Original Word: שָׂרָה
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: sarah
Pronunciation: sah-rah'
Phonetic Spelling: (saw-raw')
KJV: have power (as a prince)
NASB: contended, striven, wrestled
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to prevail

have power as a prince

A primitive root; to prevail -- have power (as a prince).

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to persist, exert oneself, persevere
NASB Translation
contended (1), striven (1), wrestled (1).

I. שָׂרָה verb persist, exert oneself, persevere (Arabic persist, persevere); —

Qal Perfect3masculine singular ׳אֶתאֿ ׳שׂ Hosea 12:4 he persevered with God; 2 masculine singular וְעִם אֲנָשִׁים ׳שָׂרִיתָ עִםאֿ Genesis 32:29 (J). — Hosea 12:5 has Imperfect וַיָּ֫שַׂר in same meaning, as if from a (non-existent) שׂוּר; < read וַיִּ֫שֶׂר (apocope from וַיִּשְׂרֶה). — שׂוֺרָה Isaiah 28:25 see above.

Essential Idea

שָׂרָה (Strong’s 8280) conveys energetic contending that ends in victory. The verb pictures a strenuous, face-to-face struggle that refuses to let go until blessing is secured. The thought world is not casual opposition but princely determination empowered by God.

Occurrences and Narrative Setting

1. Genesis 32:28 records the turning point in the life of Jacob: “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed”. The “struggle” (שָׂרִיתָ) gives Israel his new covenant name, forever stamping the nation’s identity with the memory of persevering faith.
2. Hosea 12:3 looks back on the same patriarch: “In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God”. Hosea uses the verb to convict rebellious Ephraim by contrasting Jacob’s tenacious seeking of God with their current faithlessness.

Theological Significance

Persevering Struggle and Divine Grace
• The verb highlights the mysterious confluence of human exertion and divine condescension. Jacob “prevails,” yet only because the Lord allows it (Genesis 32:25). Scripture therefore presents earnest striving not as self-salvation but as the very arena in which grace is bestowed.
• Hosea’s prophetic use underscores covenant accountability. Israel’s forefather contended for blessing; the nation must do the same in repentance or face judgment (Hosea 12:6).

Connection to the Name Israel

The new name יִשְׂרָאֵל embeds the root שָׂרָה within it, so every mention of the nation silently echoes the idea of wrestling with God. Israel’s collective calling is to cling to the Lord until full redemptive blessing arrives—a theme ultimately fulfilled in Messiah.

Echoes in the Wider Canon

• The Psalms repeatedly urge the faithful to “seek His face continually” (Psalm 105:4), an exhortation resonant with Jacob’s night of striving.
• Prophets liken prayer to watchmen who “give Him no rest” (Isaiah 62:6-7).
• In the New Testament, the widow who continually petitions the judge (Luke 18:1-8) and Paul’s command to “strive together with me in prayers to God for me” (Romans 15:30) carry forward the same spiritual dynamic.

Pastoral and Devotional Implications

1. Prayer as Wrestling: Believers are encouraged to engage God with bold persistence, confident that He invites such importunity.
2. Transformation through Struggle: Jacob limps away blessed but broken; Christian maturity likewise often comes through nights of hardship that yield dependence on God.
3. National Hope for Israel: The embedded theology of שָׂרָה assures that the covenant people, though currently in unbelief, will yet prevail in the end by God’s sovereign mercy (Romans 11:26-29).

Summary

שָׂרָה illustrates the paradox of divine-human encounter: determined striving that culminates not in human triumph over God, but in God’s triumph within the human heart. Whenever Scripture invites steadfast prayer, wholehearted seeking, and persevering faith, it quietly summons believers into the same princely struggle that forged the name Israel.

שָׂרִ֧יתָ שָׂרָ֥ה שרה שרית śā·rāh śā·rî·ṯā saRah śārāh saRita śārîṯāInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts