Penuel

Penuel (meaning: face of God) was a site east of the Jordan River, not far from Succoth, in the territory of Gad. It takes its name from the defining event recorded in Genesis 32:24–32, where Jacob wrestled through the night with a divine figure (identified in Hosea 12:4 as an angel and in Genesis 32:30 as God himself) at the ford of Jabbok. Having prevailed, Jacob named the place Penuel, saying: I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. There Jacob received both a wound — the shrinking of his thigh sinew — and a blessing, along with his new name Israel.

The site appears later in Israel's history: Gideon, pursuing the fleeing Midianites, requested bread from Penuel's inhabitants and was refused; he later destroyed the tower of Penuel and killed its men as punishment (Judges 8:8–9, 17). Jeroboam the son of Nebat subsequently built or fortified Penuel as part of his administrative construction in Transjordan (1 Kings 12:25). The city's theological identity, however, remains permanently linked to Jacob's nocturnal struggle and transformation.