Genesis 32:7

32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels.

Genesis 32:24

32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

sn Reflecting Jacob’s perspective at the beginning of the encounter, the narrator calls the opponent simply “a man.” Not until later in the struggle does Jacob realize his true identity.

sn The verb translated “wrestled” (וַיֵּאָבֵק, vayyeaveq) sounds in Hebrew like the names “Jacob” (יַעֲקֹב, yaaqov) and “Jabbok” (יַבֹּק, yabboq). In this way the narrator links the setting, the main action, and the main participant together in the mind of the reader or hearer.

tn Heb “until the rising of the dawn.”