And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob”.
- BSB “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied.
- NKJV So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.”
- NASB So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
- NLT “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The man asks Jacob's name, and he answers, 'Jacob.' Naming himself, he confesses his identity as 'supplanter' or 'deceiver.'
Overview
The question draws from Jacob a confession of who he has been, for his name means grasper or supplanter. In speaking it, Jacob owns his past of deceit and striving. This honest acknowledgment precedes the gift of a new name, picturing how God transforms those who confess what they are.
Cross-references & the web
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 32:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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