Moving Pearls: 300 years of struggle

Jacobs Worstelinge by Jan Janszn Calckman/Kalckman
Published by J. van Poolsum in 1716, Utrecht In a world in which human existence is constantly changing, it is a permanent struggle leaving behind the old and accepting the new. Letting go of something that is deeply cherished never goes without pain, struggle and suffering. This is not just a contemporary theme, but was already touched on in the old Bible story of Jacob wrestling with God which has inspired many authors over time.

One beautiful example is the small book Jacobs worstelinge[1] written by the devoted Calvinist Jan Janszoon Kalckman (1565-1641) and published in 1716 by J. van Poolsum. This book, exactly 300 years old, relates Kalckman’s account of the old Bible story (Genesis 32:22-32). To know Jacob’s story is to know that his life was one of never ending struggle. Early in his life, God promised Jacob that he would create not only a great nation through Jacob, but a whole company of nations. This expectation made Jacob a man of fears and anxieties, fearful that this was about to happen at any moment. He was also afraid that his brother would carry out his vow and kill him. Anxious for his life, Jacob concocted a bribe and sent a caravan of gifts along with his women and children across the River Jabbok in hopes of pacifying his brother. Physically exhausted, alone in the desert wilderness, facing certain death, Jacob was divested of all his worldly possessions. He was powerless to control his fate. He collapsed into a deep sleep on the banks of the Jabbok River. He had a vision of two family members who wanted to kill him but he was too spent to struggle any more. However, his real struggle actually began at this point. After fleeing his family history, wrestling with God Himself was a different matter altogether. One night an angelic stranger visited Jacob. They wrestled through the night until daybreak, at which point the stranger crippled Jacob with a blow to his hip that disabled him and left him with a limp for the rest of his life. It was by then Jacob knew what had happened. “I saw God face-to-face, and yet my life was spared” (Genesis 32:30). In the process, Jacob the deceiver received the new name Israel, “He struggles with God.” However, the most important event occurs at the conclusion of that struggle: God “blessed him there” (Genesis 32:29).

The book starts with the “voorreden aan den christelijke lezer” – an introduction to the Christian reader – by J.J. Kalckman. Kalckman attracted a lot of attention with his work Antidotum, tegengift vant gebruyck of ongebruyck vant orgel, which he wrote only one year before his death in 1641. This work was a direct critical response to the work of the Dutch Golden age poet and composer Constantijn Huygens (1596 – 1687), and is a plea against the use of the organ during Christian/religious worship.

But it is Kalckman’s narration of Jacob wrestling with God that Antiquariaat Van der Steur is proud to have in its collection. This very rare book, printed in the smallest letters –  the reader too wrestles through the pages – and vellum covered, celebrates its 300th year of existence this year. It is a beautiful little book, a true historical treasure. Amen.
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