Genesis 34:20

Genesis 34:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
• New International Version (NIV)So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying,
• New King James Version (NKJV)And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying:

Context of Genesis 34:20

18Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. 19The young man did not delay in doing what they asked because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah badly. (Now he was more important than anyone in his father’s household.) So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 21“These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. 22Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised.

Genesis 34:20 word by word

וַיָּבֹ֥א חֲמ֛וֹר וּשְׁכֶ֥ם בְּנ֖וֹ אֶל־שַׁ֣עַר עִירָ֑ם וַֽיְדַבְּר֛וּ אֶל־אַנְשֵׁ֥י עִירָ֖ם לֵאמֹֽר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Hamorחֲמוֹרchămôr · HamorH2544
• and Shechemשְׁכֶםshekem · ShechemH7927
• his sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• unto the gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• of their cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• and communedדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• with the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559

Cross-references for Genesis 34:20

• Genesis 22:17I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the strongholds of their enemies.
• Genesis 23:10(Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth.) Ephron the Hethite replied to Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth – before all who entered the gate of his city –
• Deuteronomy 17:5you must bring to your city gates that man or woman who has done this wicked thing – that very man or woman – and you must stone that person to death.
• Ruth 4:1Now Boaz went up to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! Boaz said, “Come here and sit down, ‘John Doe’!” So he came and sat down.
• Job 29:7When I went out to the city gate and secured my seat in the public square,
• Proverbs 31:23Her husband is well-known in the city gate when he sits with the elders of the land.
• Amos 5:10The Israelites hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; they despise anyone who speaks honestly.
• Zechariah 8:16These are the things you must do: Speak the truth, each of you, to one another. Practice true and righteous judgment in your courts.

Commentaries on Genesis 34:20

• 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
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-31Verses 20-31 The Shechemites submitted to the sacred rite, only to serve a turn, to please their prince, and to enrich themselves, and it was just with God to bring punishment upon them. As nothing secures us better than true religion, so nothing exposes us more than religion only pretended to. But Simeon and Levi were most unrighteous. Those who act wickedly, under the pretext of religion, are the worst enemies of the truth, and harden the hearts of many…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-24The Canaanite men agreed to the condition, and every male in the town was circumcised. This was not only to allow Shechem to marry Dinah. They also saw it as a way to gain everything that Jacob owned (34:23).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. 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.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 34:20

• Deception
• Dishonesty
• Gates
• Vengeance

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