Genesis 34:14
in Genesis 34“We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us.
KJV
And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:
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This verse in Genesis 34
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThat were a reproach unto us - Because the uncircumcised were not in the covenant of God; and to have given an heiress of the promise to one who had no kind of right to its spiritual blessings, from whom might spring children who would naturally walk in the way of their father would have been absurd, reproachful and wicked.
This site's exposition
Jacob's sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully
on Genesis 34:13-14
Jacob's sons answered deceitfully, and the verse says so before the speech begins. The Hebrew is mirmah, the same word Isaac used of Jacob at Genesis 27:35, and the root Jacob threw at Laban at Genesis 29:25 for the switch of Leah for Rachel. The sons answer in their father's own vocabulary. Their ground is stated in verse 14, a disgrace in giving their sister to an uncircumcised man.
This site's exposition
an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace
Disgrace is the Hebrew cherpah, reproach, the word Rachel used of her barrenness at Genesis 30:23. At Joshua 5:9 the LORD rolls away the reproach of Egypt on the day Israel is circumcised at Gilgal. Goliath is called uncircumcised in contempt at 1 Samuel 17:26.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they said unto them,....
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נוּכַל֙ | nukhal | we are able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לַעֲשׂוֹת֙ | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַדָּבָ֣ר | hadavar | the thing | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| לָתֵת֙ | latet | to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲחֹתֵ֔נוּ | ʾachotenu | sister our | H269 → | 114 times |
| לְאִ֖ישׁ | leish | to a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| ל֣וֹ | lo | [belongs] to <the> him | ||
| עָרְלָ֑ה | ʾarelah | a foreskin | H6190 → | 16 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חֶרְפָּ֥ה | cherpah | [is] a reproach | H2781 → | |
| הִ֖וא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לָֽנוּ׃ | lanu | to <the> us |
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֗םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נוּכַל֙we are able
nukhalH3201 →194 times
לַעֲשׂוֹת֙to do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
הַדָּבָ֣רthe thing
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
לָתֵת֙to give
latetH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲחֹתֵ֔נוּsister our
ʾachotenuH269 →114 times
לְאִ֖ישׁto a man
leishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁר־whom
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
ל֣וֹ[belongs] to <the> him
lo
עָרְלָ֑הa foreskin
ʾarelahH6190 →16 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
חֶרְפָּ֥ה[is] a reproach
cherpahH2781 →
הִ֖ואit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
לָֽנוּ׃to <the> us
lanu
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 2:13When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I…
it leads to
- Acts 5:19
But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying,
- Exodus 1:22
Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”
- Acts 12:11
Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
- Acts 10:7
When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among his attendants.
- Matthew 1:20
But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife,…
- Acts 5:19
Through
2 Samuel 1:20Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
it leads to
- Micah 1:10
Do not tell it in Gath; do not weep at all. Roll in the dust in Beth-leaphrah.
- 1 Samuel 18:6
As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and…
- Exodus 15:20–21
Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.
- Micah 1:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament.