וַתֹּ֣אמֶר רָחֵ֗ל נַפְתּוּלֵ֨י אֱלֹהִ֧ים ׀ נִפְתַּ֛לְתִּי עִם־אֲחֹתִ֖י גַּם־יָכֹ֑לְתִּי וַתִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ נַפְתָּלִֽי׃
And Rachel said, “A fateful contest I waged with my sister; yes, and I have prevailed.” So she named him Naphtali.
Genesis 30:8 (The Contemporary Torah, JPS 2006)
Genesis 30:8 introduces us to a Hebrew idiom that hasn’t been used before in the text.
The highlighted word here is “Elohim,” which has been consistently used to describe God. But God isn’t mentioned in the verse.
Here, “Elohim” is used as a verb intensifier.
Literally, the passage is “Naftulei **Elohim** niftalti im achoti.”
“With wrestlings-of God, I have wrestled with my sister.”
(Naphtali means “wrestling” or “struggling.”)
This use of “Elohim” like this happens elsewhere in scripture: Jonah 3:3. There, Nineveh is described as an “exceedingly great city.” (KJV)
It is literal a city “great to God.” It is a city that God *spares when it repents.* This seems significant.
Going back to Genesis 30:8, what can we understand from this use of “Elohim?”
Perhaps this is more than a great wrestling with her sister. Perhaps Rachel is wrestling with God here.