Genesis 34:3

Genesis 34:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.
• New International Version (NIV)His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.
• New King James Version (NKJV)His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman.

Context of Genesis 34:3

1Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet the young women of the land. 2When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, and sexually assaulted her. Then he became very attached to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. 4Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” 5When Jacob heard that Shechem had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent until they came in.

Genesis 34:3 word by word

וַתִּדְבַּ֣ק נַפְשׁ֔וֹ בְּדִינָ֖ה בַּֽת־יַעֲקֹ֑ב וַיֶּֽאֱהַב֙ אֶת־הַֽנַּעֲרָ֔ וַיְדַבֵּ֖ר עַל־לֵ֥ב הַֽנַּעֲרָֽ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And his soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315
• claveדָּבַקdâbaq · to cleaveH1692
• unto Dinahדִּינָהdîynâh · DinahH1783
• the daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• of Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
• and he lovedאָהֵב'âhab 'âhêb · to love: loverH157
• the damselנַעֲרָהna‛ărâh · maidenH5291
• and spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• kindlyלֵבlêb · heartH3820

Cross-references for Genesis 34:3

• Ruth 1:14Again they wept loudly. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung tightly to her.
• 1 Samuel 18:1When David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship. Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life.
• 2 Samuel 19:7So get up now and go out and give some encouragement to your servants. For I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out there, not a single man will stay here with you tonight! This disaster will be worse for you than any disaster that has overtaken you from your youth right to the present time!”
• 2 Chronicles 30:22Hezekiah expressed his appreciation to all the Levites, who demonstrated great skill in serving the Lord. They feasted for the seven days of the festival, and were making peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord God of their ancestors.
• Isaiah 40:2“Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.”
• Hosea 2:14However, in the future I will allure her; I will lead her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.

Commentaries on Genesis 34:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Spake kindly unto the damsel - Literally, he spake to the heart of the damsel - endeavored to gain her affections, and to reconcile her to her disgrace. It appears sufficiently evident from this and the preceding verse that there had been no consent on the part of Dinah, that the whole was an act of violence, and that she was now detained by force in the house of Shechem. Here she was found when Simeon and Levi sacked the city, Genesis 34:26.Read the comment
• 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. 3-4Shechem had strong feelings for Dinah, and he was willing to go through great trouble because of her (34:11–12, 17–18, 24). However, the way he showed his “love” (not true love, but a selfish desire) was impulsive and self-centered. It also broke accepted moral standards of that time (compare Judges 14:2; see 1 Corinthians 13:4–7; 1 John 4:10). His character shows why Israel needed to stay separate from the Canaanites (the people living in the land at…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-311-4. Though freed from foreign troubles, Jacob met with a great domestic calamity in the fall of his only daughter. 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. There must have been time and opportunities of acquaintance to…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 34:3

• Lovers

In the dictionaries

• Jacob
• Jacob, Israel
• 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