Hebrew word · H6439

פְּנוּאֵל

penu'el

Peniel

A place name, 'face of God (El)'. The vowel between the two parts (-i- here, -u- in v. 31 and elsewhere) is usually explained as an old linking vowel. It does not change the meaning. Some have read Peni'el as 'my face is God' or 'turn to God', but most scholars take it as 'face of God'.

Appears 9 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Penuel or Peniel = "facing God"

the place named by Jacob when he wrestled with God and located on the north bank of the Jabbok close to the Jordan

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Genesis 32:30

Range of meaning

A place name, 'face of God (El)'. The vowel between the two parts (-i- here, -u- in v. 31 and elsewhere) is usually explained as an old linking vowel. It does not change the meaning. Some have read Peni'el as 'my face is God' or 'turn to God', but most scholars take it as 'face of God'.

Against the English

English versions keep the name untranslated, so readers get the meaning only from the explanation that follows. The Septuagint translated it ('Eidos theou', 'Form of God'). That keeps the meaning but loses the link to a real town.

Used elsewhere in the period

Penuel was a fortified town in Transjordan, near the Jabbok. Gideon tore down its tower (Judg 8:8–9, 17), and Jeroboam I rebuilt it (1 Kgs 12:25). It is commonly located at Tell edh-Dhahab esh-Sherqiyeh, though that is not certain. It also appears as a personal name (1 Chr 4:4; 8:25).

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 32:30 פְּנִיאֵ֑ל Peniel

    So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

    Here: Made of penî ('face of') and El ('God'). The name compresses the whole experience and is explained by the clause that follows. Elsewhere it is the name of a real town by the Jabbok river.

  2. Genesis 32:31 פְּנוּאֵ֑ל Penuel

    The sun rose above him as he passed by Penuel, and he was limping because of his hip.

Judges · 4

  1. Judges 8:8 פְּנוּאֵ֔ל פְנוּאֵ֔ל Penuel

    From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.

  2. Judges 8:9 פְנוּאֵ֖ל Penuel

    So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”

  3. Judges 8:17 פְּנוּאֵ֖ל Penuel

    He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 12:25 פְּנוּאֵֽל׃ Penuel

    Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:4 וּפְנוּאֵל֙ and Penuel

    Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah. These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah and the father of Bethlehem.

    Here: A man's name in the tribe of Judah meaning 'face of God'. He is not the place Penuel/Peniel where Jacob wrestled (Genesis 32). The 'and' carries on the list of Hur's line from verse 3.

  2. 1 Chronicles 8:25 וּפְנוּאֵ֖ל and Penuel

    Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.