Bible Strands
Hosea 12:4
Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Hosea addresses the people, recounting Jacob’s past struggle to frame the nation’s current spiritual condition.
The words — The Hebrew terms וָ/יָּ֤שַׂר (va/i.Ya.sar) and וַ/יֻּכָ֔ל (va/i.yu.Khal) mean “he struggled” and “he prevailed,” describing a physical and spiritual contest.
The thread — The narrative echoes Genesis 35:15, where Jacob names the encounter site Bethel, while the prophetic voice points to the enduring LORD God of Hosts (Hosea 12:5).
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine favor is accessed through persistent seeking, not casual proximity.
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
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;
Cross-references
- Genesis 35:15 Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.
- 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.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:17 After 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.
- Genesis 32:29 And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.
- Genesis 35:9 After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.
- Genesis 48:15 Then 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 3:2 There 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.
- Psalms 66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the waters on foot; there we rejoiced in Him.
- Isaiah 63:9 In 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.
- Acts 7:30 After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.