A town beyond the Jordan, and near the Jabbok; defended by a strong tower, which Gideon broke down because the men of Penuel refused to aid him against the Midianites, Jg 8:8-17. It was restored by Jeroboam I, 1Ki 12:25. It received its name, the face of God, from Jacob's they're wrestling with the Angel Jehovah face to face, Ge 32:30.
Jacob named that place Peniel (Face of God), because he said: I have seen God face to face, yet my life was saved.
He went up to Penuel and made the same request of them. The men of Penuel gave the same answer as the men of Succoth. He spoke to the men of Penuel: When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower. read more. Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor. Their armies were with them, about fifteen thousand men all that were left of all the armies of the children of the east. They had already lost a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen. Gideon went up by the way of the nomads who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah. They attacked the army while the camp felt secure. When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured them and routed the entire army. Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun came up (at Heres Pass). He captured a young man from Succoth and questioned him. He described the princes of Succoth, and the elders and even seventy-seven men. Then Gideon went to the men of Sukkoth and said: Remember when you refused to help me? You said that you could not give any food to my exhausted army because I had not captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet. Well, here they are! Then he took the elders of the town and had them crushed on a bed of thorns and sharp stems. He tore down the tower at Penuel. He also killed the men of that city.
King Jeroboam of Israel fortified the town of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there for a while. Then he left and fortified the town of Penuel.