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Arguing With God
In Genesis 32, Jacob spends a fitful night before meeting with his long-lost brother Esau, who Jacob had previously swindled out of his birthright. He wrestles with an angel of God all night. When he pins the angel down, Jacob demands a blessing before he will let him go. Instead of a blessing, the angel gives him a new name:
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לֹ֤א יַעֲקֹב֙ יֵאָמֵ֥ר עוֹד֙ שִׁמְךָ֔ כִּ֖י אִם־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כִּֽי־שָׂרִ֧יתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִ֛ים וְעִם־אֲנָשִׁ֖ים וַתּוּכָֽל׃
Said he, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed.”
-Genesis 32: 29 (Tanakh translation).
In other words, Israel is the One Who Argues with God.
This was not the first or the last time one of my ancestors argued with God. In Genesis 18–19, Abraham is told that the entire city of Sodom will be destroyed for the sins of their inhabitants. Abraham does not just say “Yes, sir” and go along with the program as most would do when hearing the Word of God. Instead he argues, bargaining with God over how many righteous men it would take to save the city from destruction. Abraham manages to bargain God down to ten. Of course, there are not even ten righteous men, and the entire city is destroyed anyway.
