought to know the name of a deity or supernatural being would enable one to use it for magical manipulation or power (A. S. Herbert, Genesis 12-50 [TBC], 108). For a thorough structural analysis of the passage discussing the plays on the names and the request of Jacob, see R. Barthes, “The Struggle with the Angel: Textual Analysis of Genesis 32:23-33,” Structural Analysis and Biblical Exegesis (PTMS), 21-33.

[32:29]  ²² tn The question uses the enclitic pronoun “this” to emphasize the import of the question.

[32:29]  ²³ tn Heb “and he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (the man who wrestled with Jacob) has been specified for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:29]  ²⁴ tn The verb here means that the Lord endowed Jacob with success; he would be successful in everything he did, including meeting Esau.

[32:29]  ²⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:30]  ²⁶ sn The name Peniel means “face of God.” Since Jacob saw God face to face here, the name is appropriate.

[32:30]  ²⁷ tn The word “explaining” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:30]  ²⁸ tn Or “because.”

[32:30]  ²⁹ sn I have seen God face to face. See the note on the name “Peniel” earlier in the verse.

[32:30]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and my soul [= life] has been preserved.”

[32:31]  ³¹ tn Heb “shone.”

[32:31]  ³² sn The name is spelled Penuel here, apparently a variant spelling of Peniel (see v. 30).

[32:31]  ³³ tn The disjunctive clause draws attention to an important fact: He may have crossed the stream, but he was limping.

[12:3]  ³⁴ tn The verb שָׂרָה (sarah) means “to strive, contend” (HALOT 1354 s.v. שׂרה) or “persevere, persist” (BDB 975 s.v. שָׂרָה; see Gen 32:29). Almost all English versions render the verb here in terms of the former: NAB, NASB “contended”; NRSV “strove”; TEV, CEV “fought against.”

[12:4]  ³⁵ tc The MT vocalizes the consonantal text וָיָּשַׂר (vayyasar, vav consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person masculine singular from שׂוּר, sur, “to see”); however, parallelism with שָׂרַה (sarah, “he contended”) in 12:3 suggested that it be vocalized as ויּשׂר (vav consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person masculine singular from שׂרה [“to strive, contend”]). The latter is followed by almost all English versions here.

[12:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ³⁷ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[12:4]  ³⁸ tc The Leningrad Codex and the Allepo Codex both read 1st person common plural עִמָּנוּ (’immanu, “with us”). The LXX and Peshitta both reflect an alternate Hebrew Vorlage of 3rd person masculine singular עִמוֹ (’imo, “with him”). The BHS editors suggest emending the MT in favor of the Greek and Syriac. The internal evidence of 12:4-5 favors the 3rd person masculine singular reading. It is likely that the 1st person common plural ־נוּ reading on עִמָּנוּ arose due to a misunderstanding of the 3rd person masculine singular ־נוּ suffix on יִמְצָאֶנּוּ (yimtsa’ennu, “he found him”; Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular + 3rd person masculine singular suffix) which was probably misunderstood as the 1st person common plural suffix: “he found us.” Several English versions follow the LXX and Syriac: “there he spoke with him” (RSV, NAB, NEB, NIV, NJPS, TEV). Others follow the MT: “there he spoke with us” (KJV, NASB, CEV). The Hebrew University Old Testament Project, which tends to preserve the MT whenever possible, adopts the MT reading but gives it only a “C” rating. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:262-63.

[12:5]  ³⁹ tn Heb “[is] his memorial name” (so ASV); TEV “the name by which he is to be worshipped.”