Genesis 34:9
in Genesis 34Intermarry with us; give us your daughters, and take our daughters for yourselves.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And make ye marriages with us; give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.
KJV
And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.
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This verse in Genesis 34
Commentary
5 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, 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.
This site's exposition
Intermarry with us
Deuteronomy 7:3 forbids this very exchange with the peoples of Canaan, daughters given and daughters taken. Isaac had sent Jacob away at Genesis 28:1 to keep him from a Canaanite wife. The Hebrew verb is chatan, to become a son-in-law.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The pretence was specious. "It is the honour of Jacob's family that they carry about with them the token of God's covenant with them; and it will be a reproach to those that are thus dignified and distinguished to enter into such a strict alliance with those that are uncircumcised (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
And make ye marriages with us,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
You will [then] live with us and the land will be open to you.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִֽתְחַתְּנ֖וּ | vehitchatenu | and intermarry with | H2859 → | |
| אֹתָ֑נוּ | ʾotanu | with <the> us | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְּנֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ | benoteikhem | daughters your | H1323 → | 588 times |
| תִּתְּנוּ־ | titenu- | you will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָ֔נוּ | lanu | to <the> us | ||
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֹתֵ֖ינוּ | benoteinu | daughters our | H1323 → | 588 times |
| תִּקְח֥וּ | tikchu | you will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לָכֶֽם׃ | lakhem | for <the> yourselves |
וְהִֽתְחַתְּנ֖וּand intermarry with
vehitchatenuH2859 →
אֹתָ֑נוּwith <the> us
ʾotanuH854 →929 times
בְּנֹֽתֵיכֶם֙daughters your
benoteikhemH1323 →588 times
תִּתְּנוּ־you will give
titenu-H5414 →2011 times
לָ֔נוּto <the> us
lanu
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בְּנֹתֵ֖ינוּdaughters our
benoteinuH1323 →588 times
תִּקְח֥וּyou will take
tikchuH3947 →966 times
לָכֶֽם׃for <the> yourselves
lakhem
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
Deuteronomy 7:3Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:2
These 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…
- Joshua 23:12–13
For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,
- Exodus 34:15–16
Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
- 2 Corinthians 6:14–17
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
- Nehemiah 13:23–27
In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
- 1 Kings 11:2
Through
Genesis 6:2the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.
it leads to
- Psalms 82:6–7
I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’
- 1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Psalms 82:6–7
Through
Genesis 19:14So Lot went out and spoke to the sons-in-law who were pledged in marriage to his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the…
it leads to
- Numbers 16:21
“Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.”
- Numbers 16:21
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on 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.