Bible Dictionaries

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Peniel

Peni'el. (face of God). The name, which Jacob gave to the place, in which he had wrestled with God: "He called the name of the place, 'face of El,' for I have seen Elohim face to face." Genesis 32:30. In Genesis 32:31, and the other passages in which the name occurs, its form is changed to Penuel. From the narrative, it is evident that Peniel lay somewhere, on the north bank of the Jabbok, and between that torrent, and the fords of the Jordan at Succoth, a few miles north of the glen, where the Jabbok falls into the Jordan.