Hosea 12 · Verse 4

Hosea 12:4

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;
Hosea 12:4, King James Version

Hosea 12:4 in other translations

BSBYes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—
WEBIndeed, he struggled with the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication to him. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with us—
ASVyea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him at Beth-el, and there he spake with us,
YLTYea, he is a prince unto the Messenger, And he overcometh by weeping, And he maketh supplication to Him, At Bethel He doth find him, And there He doth speak with us,
DARBYYea, he wrestled with the Angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us,
BBEHe had a fight with the angel and overcame him; he made request for grace to him with weeping; he came face to face with him in Beth-el and there his words came to him;
WebsterYes, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication to him: he found him in Beth-el, and there he spoke with us;

What does Hosea 12:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. the angel--the uncreated Angel of the Covenant, as God the Son appears in the Old Testament (Mal 3:1). made supplication--Ge 32:26: "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." he found him--The angel found Jacob, when he was fleeing from Esau into Syria: the Lord appearing to him "in Beth-el" (Ge 28:11-19; 35:1). What a sad contrast, that in this same Beth-el now Israel worships the golden calves! there he spake with us--"with us," as being in the loins of our progenitor Jacob (compare Psa 66:6, "They ... we;" He 7:9, 10). What God there spoke to Jacob appertains to us. God's promises to him belong to all his posterity who follow in the steps of his prayerful faith.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 He had power over the Angel - Who represented the invisible Jehovah. He wept, and made supplication - He entreated with tears that God would bless him; and he prevailed. The circumstance of his weeping is not mentioned in Genesis. He found him in Beth-el - It was there that God made those glorious promises to Jacob relative to his posterity. See Gen 28:13-15.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hosea 12:1-6

Judah and Israel reminded of the Divine favours. (Hos. 12:1-6) The provocations of Israel. (Hos. 12:7-14) Verses 1-6 Ephraim feeds himself with vain hopes of help from man, when he is at enmity with God. The Jews vainly thought to secure the Egyptians by a present of the produce of their country. Judah is contended with also. God sees the sin of his own people, and will reckon with them for it. They are put in mind…

Read the full comment on Hosea 12:1-6 →

Hosea 12:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וָיָּ֤שַׂרvai.Ya.sarand he struggledH7786
אֶל\־'el-againstH413
מַלְאָךְ֙mal.'oKhan angelH4397
וַיֻּכָ֔לvai.yu.Khaland he prevailedH3201
בָּכָ֖הba.Khahhe weptH1058
וַיִּתְחַנֶּן\־vai.yit.cha.nen-and he sought favorH2603
ל֑וֹloto him
בֵּֽית\־beit-Beth-H1008
אֵל֙'el-elH1008
יִמְצָאֶ֔נּוּyim.tza.'E.nuhe found himH4672
וְשָׁ֖םve.Shamand thereH8033
יְדַבֵּ֥רye.da.Berhe spokeH1696
עִמָּֽנוּ\׃'i.Ma.nuwith usH5973

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Hosea 12:4

  • Genesis 35:15

    And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth–el.

  • 1 Thessalonians 4:17

    Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

  • Malachi 3:1

    Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • Hebrews 6:13-18

    For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. …

  • Genesis 48:15

    And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

  • Genesis 35:9-10

    And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan–aram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.

  • Acts 7:30-35

    And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. …

  • Isaiah 63:9

    In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

  • Psalms 66:6

    He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.

  • Exodus 3:2-5

    And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

  • Hebrews 5:7

    Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

  • Genesis 32:29

    And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
angel.
Ge 32:29; 48:15; Ex 3:2-5; Isa 63:9; Mal 3:1; Ac 7:30-35
made.
Ge 32:9-12; Heb 5:7
found.
Ge 28:11-19; 35:9
spake.
Ps 66:6; 1Th 4:17; Heb 6:13-18

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Hosea 12:3

    He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:

  • Hosea 12:4

    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;

  • Hosea 12:5

    Even the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial.

Read all of Hosea 12

Hosea 12:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
En el vientre tomó por el calcañar á su hermano, y con su fortaleza venció al ángel.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Dans le ventre il prit son frère par le talon, et par sa force il lutta avec Dieu;
German
Elberfelder 1871
Im Mutterleibe hielt er seines Bruders Ferse, und in seiner Manneskraft kämpfte er mit Gott:
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et invaluit ad angelum, et confortatus est; flevit, et rogavit eum. In Bethel invenit eum, et ibi locutus est nobiscum.