Pinual

I've been thinking about the charcter Pinual from Ender's Game as of late. I mentioned it to my sister, and she said it sounded like something she remembered from the bible. I'm not a bible scholar by any means, but I found this link, which is strikingly interesting. http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/P/PENIEL/ .

So, Penuel is a location in the bible that has a cliff that looks like a giant. I remember that the giant had deteriorated into the landscape when Ender returned to the fantasy game some months later.

The river Jabbok flows through Penuel. As Jacob was taking his family somewhere, he had a battle with some unknown identity, perhaps an angel, and then was able to cross the river: "The ford of the river Jabbok was the place where there was a conflict between two paths. It was at the confluence between two streams." http://biblestudy2000.tripod.com/Biblestudy2000a/id1.html .

I'm not entirely sure what this all means, metaphorically, but I can't believe that it's a coincidence. I think OSC is using some obscure references from the bible to illustrate his larger point about Ender's personal journey.

I'd much appreciate any thoughts/feedback.