Hosea 12:4

Hosea 12:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Beth–el, and there he spake with us;
• New International Version (NIV)He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there—
• English Standard Version (ESV)He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us—
• New King James Version (NKJV)Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, And there He spoke to us—

Context of Hosea 12:4

2The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah. He will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds. 3In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God. Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there— 5the LORD God of Hosts, the LORD is His name of renown. 6But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and always wait on your God.

Hosea 12:4 word by word

וָיָּ֤שַׂר אֶל־מַלְאָךְ֙ וַיֻּכָ֔ל בָּכָ֖ה וַיִּתְחַנֶּן־ל֑וֹ בֵּֽית־אֵל֙ יִמְצָאֶ֔נּוּ וְשָׁ֖ם יְדַבֵּ֥ר עִמָּֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear

• Yes, he struggledשׂוּרώûr · to reignH7786
• withאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• the angelמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messenger: angelH4397
• and prevailedיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• he weptבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
• and sought His favorחָנַןchânan · be graciousH2603
• ·בֵּֽיתְ־אֵלbêyth-'êl · BethelH1008
• he found Himמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• and spokeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• with Himעִם‛im · withH5973
• thereשָׁםshâm · thereH8033

Cross-references for Hosea 12:4

• Genesis 32:29And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.
• Genesis 48:15Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
• Exodus 3:2There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed.
• Isaiah 63:9In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
• Malachi 3:1“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
• Acts 7:30After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
• Genesis 32:9Then Jacob declared, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the LORD who told me, ‘Go back to your country and to your kindred, and I will make you prosper,’
• Hebrews 5:7During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.
• Genesis 28:11On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
• Genesis 35:9After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.
• Psalms 66:6He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the waters on foot; there we rejoiced in Him.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:17After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
• Hebrews 6:13When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,

Commentaries on Hosea 12:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4He had power over the Angel - Who represented the invisible Jehovah. He wept, and made supplication - He entreated with tears that God would bless him; and he prevailed. The circumstance of his weeping is not mentioned in Genesis. He found him in Beth-el - It was there that God made those glorious promises to Jacob relative to his posterity. See Genesis 28:13-15.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4He wept and made supplication unto Him - Jacob‘s weeping is not mentioned by Moses. Hosea then knew more than Moses related. He could not have gathered it out of Moses, for Moses relates the words of earnest supplication; yet the tone is that of one, by force of earnest energy, wresting, as it were, the blessing from God, not of one weeping. Yet Hosea adds this, in harmony with Moses. For “vehement desires and earnest petitions frequently issue in tears.”…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4he found Him at Bethel: See Genesis 28:11–22.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. the angel--the uncreated Angel of the Covenant, as God the Son appears in the Old Testament (Mal 3:1). made supplication--Ge 32:26: "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." he found him--The angel found Jacob, when he was fleeing from Esau into Syria: the Lord appearing to him "in Beth-el" (Ge 28:11-19; 35:1). What a sad contrast, that in this same Beth-el now Israel worships the golden calves! there he spake with us--"with us," as being in the…Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 12:4

• Beth-El
• Israel
• Jesus, the Christ
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• Jacob
• Penuel
• Calf, Golden
• Hosea
• Jacob (1)
• Jeroboam
• Jeshurun
• Sarah; Sarai
• Zechariah, Book of
• Israel

Commentaries on Hosea 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings