Yaakov and the Angel

We find that Yaakov Avinu fought with an angel in this week's parsha. This epic battle happened through the night and we are taught that it lasted until dawn. At the end of this monumental event the angel surrenders and requests to be freed. Yaakov does so after asking the name of his adversary, a question to which it would appear no answer was given. (See Bereishis 32)

Although I concede that the following points can be countered without too much difficulty, I would like to express what the basic wording of the pesukim appears to portray. Since the pasuk states that they fought until dawn, it would seem that the minor conversation that ensued happened just after dawn. This seems apparent in verse 27 more explicitly when the angel requests to be freed, "because dawn has already arrived."

Rashi mentions that the angel needed to be released because it was his time to sing his praise to God. Rabbeinu Bacheye mentions that daybreak was the opportune time for this angel to sing these praises. If so, wouldn't it be necessary for him to sing at dawn. The implications of the pesukim are that he was able to begin the song just after dawn, though. Why didn't he surrender a few minutes earlier and then he would have been able to sing at daybreak itself?

Perhaps the answer lies in the source from which these great sages were quoting from. The Gemara describes the conversation in far greater detail than that which is stated in the pesukim. The angel stated that day had broken and he needed to be released. Yaakov asked him why he was afraid of day, was he a bandit or a kidnapper? The angel replied that he was neither of the above, rather, he was actually an angel and that he had never had the opportunity to sing God's praises from the time he had been created until that moment. (Chullin 91b)

Elsewhere, the Gemara mentions that nighttime is a dangerous time to be on the road. (Pesachim 2a) Rashi comments that prior to sunrise one should not begin his journey because bandits may lie in ambush. (Rashi, Pesachim 2a) It would seem that the daytime that bandits fear is not after dawn, rather, they only go into hiding from sunrise and on. Thus, if the angel was suspect of being a bandit it would seem that he was displaying a fear of sunrise and not dawn. Perhaps, Yaakov noticed this from the fact that it was only after dawn that the angel requested to be freed prior to daybreak. The daybreak he must have been referring to was sunrise. Therefore, Yaakov thought he must be a bandit.

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