The other major thing that shifts here is Jacob’s hip. Literally. This is not a mark of weakness or punishment in the passage. The new name and new limp are signs of his blessing and covenant with God. The limp is a badge of Jacob’s strength and unrelenting determination, a reminder that he fought, persevered, and would not let go, all night long. Lionel Richie would be proud. The limp is a sign of the prophetic witness that God invites wrestling to create transformation. God even initiates the fight! To consider the limp as a punishment completely misses the way it is described in the
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