Genesis 34:8
in Genesis 34But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you, give her unto him to wife.
KJV
And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.
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This verse in Genesis 34
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
They betray no jealousy of the powerful shepherds; on the contrary, they show every desire to establish friendly intercourse. But their conduct was unjustifiable in neither expressing regret nor restoring Dinah to her family; and this great error was the true cause of the negotiations ending in so unhappy a manner.
This site's exposition
My son Shechem longs for your daughter
on Genesis 34:8-10
Hamor asks for the girl and then widens it to marriage between the two peoples, land to settle in, free movement and property. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown mark what the offer leaves out, that no regret is spoken and Dinah is not sent home. The talks open with a proposal and no apology.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Hamor communed - That is, talked. He came to treat with Jacob himself, but he turns them over to his sons. And here we have a particular account of the treaty, in which it is a shame to say the Canaanites were more honest than the Israelites.
And Hamor communed with them,....
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| חֲמ֖וֹר | chamor | Hamor | H2544 → | 13 times |
| אִתָּ֣ם | ʾitam | with them | H854 → | 929 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שְׁכֶ֣ם | shekhem | Shechem | H7927 → | 63 times |
| בְּנִ֗י | beni | son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חָֽשְׁקָ֤ה | chashekah | it loves | H2836 → | |
| נַפְשׁוֹ֙ | nafsho | self his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| בְּבִתְּכֶ֔ם | bevitekhem | <in> daughter your | H1323 → | 588 times |
| תְּנ֨וּ | tenu | give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| נָ֥א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אֹתָ֛הּ | ʾotah | <obj.> her | H853 → | 10935 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| לְאִשָּֽׁה׃ | leishah | to a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
וַיְדַבֵּ֥רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
חֲמ֖וֹרHamor
chamorH2544 →13 times
אִתָּ֣םwith them
ʾitamH854 →929 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
שְׁכֶ֣םShechem
shekhemH7927 →63 times
בְּנִ֗יson my
beniH1121 →4930 times
חָֽשְׁקָ֤הit loves
chashekahH2836 →
נַפְשׁוֹ֙self his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
בְּבִתְּכֶ֔ם<in> daughter your
bevitekhemH1323 →588 times
תְּנ֨וּgive
tenuH5414 →2011 times
נָ֥אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אֹתָ֛הּ<obj.> her
ʾotahH853 →10935 times
ל֖וֹto <the> him
lo
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
Psalms 63:1O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
it leads to
- Psalms 42:1–2
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 84:2
My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 143:6
I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
- Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Psalms 91:2
I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
- Psalms 42:1–2
Through
Psalms 84:2My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
it leads to
- Isaiah 26:9
My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
- Isaiah 26:9
Through
1 Kings 11:2These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to…
it leads to
- Exodus 34:16
And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.
- Deuteronomy 7:3–4
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
- Exodus 34:16
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.