Genesis 32 · a question people ask
Who did Jacob wrestle with?
Genesis calls him "a man" (32:24). He says Jacob has "fought with God and with men" (32:28), and Jacob says, "I have seen God face to face" (32:30). Hosea says, "in his manhood he contended with God. Indeed, he struggled with the angel, and prevailed" (Hosea 12:3-4). Protestants read it in more than one way.
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
God himself, in human form
Those who hold this view rest on 32:28 and 32:30: Jacob "fought with God", and he said, "I have seen God face to face". Some go further and see the Son of God, since "No one has seen God at any time. The only born Son… has declared him" (John 1:18).
Genesis 32:28 · Genesis 32:30 · John 1:18
The angel of God
Those who hold this view follow Hosea, who says Jacob "struggled with the angel, and prevailed" (Hosea 12:4), and read "God" in 32:28 and 32:30 the way Genesis elsewhere speaks of God through his angel, as when Hagar named "the LORD who spoke to her" after the angel of the LORD spoke (16:10-13).
Hosea 12:4 · Genesis 16:10-13
The verses
“Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day.”
“He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed.””
“Jacob called the name of the place Peniel; for he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.””
“In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he contended with God. Indeed, he struggled with the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication to him. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with us—”