Why God Renamed Jacob to Confirm an Angel's Word

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Bo 17:1

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

[(Exodus 12:29:) "And it came to pass at midnight."] This is what Scripture says (Isaiah 44:26): "Who confirms the word of His servant." Rabbi Berekhyah said in the name of Rabbi Levi: What is the meaning of "Who confirms the word of His servant"? Do we not already know that He says to Jerusalem, "You shall be inhabited," and to the cities of Judah, "They shall be rebuilt" (ibid.)? Rather, one angel revealed himself to Jacob our father. He said to him: "What is your name?" He said to him: "Jacob." "Your name shall no longer be said to be Jacob, [but Israel]" (Genesis 32:28). "And He fulfills the counsel of His messengers" (Isaiah, ibid.): the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to Jacob in order to uphold the decree of that one of His messengers, and "God said to him: Your name is Jacob; [your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name]" (Genesis 35:10). Jerusalem, about which all the prophets prophesy — how much more so!

Themes

Divine PromiseAngelsJerusalem

Biblical References

Continue Reading

Life of Adam and EveSatan Deceives Eve a Second Time at the RiverA dying man asked his wife and son to walk to the edge of Paradise and beg for mercy. They came back with a prophecy -- and a death sentence. Adam lay groaning Life of Adam and EveGod Promises Adam's Resurrection at the End of DaysSix days. That was how long the archangel Michael had said it would take. And on the sixth day, exactly as foretold, Adam died. When Adam felt the hour of death2 BaruchBaruch's Letter to the Nine and a Half Tribes in ExileThis is the letter that Baruch son of Neriah sent across the river Euphrates to the nine and a half tribes in exile. It may be the most hopeful document ever wrMidrash Tanchuma Buber, BamidbarWhy My People Said Radnu - The Oven of Jerusalem in TanchumaThe Bread That Cannot Return to the Oven Hear now a teaching on the word ma'aphelyah, the deep gloom the prophet Jeremiah names. Did the Holy One ever promise aMidrash Tanchuma Buber, V'Zot HaBerachahMoses Blesses Israel Before the Angel of DeathThe verse says Moses blessed Israel "before his death." The Sages press the wording: surely a man does not bless after he has died? So read it otherwise. "Befor2 BaruchAngels Hide the Temple Vessels Before the Chaldeans EnterThe Chaldean army surrounded Jerusalem. But the real destruction, the kind that shatters heaven, had already begun inside the walls. On the evening before the s