God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.
And God said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. Genesis 35:10-11
The words about Jacob have to do with his name: "Your name is..." "Your name will be..." "So he named him..."
But about God, the text doesn't say "My name is El Shaddai." The text says "I am El Shaddai."
It's fascinating because the pairings contrast in two ways:
- One is a name, and the other is an embodiment of identity.
- One means "struggles with God," and the other means "God almighty."
There's a part of me that wonders if this is God's way of responding to Jacob's assumption that he "won" the battle with God when he wrestled with the man on the other side of the Jabbok river. Ie., "You wrestled with God, but God is an overwhelming divine power, sovereign over everything."
And perhaps there is an implied... "I let you win."