Genesis 34:8

Genesis 34:8 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But Hamor spoke with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.

Context of Genesis 34:8

6Shechem's father, Hamor, went to talk to Jacob about Dinah. 7Jacob's sons now heard what had happened and they came home from the fields. They were very angry because Shechem had done such a bad thing. When he caught Dinah and had sex with her, he had brought shame on Jacob's family. It was a bad thing that nobody should ever do. Hamor said to Jacob and his sons, ‘My son Shechem loves your daughter. Please give her to him so that she can be his wife. 9There should be more marriages between your people and our people. Our men should marry your daughters and our daughters should become wives for your men. 10Then you can live among us. You can live anywhere you want to in this land. You should live here, buy and sell things. Buy land and houses here.’

Genesis 34:8 word by word

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר חֲמ֖וֹר אִתָּ֣ם לֵאמֹ֑ר שְׁכֶ֣ם בְּנִ֗י חָֽשְׁקָ֤ה נַפְשׁוֹ֙ בְּבִתְּכֶ֔ם תְּנ֨וּ נָ֥א אֹתָ֛הּ ל֖וֹ לְאִשָּֽׁה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Hamorחֲמוֹרchămôr · HamorH2544
• communedדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• with them, sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• The soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315
• of my sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• Shechemשְׁכֶםshekem · ShechemH7927
• longethחָשַׁקchâshaq · to desireH2836
• for your daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• I pray you giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: give(marriage)H5414
• her him to wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802

Cross-references for Genesis 34:8

• Genesis 34:3He liked Dinah very much. He loved her. He spoke kind words to her so that she would love him too.
• 1 Kings 11:2The Lord had warned the Israelites about these nations. He said, ‘You must not marry people from these nations. If you do, they will cause you to worship their own gods.’ But Solomon did love these foreign women and he married them.
• Psalms 63:1God, you are my God. I want to be near to you. I need you to give me life, like a thirsty person in a dry desert. As a person needs water to live, that is how I need you.
• Psalms 84:2I want very much to go to the Lord's temple. I very much want to be in the temple yards. With all that I am, and with great joy, I sing to you, the God who lives for ever!
• Psalms 119:20I really want to obey your rules all the time. I want that more than anything else.

Commentaries on Genesis 34:8

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-31Verses 1-31 - Dinah‘s Dishonor This chapter records the rape of Dinah and the revenge of her brothers. Genesis 34:1-5 Dinah went out to see the daughters of the land. The Jewish doctors of a later period fix the marriageable age of a female at twelve years and a day. It is probable that Dinah was in her thirteenth year when she went out to visit the daughters of the land. Six or seven years, therefore, must have been spent by Jacob between Sukkoth, where…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-10Hamor suggested a marriage alliance for mutual economic gain. But God had already promised Jacob everything, including the land (34:10; see 14:21–24). Hamor wanted to control Israel’s wealth (34:23). Trusting the Canaanites would not lead to anything good. For some of these reasons, the law of Moses did not allow Israelites to marry Canaanites (see Exodus 23:27–33; Deuteronomy 7:1–5). The exception would be if they converted (see Joshua 2:1–15; 6:23–25…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-108-10. Hamor communed with them--The prince and his son seem at first sight to have acted honestly, and our feelings are enlisted on their side. 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.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 34:8

• Wife

In the dictionaries

• Hamor
• Shechem
• Ask
• Consent
• Daughter
• Defile
• Dinah
• Folly
• Please
• Archaeology; Archaeology and Criticism

Commentaries on Genesis 34

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings