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 is ready to accuse Judah's people in a court of law. He will punish Jacob's descendants for the bad way that they live. He will punish them as their sins deserve. 3Before Jacob was born, he cheated his brother. He did that when they were both inside their mother's body. When Jacob became a man, he fought against God. He fought against an angel and he won. He wept and he asked God to bless him. There at Bethel, Jacob met with God. God spoke to him there. 5This was the Lord God Almighty! We know him as the Lord, his special name. 6So now, you must return to your God. You must show faithful love for each other. You must judge people in a fair way. You must be patient. Trust God to come and help you.

Hosea 12:4 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yea, he had powerשׂוּרώûr · to reignH7786
• over the angelמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messenger: angelH4397
• and prevailedיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• he weptבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
• and made supplicationחָנַןchânan · be graciousH2603
• unto him: he foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• Beth–elבֵּֽיתְ־אֵלbêyth-'êl · BethelH1008
• and there he spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696

Cross-references for Hosea 12:4

• Genesis 32:29Then Jacob said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But the man said, ‘Why do you want to know my name?’ Then he blessed Jacob in that place.
• Genesis 48:15Then Jacob blessed Joseph. He said, ‘May God bless these two boys. He is the God that my ancestors, Abraham and Isaac, served. Like a shepherd takes care of his sheep, God has taken care of me all my life, until this day.
• Exodus 3:2The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses there. The angel looked like a fire that was burning in the middle of a bush. Moses looked at the bush. He saw that it was on fire, but the fire still did not destroy it.
• Isaiah 63:9When his people suffered, he also had pain. He sent his own angel to go and save them. Because he loved them and he was kind to them, he redeemed them. He lifted them up and he carried them, through all the years long ago.
• Malachi 3:1‘Look! I will send someone to speak my message. He will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord that you are waiting for will quickly return to his temple. The one who brings the message about the covenant will certainly come. He is the one that you really want to see.’ That is what the Lord Almighty says.
• Acts 7:30Moses lived in Midian for 40 years. Then, one day, he was in the wilderness near Sinai mountain. He saw a bush there that was burning. An angel appeared to him in the fire.
• Genesis 32:9Then Jacob prayed, ‘God of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac, Lord, you said to me, “Go back to your country and to your relatives. I will do good things for you there.”
• Hebrews 5:7When Jesus Christ lived on earth as a man, he often prayed to God. He asked God to help him. He prayed strongly and he cried loudly with many tears. He knew that God could save him from death. And God listened to Jesus when he prayed, because Jesus served God.
• Genesis 28:11He came to a place where he stayed for the night, because the sun had gone down. He took a stone and he put it under his head. Then he lay down and he went to sleep.
• Genesis 35:9After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again. God blessed Jacob.
• Psalms 66:6He caused the Red Sea to become dry land. Then his people walked across the Jordan River! So we praise him for what he did there!
• 1 Thessalonians 4:17After that, those of us who are still alive will join together with them. God will suddenly take us up into the clouds. In that way, we will all meet the Lord in the sky. So we will all be with the Lord for ever.
• Hebrews 6:13God made a promise to Abraham many years ago. God used the authority of his own name to show that his promise was true. He did that because there was nobody greater than God himself. His name showed that the promise was very serious.

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