PHANUEL (Hebr. Pêni'ël, “face [appearance] of God”). - The name given to the place where Jacob wrestled with the angel (Gen. 32, 30). P. was located, most probably, along the river Jabbok. Its name is explained by the patriarch himself: “I have seen God face to face, and my life has been saved.” At a later period, the existence of a fortified city in that region is mentioned. Because its inhabitants had not aided the Israelites in their struggle against the Midianites, P. was cruelly punished by Gideon (Iudc. 8, 8, 17). It was fortified again by King Jeroboam I (I Reg. 12, 26).
Modern archaeologists do not agree on the identification of the site, since all reference in modern toponymy is lacking. Already in antiquity every memory of the city had been lost. Eusebius (cf. Girolamo, De situ et nominibus locorum hebraicorum, ed. P. De Lagarde, Onomastica sacra, 123, 6) merely observes that it stood “near the Jabbok.” Angelo Penna