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Selected Verse: Hosea 12:4 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Ho 12:4	Strong Concordance	Yea, he had power [07786] over the angel [04397], and prevailed [03201]: he wept [01058], and made supplication [02603] unto him: he found [04672] him in Bethel [01008], and there he spake [01696] with us;
	King James	Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
the angel--the uncreated Angel of the Covenant, as God the Son appears in the Old Testament (Mal 3:1). made supplication-- Gen 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" (Gen 28:11-19; Gen 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;" Heb 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.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

the angel--the uncreated Angel of the Covenant, as God the Son appears in the Old Testament (Mal 3:1).

made supplication-- Gen 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" (Gen 28:11-19; Gen 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;" Heb 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.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
He wept and made supplication unto Him - Jacob's weeping is not mentioned by Moses. Hosea then knew more than Moses related. He could not have gathered it out of Moses, for Moses relates the words of earnest supplication; yet the tone is that of one, by force of earnest energy, wresting, as it were, the blessing from God, not of one weeping. Yet Hosea adds this, in harmony with Moses. For "vehement desires and earnest petitions frequently issue in tears." "To implore means to ask with tears" . "Jacob, learning, that God Himself thus deigned to deal with him, might well out of amazement and wonder, out of awful respect to Him, and in earnest desire of a blessing, pour out his supplication with tears." Herein he became an image of Him, "Who, in the days of His flesh, 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" Heb 5:7. : "This which he saith, 'he prevailed,' subjoining, 'he wept and made supplication,' describes the strength of penitents, for in truth they are strong by weeping earnestly and praying perseveringly for the forgiveness of sins, according to that, "From the days of John the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Whosoever so imitates the patriarch Jacob, who wrestled with the Angel, and, as a conqueror, extorted a blessing from him, he, of whatever nation he be, is truly Jacob, and deserveth to be called Israel." : "Yea, herein is the unconquerable might of the righteous, this his wondrous wrestling, herein his glorious victories, in glowing longings, assiduous prayers, joyous weeping. Girt with the might of holy orison, they strive with God, they wrestle with His judgment, and will not be overcome, until they obtain from His goodness all they desire, and extort it, as it were, by force, from His hands." He found him in Bethel - This may mean either that "God found Jacob," or that "Jacob found God;" which are indeed one and the same thing, since we find God, when He has first found us. God "found," i. e., made Himself known to Jacob twice in this place; first, when he was going toward Haran, when he saw the vision of the ladder and the angels of God ascending and descending, "and the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham and the God of Isaac;" and Jacob first called the place "Bethel;" secondly, on his return, when God spake with him, giving him the name of Israel. Both revelations of God to Jacob are probably included in the words, "He found him in Bethel," since, on both occasions, God did "find him," and come to him, and he "found" God. In Bethel, where God found Jacob, Israel deserted Him, setting up the worship of the calves; yea, he deserted God the more there, because of God's mercy to his forefather, desecrating to false worship the place which had been consecrated by the revelation of the true God; and choosing it the rather, because it had been so consecrated. And there He spake with us - For what He said to Jacob, He said not to Jacob only, nor for Jacob's sake alone, but, in him, He spake to all his posterity, both the children of his body and the children of his faith. Thus it is said, "There did we rejoice in Him" Psa 66:6, i. e., we, their posterity, rejoiced in God there, where He so delivered our forefathers, and, "Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham, for he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him" Heb 7:9-10. And Paul saith, that what was said to Abraham, "therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness, was not written for his sake alone, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead" Rom 4:23, Rom 4:4. There He spake with us, how, in our needs, we should seek and find Him. In loneliness, apart from distractions, in faith, rising in proportion to our tears, in persevering prayer, in earnestness, which "clings so fast to God, that if God would cast us into Hell, He should, as one said Himself go with us, so should Hell not be Hell to us," God is sought and found.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

He wept and made supplication unto Him - Jacob's weeping is not mentioned by Moses. Hosea then knew more than Moses related. He could not have gathered it out of Moses, for Moses relates the words of earnest supplication; yet the tone is that of one, by force of earnest energy, wresting, as it were, the blessing from God, not of one weeping. Yet Hosea adds this, in harmony with Moses. For "vehement desires and earnest petitions frequently issue in tears." "To implore means to ask with tears" . "Jacob, learning, that God Himself thus deigned to deal with him, might well out of amazement and wonder, out of awful respect to Him, and in earnest desire of a blessing, pour out his supplication with tears." Herein he became an image of Him, "Who, in the days of His flesh, 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" Heb 5:7.

: "This which he saith, 'he prevailed,' subjoining, 'he wept and made supplication,' describes the strength of penitents, for in truth they are strong by weeping earnestly and praying perseveringly for the forgiveness of sins, according to that, "From the days of John the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." Whosoever so imitates the patriarch Jacob, who wrestled with the Angel, and, as a conqueror, extorted a blessing from him, he, of whatever nation he be, is truly Jacob, and deserveth to be called Israel." : "Yea, herein is the unconquerable might of the righteous, this his wondrous wrestling, herein his glorious victories, in glowing longings, assiduous prayers, joyous weeping. Girt with the might of holy orison, they strive with God, they wrestle with His judgment, and will not be overcome, until they obtain from His goodness all they desire, and extort it, as it were, by force, from His hands."

He found him in Bethel - This may mean either that "God found Jacob," or that "Jacob found God;" which are indeed one and the same thing, since we find God, when He has first found us. God "found," i. e., made Himself known to Jacob twice in this place; first, when he was going toward Haran, when he saw the vision of the ladder and the angels of God ascending and descending, "and the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham and the God of Isaac;" and Jacob first called the place "Bethel;" secondly, on his return, when God spake with him, giving him the name of Israel. Both revelations of God to Jacob are probably included in the words, "He found him in Bethel," since, on both occasions, God did "find him," and come to him, and he "found" God. In Bethel, where God found Jacob, Israel deserted Him, setting up the worship of the calves; yea, he deserted God the more there, because of God's mercy to his forefather, desecrating to false worship the place which had been consecrated by the revelation of the true God; and choosing it the rather, because it had been so consecrated.

And there He spake with us - For what He said to Jacob, He said not to Jacob only, nor for Jacob's sake alone, but, in him, He spake to all his posterity, both the children of his body and the children of his faith. Thus it is said, "There did we rejoice in Him" Psa 66:6, i. e., we, their posterity, rejoiced in God there, where He so delivered our forefathers, and, "Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham, for he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him" Heb 7:9-10. And Paul saith, that what was said to Abraham, "therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness, was not written for his sake alone, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead" Rom 4:23, Rom 4:4. There He spake with us, how, in our needs, we should seek and find Him. In loneliness, apart from distractions, in faith, rising in proportion to our tears, in persevering prayer, in earnestness, which "clings so fast to God, that if God would cast us into Hell, He should, as one said Himself go with us, so should Hell not be Hell to us," God is sought and found.

The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917]
angel (See Scofield) - (Heb 1:4).

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
The angel - Called Hos 12:3, God; and Hos 12:5, Jehovah, Lord of hosts. He was no created angel, but the Messiah; eternal God by nature and essence, angel by office, and voluntary undertaking. He wept - He prayed with tears from a sense of his own unworthiness, and with earnestness for the mercy he desired. He - God. Him - Jacob full of weariness, fears, and solicitude on his journey to Laban. He - God. With us - Being then in Jacob's loins.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
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.

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⁹ And [2532] as [5613] I may so say [2031] [2036], Levi [3017] also [2532], who [3588] receiveth [2983] tithes [1181], payed tithes [1183] in [1223] Abraham [11].
¹⁰ For [1063] he was [2258] yet [2089] in [1722] the loins [3751] of his father [3962], when [3753] Melchisedec [3198] met [4876] him [846].

⁶ He turned [02015] the sea [03220] into dry [03004] land: they went [05674] through the flood [05104] on foot [07272]: there did we rejoice [08055] in him.

¹ And God [0430] said [0559] unto Jacob [03290], Arise [06965], go up [05927] to Bethel [01008], and dwell [03427] there: and make [06213] there an altar [04196] unto God [0410], that appeared [07200] unto thee when thou fleddest [01272] from the face [06440] of Esau [06215] thy brother [0251].

¹¹ And he lighted [06293] upon a certain place [04725], and tarried there all night [03885], because the sun [08121] was set [0935]; and he took [03947] of the stones [068] of that place [04725], and put [07760] them for his pillows [04763], and lay down [07901] in that place [04725] to sleep [07901].
¹² And he dreamed [02492], and behold a ladder [05551] set up [05324] on the earth [0776], and the top of it [07218] reached [05060] to heaven [08064]: and behold the angels [04397] of God [0430] ascending [05927] and descending [03381] on it.
¹³ And, behold, the LORD [03068] stood [05324] above it, and said [0559], I am the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Abraham [085] thy father [01], and the God [0430] of Isaac [03327]: the land [0776] whereon thou liest [07901], to thee will I give it [05414], and to thy seed [02233];
¹⁴ And thy seed [02233] shall be as the dust [06083] of the earth [0776], and thou shalt spread abroad [06555] to the west [03220], and to the east [06924], and to the north [06828], and to the south [05045]: and in thee and in thy seed [02233] shall all the families [04940] of the earth [0127] be blessed [01288].
¹⁵ And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep [08104] thee in all places whither [0834] thou goest [03212], and will bring thee again [07725] into this land [0127]; for I will not leave [05800] thee, until [0834] I have done [06213] that which I have spoken [01696] to thee of.
¹⁶ And Jacob [03290] awaked [03364] out of his sleep [08142], and he said [0559], Surely [0403] the LORD [03068] is [03426] in this place [04725]; and I knew [03045] it not.
¹⁷ And he was afraid [03372], and said [0559], How dreadful [03372] is this place [04725]! this is none other but the house [01004] of God [0430], and this is the gate [08179] of heaven [08064].
¹⁸ And Jacob [03290] rose up early [07925] in the morning [01242], and took [03947] the stone [068] that he had put [07760] for his pillows [04763], and set it up [07760] for a pillar [04676], and poured [03332] oil [08081] upon the top of it [07218].
¹⁹ And he called [07121] the name [08034] of that place [04725] Bethel [01008]: but [0199] the name [08034] of that city [05892] was called Luz [03870] at the first [07223].

²⁶ And he said [0559], Let me go [07971], for the day [07837] breaketh [05927]. And he said [0559], I will not let thee go [07971], except [0518] thou bless [01288] me.

¹ Behold, I will send [07971] my messenger [04397], and he shall prepare [06437] the way [01870] before [06440] me: and the Lord [0113], whom ye seek [01245], shall suddenly [06597] come [0935] to his temple [01964], even the messenger [04397] of the covenant [01285], whom ye delight [02655] in: behold, he shall come [0935], saith [0559] the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635].

⁴ Now [1161] to him that worketh [2038] is [3049] the reward [3408] not [3756] reckoned [3049] of [2596] grace [5485], but [235] of [2596] debt [3783].

²³ Now [1161] it was [1125] not [3756] written [1125] for his sake [1223] [846] alone [3440], that [3754] it was imputed [3049] to him [846];

⁶ He turned [02015] the sea [03220] into dry [03004] land: they went [05674] through the flood [05104] on foot [07272]: there did we rejoice [08055] in him.

⁷ Who [3739] in [1722] the days [2250] of his [846] flesh [4561], when he had offered up [4374] prayers [1162] and [5037] [2532] supplications [2428] with [3326] strong [2478] crying [2906] and [2532] tears [1144] unto [4314] him that was able [1410] to save [4982] him [846] from [1537] death [2288], and [2532] was heard [1522] in that [575] he feared [2124];

⁴ Being made [1096] so much [5118] better than [2909] the angels [32], as [3745] he hath by inheritance obtained [2816] a more excellent [1313] name [3686] than [3844] they [846].

⁵ Even the LORD [03068] God [0430] of hosts [06635]; the LORD [03068] is his memorial [02143].

³ He took his brother [0251] by the heel [06117] in the womb [0990], and by his strength [0202] he had power [08280] with God [0430]:

¹³ And, behold, the LORD [03068] stood [05324] above it, and said [0559], I am the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Abraham [085] thy father [01], and the God [0430] of Isaac [03327]: the land [0776] whereon thou liest [07901], to thee will I give it [05414], and to thy seed [02233];
¹⁴ And thy seed [02233] shall be as the dust [06083] of the earth [0776], and thou shalt spread abroad [06555] to the west [03220], and to the east [06924], and to the north [06828], and to the south [05045]: and in thee and in thy seed [02233] shall all the families [04940] of the earth [0127] be blessed [01288].
¹⁵ And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep [08104] thee in all places whither [0834] thou goest [03212], and will bring thee again [07725] into this land [0127]; for I will not leave [05800] thee, until [0834] I have done [06213] that which I have spoken [01696] to thee of.