As Jacob returns with his wives and children from Mesopotamia to Canaan, he spends a night by himself during which he wrestles all night with a mysterious stranger, an unidentified divine being. It is unclear whether he wrestles with an angel or with God. The divine wrestler strikes him on the hip socket, causing him to limp, and finally asks Jacob to let go as dawn nears. Jacob refuses unless he receives a blessing. The being agrees and gives him a new name, Israel (Hebrew: ישראל), meaning “he who struggles with God” or “God struggles.” The story is found in Genesis 32:24–29.
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