Before the meeting with Esau, Jacob was the protagonist in a mysterious episode that biblical scholars usually try to explain in a symbolical-magical way: “So Jacob was left alone, and an angel wrestled with him till daybreak. When he saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip, so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with him. Then the man said: 'Let me go, for it is daybreak.' Jacob replied, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me'. The man asked him, 'What is your name?' 'Jacob,' he answered. Then the angel said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with Elohim and with men and you have overcome.’” (Gen 32, 24-28).
It is quite clear from the context that this is the description of an event which really happened. An accurate analysis of the text can help us understand what really occurred. Beginning with the time and place of the event, we find it happened immediately prior to Jacob's meeting with Esau, at Peniel, on the right bank of the Jabbock. This is the main tributary of the Jordan and flows into it at a point just upstream from the Jordan’s most important and busiest fording place. Peniel is the name Jacob gave to the spot just after his meeting with the “angel.” It is situated near Mahanaim where the Egyptian garrison was stationed, and to which Jacob turned for protection.
Genesis 35, 9-10 states that “Elohim appeared to him again after he returned from Paddam Aram and blessed him. God said to him 'Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.' So he named him Israel.” This is a repeat of the verses Gen 32,24-28, and refers to the same person and the same episode, since it is unlikely that the name Israel could have been given to Jacob by two different people in two different situations. It was a typical Egyptian custom to give Egyptian names to foreigners who entered their land. Even “Abram and Sarai” were given new names (Gen 17,5). This custom is amply documented in Egyptian writings of the period. The change of name, therefore, was linked to an authorization to reside in Egyptian territory.
The individual who blessed Jacob and changed his name is indicated as Elohim, which means it was either the Pharaoh or someone who acted in his name. This latter theory is the correct one, since Genesis 32, 28-30 indicates that the one who changed Jacob's name and blessed him was the same “angel” with whom he had wrestled. The word “angel” indicates exactly that he was not the Pharaoh, but someone who represented him. Furthermore, these verses clearly state that the name change and blessing were a direct consequence of Jacob’s wrestling match.
Evidently the “angel” was the commanding officer of the Mahanaim garrison. It was with him that Jacob wrestled. There was no precursory altercation, not even an armed duel. The account is clear and leaves not the slightest doubt concerning the nature of the clash: the two contestants were alone and fought each other with their hands only, using no weapons of any sort. The fight ended with the two of them unhurt, except for Jacob’s dislocated hip. Finally, the two men took leave of each other in a friendly manner. It was evidently a match that can be defined as “all-in-wrestling.”
Although the nature of the clash is quite clear; this is not the case for the motive that brought it about, or what the stakes were. As for the first of these, the Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty had a passion for physical culture, and the monuments and stele of that period are laden with descriptions of their sporting exploits. It was a true mania which presumably spread above all to the Pharaoh's strong right arm, that is, his army. It is easy, then, to imagine the officer commanding the Mahanaim troops as an athletic, sporting type, proud of his strength and anxious to demonstrate his ability.
Jacob was very robust and endowed with extraordinary strength--in fact, Genesis 29,10 says that he alone rolled away a stone that normally required several men. There was nothing strange, then, about a friendly challenge of all-in-wrestling between the two; this was typical of the character of the men of those times. What was at stake? Upon the termination of the match Jacob asked for the “blessing;” remembering what was said concerning the “blessing” of Isaac, this was probably a document attesting Jacob's right to enter Palestine and reside there.
At the end of the match, the “angel,” that is, the commander of the Egyptian troops, was full of admiration for Jacob, who had held his own against him, and clearly was pleased to grant him the authorization; it was probably the same officer who effected the mediation with Esau, bringing peace to the two brothers and thereby saving Jacob from certain ruin.