Genesis 34:17
in Genesis 34But if you will not agree to be circumcised, then we will take our sister and go.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
KJV
But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
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This verse in Genesis 34
Commentary
5 notes on this verseBut if ye will not hearken to us to be circumcised,.... Will not agree to this condition, circumcision: then will we take our daughter; by force, as the Targum of Jonathan adds: and we will be gone: depart from this part of the country, and go elsewhere.
This site's exposition
that you become circumcised like us
on Genesis 34:15-17
The condition they set is that every male be circumcised, the sign of the covenant given to Abraham at Genesis 17:10. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe that nothing in the terms brings these men to the God of Jacob. One people is what verse 16 offers, and Hamor repeats it at the gate in verse 22. The daughters go both ways in the bargain.
This site's exposition
we will take our sister and go
The Hebrew has bittenu, daughter, where the Berean gives sister, so the brothers speak as heads of the family. Jacob, her father, says nothing through the whole exchange.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
); but they aimed at the spoil; and, though Simeon and Levi only were the murderers, yet it is intimated that others of the sons of Jacob came upon the slain and spoiled the city (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Then will we take our daughter, and we will he gone - It is natural to suppose that the tribe of Hamor was very inconsiderable, else they would not have sought an alliance with the family of Jacob, and have come so readily into a painful, disgraceful measure, without having either the sanction of Divine authority or reason; for it does not appear that the sons of Jacob urged either.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֧א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁמְע֛וּ | tishmeu | you will listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֵלֵ֖ינוּ | ʾeleinu | to us | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לְהִמּ֑וֹל | lehimol | by being circumcised | H4135 → | 37 times |
| וְלָקַ֥חְנוּ | velakachnu | and we will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בִּתֵּ֖נוּ | bitenu | daughter our | H1323 → | 588 times |
| וְהָלָֽכְנוּ׃ | vehalakhenu | and we will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֧אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁמְע֛וּyou will listen
tishmeuH8085 →1159 times
אֵלֵ֖ינוּto us
ʾeleinuH413 →5510 times
לְהִמּ֑וֹלby being circumcised
lehimolH4135 →37 times
וְלָקַ֥חְנוּand we will take
velakachnuH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בִּתֵּ֖נוּdaughter our
bitenuH1323 →588 times
וְהָלָֽכְנוּ׃and we will go
vehalakhenuH1980 →1546 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.