Genesis 34:4
in Genesis 34So Shechem told his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as a wife.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
KJV
And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
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This verse in Genesis 34
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd Shechem spake unto his father Hamor,.... And told him the whole affair, at least what a strong affection he had for Dinah: saying, get me this damsel to wife; by which he meant not only that he would give his consent that he might marry her, but that he would get her parents' consent unto it, and settle the matter with them; by which it appears how early, and that even among Heathen nations, consent of parents on both sides was judged necessary to marriage.
This site's exposition
his soul was drawn to Dinah
on Genesis 34:3-4
Affection follows the force, and Dinah never speaks in this chapter. Clarke reads spoke to her tenderly as speaking to her heart, and takes verses 2 and 3 as evidence she was held in Shechem's house, where Shechem asks his father to get her as a wife. The text is silent on what she wanted.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
In this place it is more clearly expressed, that Shechem desired to have Dinah for his wife; for his lust was not so unbridled, that when he had defiled, he despised her. Besides, a laudable modesty is shown, since he pays deference to the will of his father; for he does not attempt to form a contract of marriage of his own mind, but leaves this to his father's authority.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The perfidious and bloody revenge which Simeon and Levi took upon them, ver. 25-31. Commentary on Chapter 34 1. Dinah was then about fifteen or sixteen years of age when she went out to see the daughters of the land - Probably on some public day.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-25-anchored-4-4
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
According to JOSEPHUS, she had been attending a festival; but it is highly probable that she had been often and freely mixing in the society of the place and that she, being a simple, inexperienced, and vain young woman, had been flattered by the attentions of the ruler's son.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שְׁכֶ֔ם | shekhem | Shechem | H7927 → | 63 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חֲמ֥וֹר | chamor | Hamor | H2544 → | 13 times |
| אָבִ֖יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| קַֽח־ | kach- | get | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לִ֛י | li | for <the> me | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיַּלְדָּ֥ה | haiyaldah | the girl | H3207 → | |
| הַזֹּ֖את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| לְאִשָּֽׁה׃ | leishah | to a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שְׁכֶ֔םShechem
shekhemH7927 →63 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
חֲמ֥וֹרHamor
chamorH2544 →13 times
אָבִ֖יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
קַֽח־get
kach-H3947 →966 times
לִ֛יfor <the> me
li
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַיַּלְדָּ֥הthe girl
haiyaldahH3207 →
הַזֹּ֖את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
לְאִשָּֽׁה׃to a wife
leishahH802 →781 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
Judges 14:2So he returned and told his father and mother, “I have seen a daughter of the Philistines in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”
it leads to
- Genesis 24:2–3
So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
- Genesis 21:21
And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
- 2 Kings 14:9
But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a…
- Genesis 24:2–3
Through
Genesis 21:21And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
it leads to
- Numbers 13:3
So at the consent of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,
- Genesis 27:46
Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”
- 1 Samuel 25:1
When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.
- Numbers 12:16
After that, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.
- Numbers 13:26
and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for the whole congregation and showed them the fruit…
- Numbers 13:3
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.