GENESIS 32:28

Q: Two different verses tell of Jacob's name change to Israel: Genesis 32:28 when he is east of the Jordan camped on the Jabbok River and Genesis 35:10 when he is west of the Jordan at Bethel.  And the scripture narrative continues to refer to him as Jacob. Can you help clarify?

You are correct. From the time of renaming him, Jacob continues to be the most common name that he is referred to by although it is clear from passages such as Genesis 49:2 (“Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob; listen to Israel your father.”) that the two names were sometimes used interchangeably. My own opinion is that the Bible continues to use Jacob as his personal name because it removes any possible confusion with the nation of Israel. As an example, Allen Ross' commentary on Genesis referring to this story has to use the phrases “Israel the person” and “Israel the nation” to make his discussion clear to the reader.

A less accepted explanation is that Jacob continued to act as his old self after his encounter with God and therefore he did not deserve to be called by his God-given name in the narratives. The same idea has been suggested in the case of Simon, surnamed Peter by Jesus after his Great Confession. Three times after that naming, Jesus calls him only “Simon” in settings where his weakness is evident: Luke 22:31 concerning the prediction of Peter's denial, Mark 14:37 in the Garden of Gethsemane when Peter falls asleep, and John 21:16-17 when Jesus questions Peter's love for him.

Evidence against this second type of explanation includes the fact that (a) Jacob/Israel does appear to be a changed person after his renaming and (b) Peter is called Simon in at least two other instances after his renaming in settings that have nothing to do with his spiritual weakness (Matthew 17:24-25 and Luke 24:34). With both Jacob and Peter, the choice of names used is probably for literary reasons rather than spiritual ones.