On the Soul’s Struggle: Fundamentals of walking the Agonic Path Between Fear and Faith
“Then he said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.’”
—Genesis 32:28
From Philo, On the Special Laws, Book 1, Section 118 (transliterated):
ὁ δὲ Ἰσραὴλ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν ἐν ἀνθρώποις καὶ θεῷ ἀγῶνα σημαίνοντα, ὅτι ἀγωνίζεται καὶ νικᾷ θεὸν καὶ ἀνθρώπους.
English Translation:
“The name Israel carries the meaning of the struggle (agōn) between man and God, signifying one who struggles and overcomes both God and men.”
“Afterward his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.” (Genesis 25:26)
He grasps the heel” → From the Hebrew root עקב (ʿ-q-b), meaning:
- To follow, trail behind
- To supplant or overreach
- To grasp the heel (as Jacob did to Esau at birth — Genesis 25:26)
Jacob represents the soul before transformation—a seeker, a striver, a soul still wrestling with:
- Control
- Fear
- Ego
- Earthly inheritance
Jacob lives by grasping — strategizing, manipulating, surviving. His name reflects this liminal identity: one close to the blessing, but not yet transformed by it.
✦ From Jacob to Israel (יִשְׂרָאֵל)
After wrestling with the divine at Peniel (Genesis 32:28), Jacob receives a new name:
“Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
This is the moment Jacob becomes a new creation. He is no longer the one who grasps — he is the one who has been grasped by God.
✦ In The Agonic Path:
Jacob is your entry point. Israel is your becoming.
And The Agonic Path is the fire-road between them.
