Bible Strands
Hosea 12:3
In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Hosea pronounces a divine charge against Judah, declaring that the Lord will judge them by repaying Jacob according to his established ways. The prophet immediately invokes Jacob’s prenatal and adult struggles to frame the nation’s current accountability.
The words — The Hebrew עָקַב ('a.Kav) literally translates to "he took by the heel," recording Jacob’s physical grip at birth. The later verb שָׂרָה (sa.Rah) means "he struggled," describing a forceful contest undertaken in Jacob’s own manly vigor against God.
The thread — The birth narrative in Genesis 25:26 establishes the heel-grasp as the origin of Jacob’s name, while Genesis 32:24 records the physical wrestling match at the Jabbok. Romans 9:11 references this prenatal contest to demonstrate that election precedes human action.
Why it lands — The text presents Jacob’s life as a consistent pattern of striving that justifies the Lord’s impending judgment on Judah. It demands the reader acknowledge that divine repayment follows observable conduct, not unearned favor.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
Cross-references
- Genesis 25:26 After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
- Genesis 32:24 So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
- Romans 9:11 Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,
- James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.