The Angel and Jacob Fighting: Genesis 32:25
Question
Is there anything in the Hebrew GRAMMAR that would prohibit this interpretation (#2 below) regarding who “he” refers to in Gen 32:25?
Q: Who are the first two “he”s and the “him” referring to? Is it (1) “he” [the angel] saw that “he” [the angel] had not prevailed against “him” [Jacob] – or – (2) “he” [Jacob] saw that “he” [Jacob] had not prevailed against “him” [the angel]? If possible, it would read thusly: “When he [Jacob] saw that he [Jacob] had not prevailed against him [the man], he [the man] touched the socket of his [Jacob’s] thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him."
Jacob c. 91 years old - 28:1 (c. 77) ... 31:41 (20 years). Why would an angel not be able to prevail over any man, and esp. a 91 yr old man? And, why would the angel allow the man to wrestle with him “until daybreak”? IF the proposed suggestion above is allowable, it was to teach Jacob a lesson, i.e., God’s blessing could not be attained by his own strength and cunning, but through faith and dependance on God as he did in his fervent prayer (Hos 12:4).