Genesis 34:20
in Genesis 34So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and addressed the men of their city:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
KJV
And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
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This verse in Genesis 34
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Chapter 34, Verse 20) And Emor and his son Sichem came to the gate of their city, and they spoke to the men of the city, saying, these men are peaceful with us. Where now the Septuagint translated it as 'peaceful', Aquila interpreted it as 'consummated' or 'perfected', for which in Hebrew it is read () Salamim. From this it is clear that what we said above about Salem is true.
This site's exposition
went to the gate of their city
on Genesis 34:20-23
The gate is where a city's public business was done. The speech made there never mentions Dinah, and Hamor and his son Shechem sell the plan on profit, that the livestock and possessions and animals of these men will become the city's. Wesley reads it as a good return promised to neighbors, and at peace with us stands on the root Jerome traced at Salem in 33:18.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Hamor and Shechem his son went unto the gate of their city,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Hamor and Shechem . . . came unto the gate of their city--That was the place where every public communication was made; and in the ready obsequious submission of the people to this measure we see an evidence either of the extraordinary affection for the governing family, or of the abject despotism of the East, where the will of a chief is an absolute command.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֥א | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| חֲמ֛וֹר | chamor | Hamor | H2544 → | 13 times |
| וּשְׁכֶ֥ם | ushekhem | and Shechem | H7927 → | 63 times |
| בְּנ֖וֹ | beno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שַׁ֣עַר | shaar | [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| עִירָ֑ם | ʾiram | city their | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וַֽיְדַבְּר֛וּ | vaydaberu | and they spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֥י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| עִירָ֖ם | ʾiram | city their | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לֵאמֹֽר׃ | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
וַיָּבֹ֥אand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
חֲמ֛וֹרHamor
chamorH2544 →13 times
וּשְׁכֶ֥םand Shechem
ushekhemH7927 →63 times
בְּנ֖וֹson his
benoH1121 →4930 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שַׁ֣עַר[the] gate of
shaarH8179 →374 times
עִירָ֑םcity their
ʾiramH5892 →1090 times
וַֽיְדַבְּר֛וּand they spoke
vaydaberuH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַנְשֵׁ֥י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
עִירָ֖םcity their
ʾiramH5892 →1090 times
לֵאמֹֽר׃<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
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
Genesis 22:17I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
it leads to
- Genesis 15:5
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
- Genesis 24:60
And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands upon thousands. May your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”
- Jeremiah 33:22
As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and as the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so too will I multiply the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister…
- Genesis 26:4
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
- Psalms 2:8–9
Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.
- Genesis 15:5
Through
Zechariah 8:16These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates,
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:25
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.
- Zechariah 7:9
“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.
- Psalms 15:2
He who walks with integrity and practices righteousness, who speaks the truth from his heart,
- Ephesians 4:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.