PENIEL or PENUEL (, lit. "the face of God"):

By: Emil G. Hirsch, Schulim Ochser

• 1. Place mentioned three times in the Old Testament. It was situated on the western bank of the Jordan, near the ford of Jabbok, in the mountains of Ephraim. It is identified with the present Tulul al-Dhahab, which lies 250 feet above thesea, and contains beautiful ruins. According to the Bible, Jacob called the place "Peniel," after he had wrestled with the angel, because he had seen God face to face (Gen. xxxi. 30; comp. LXX. Φεοῦ πρόσωπον). Gideon destroyed the tower of Penuel because its inhabitants would not assist him with provisions during his pursuit of the kings of Midian (Judges viii. 8-17); the town was rebuilt by Jeroboam I. (I Kings xii. 25).
• 2. A descendant of Judah (I Chron. iv. 4).
• 3. A Benjamite (ib. viii. 25).

E. G. H. S. O.