Editing Penuel (section)

== Biblical narrative ==
According to the Biblical narrative, the site was named ''Peniel'' ("Face of [[El (god)|God]]") by Jacob:
{{Quote | It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared. | Gen. 32:30 NIV}}
Here [[Jacob Wrestling with the Angel|Jacob wrestled]] (Gen. 32:24–32) "with a man" ("the angel", Hos. 12:4) "till the break of day." This episode resulted in God (or the angel) [[Jacob Wrestling with the Angel|changing Jacob's name to "Israel"]] (Gen. 32:28), interpreted as which literally means, "he who strives with God",<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kierkegaard |first1=Søren |title=Fear and Trembling |date=20 July 2006 |page=13 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107268821 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bUNY5KzvIEYC&pg=PA13}}</ref> (literally, "God strives").

Penuel is later mentioned in the Book of Judges. The men of this place refused to give bread to [[Gideon]] and his three hundred men when they were in pursuit of the Midianites ({{bibleverse|Judges|8:1-21|KJV}}). On his return, Gideon tore down the tower there and killed all the men of the city.

According to the Jewish Bible, king [[Jeroboam]] of [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israel]] established his capital in [[Shechem]]. A short time later, he left Shechem and fortified Penuel, declaring it as his new capital ({{bibleverse|1 Kings|12:25|KJV}}). He and his son, [[Nadab of Israel|Nadab]], ruled there, until [[Baasha of Israel|Baasha]] seized the throne in 909 BCE and moved the capital to [[Tirzah (ancient city)|Tirzah]] ({{bibleverse|1 Kings|15:25-34|KJV}}).{{original research inline|date=January 2021}} In the scriptures, it is identified as both an [[El (deity)|El]]-site and a [[Jahwist]] site.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nohrnberg |first1=James |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Like_Unto_Moses/sRnTXKQYJQEC&pg=PA295 |title=Like Unto Moses: The Constituting of an Interruption |page=295}}</ref> 

‘Pnuel’ is also a common name given to males in [[Assyrian people|Assyrian culture]].

Some scholars consider that the material of Genesis 32–35, including the account of Jacob being renamed Israel at Penuel, may be a later addition that introduces a new power structure centered around the establishment of sacral places in the North (Penuel, [[Shechem]] and [[Bethel]]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carr |first1=David M. |title=Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches |date=January 1996 |page=298 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=9780664220716 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UJctZxFHikC&pg=PA298}}</ref>