The muscles song D - Jacob makes a muscle

I cannot vouch for that because a personality in the name of Jacob did act, and such and such were her actions. On the other hand, I can point, with some reservation, to a certain phenomenon embedded in the Bible as expressing one or another historical idea

Before we jump, literally, into the pool of physical activity immersed in the Bible, let us warm up and massage ourselves with the help of the following biblical oils.

First of all, and in order to prevent any "fans" of the Crusaders from living as a spineless personality, I will confess and say that I still hold the opinion and position that the Bible is not a historical source, even according to the basic criteria. However, this chapter and even some of the following chapters are anchored in biblical literature, and I make careful use of it, while examining the evidence in the light of cross-referenced, independent sources, from parallel data, chronologically and geographically. In the chapter in question, for example, I cannot guarantee that a personality named Jacob did act, and such and such were his actions. On the other hand, I can point, with some reservation, to a certain phenomenon embedded in the Bible as expressing one or another historical idea.

Second - it is common to think that the people of Israel were and remain with the book and the spirit. Mistake. Basically, like the other ancient societies, it was earthy, rough and rugged. His God (note the use of the plural) was essentially "the God of hosts" (and I wrote an article about this in "Hidan" several years ago) to teach not only about the multitude of wars in which the people were characterized, but also, and as a result, his characteristics were physical, militant.

Thirdly - expressions of worship of power are prominent in biblical literature and sometimes, relative to the mythological image, exaggerated. The leaders of the people were endowed with physical abilities, according to which they were measured and became an object of admiration, and it is not only about the well-known Samson, but also about Moses - the bearer of the heavy tablets - the tablets of the covenant and raises his hands to heaven for a long period of time in order to achieve victory over the Amalekites. The expressions of admiration were passed down from generation to generation, in terms of the Dinkota version, and served as a foundation for the physical reflections of future generations.
"Between us" - even if all the physical descriptions did not exist and were not created, it does not increase or decrease, the important thing is that someone bothered to write it. That is, it is about some kind of implanted indoctrination, and the importance is that it was founded on a certain reality, on a deliberate idealization, and for this reason it is important to treat it as such.

We know Jacob's physical strength from a well-known event - he alone rolled the heavy stone over the mouth of the well to water Rachel's flock (Genesis 10:3). The shepherds rolled this stone all together earlier "and returned the stone by the well to its place" (Genesis XNUMX:XNUMX) to prevent "hostile" herds from using the precious and rare resource.
The writer/editor brings this "promo" to make it clear to the readers why Jacob will become a famous leader. The test was therefore only forceful.

Before Yaakov's meeting with Esau, Yaakov crosses the Nahal Yabok with Lil, he and his family with him. "And Jacob was left alone and each man wrestled with him until dawn. And he saw that he would not be able to, and touched the palm of his thigh. And the palm of Jacob's thigh was stuck in his struggle with him. And he said: Send me because the dawn has come. And he said: I will not send you unless you bless me" (Genesis Lev 27-25).

Before us is undoubtedly an interesting image taken from the world of wrestling, when Jacob successfully faced the "man" (who later artificially and arbitrarily became an "angel") and extracted from him a promise of historical significance, almost foundational in the historical memory of the Jewish people.

During the confrontation between the two, the "man" is present - Jacob's adversary, because he will not be able to, and he chooses to resort to a certain ruse - "and touched the palm of his thigh" as the biblical source says, which caused Jacob to dislocate his hip joint, and he ended up "limp on his thigh" (Genesis Lev, 32).
It is not, so it seems, a casual touch, but a clear physical use, unless the biblical writer had a clear Gandarian intention.
Jacob's opponent chose to use a trick that was accepted by wrestlers in the ancient period. That is, grabbing the opponent's thigh or leg and twisting it in a way that aims to trip him up and knock him down, and perhaps, with rough physical use, lead to spraining the hip or knee joint.

The archaeological findings may shed light on the entire affair. In one case, a lead figurine of two wrestlers was found in Mesopotamia - their heads touching each other, and both hands embracing the opponent's knee girdle. This statuette dates to the second millennium BC, and it is worth remembering that Jacob arrived in Canaan from the land of Haran (northern Mesopotamia) in the middle of the millennium.
In another case, a stone relief was found from Guzan (Tel Khalaf) in northern Mesopotamia (about 100 km east of Haran) from the tenth century BC, and it shows two guys wrestling, with one of them trying to wrap his friend's thigh.

Ya'aka, as mentioned, was a strong Elam, and we cannot rule out the possibility that when he was in Haran he used to amuse himself in wrestling matches with his friends. There he also learned, it seems, tricks that were accepted and used by the inhabitants of northern Mesopotamia.

It must be assumed, in light of the archaeological and literary findings, that even in ancient Egypt tricks of this kind were practiced, that is - the hip-sticking and twisting, and the winner was declared as the one who succeeded in pinning his opponent on his back, since his shoulder blades touch the ground.

In light of the above, it seems that the same mysterious figure failed to trip up Jacob and therefore requested to use one of the accepted tricks - the kneeling to trip the opponent. However, despite the damage inflicted on Jacob, he managed to overcome his opponent. Which reminds us of that brave-hearted Japanese judoka, who in the final of the Olympic Games overcame his opponent despite the severe damage to his knee, and despite the fact that his opponent wanted to take advantage of the aforementioned disadvantages and row the entire fight for another knee injury.

Such a battle seems to have lasted a long time, since Jacob crossed the Hibok at night, and the fight lasted until dawn.

Was or wasn't, it doesn't matter that much. The important thing is that the aforementioned battle was recorded in the biblical literature, and more than that. Thanks to Jacob's victory, he is "upgraded" in an interesting way, and after "negotiations" between him and the mysterious figure. And here is what happened: Jacob does not give up despite his injury and the figure pleads before him to give her up before dawn. Jacob takes advantage of the situation and demands adequate compensation, a kind of "consolation prize" for the lack of loss. The "angel" informs him as follows: "And he said to him (to Jacob): What is your name? And he said: Jacob. And he said: Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but the mother of Israel, because you will live with God and people and you will be able" (Genesis Lev 29-28).

If I don't "go wild" too much, the blessing can be paralleled, anthropologically, to a casual competition, sporting of course, between people, when at the end the winner gets a kind of pat on the back and a statement along the lines of "you played it/you were a man".

Notice how interesting this is: Jacob is awarded the title of Father of the Nation on the basis of some kind of sports competition, and this is not to be taken lightly. This shows the importance attributed by the people to physical activity, just like other ancient civilizations.
This and the conclusion of the blessing intended for Jacob, the one worded in the plural indicates/implies that Jacob often used to wrestle with one or other contenders.