Genesis 34:14

Genesis 34:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:
• English Standard Version (ESV)They said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us.
• New Living Translation (NLT)They said to them, “We couldn’t possibly allow this, because you’re not circumcised. It would be a disgrace for our sister to marry a man like you!

Context of Genesis 34:14

12Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.” 13Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. 16Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you.

Genesis 34:14 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם לֹ֤א נוּכַל֙ לַעֲשׂוֹת֙ הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה לָתֵת֙ אֶת־אֲחֹתֵ֔נוּ לְאִ֖ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־ל֣וֹ עָרְלָ֑ה כִּֽי־חֶרְפָּ֥ה הִ֖וא לָֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto them, We cannotיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• unto them, We cannotלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• this thingדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
• to giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• our sisterאָחוֹת'âchôth · sisterH269
• to oneאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• that is uncircumcisedעׇרְלָה‛orlâh · foreskinH6190
• a reproachחֶרְפָּהcherpâh · reproachH2781

Cross-references for Genesis 34:14

• Genesis 17:11You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.
• Joshua 5:2At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.”
• 1 Samuel 14:6Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”
• 1 Samuel 17:26David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
• 2 Samuel 1:20“Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
• 2 Samuel 15:7At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord.
• 1 Kings 21:9In those letters she wrote: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people.
• Matthew 2:8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
• Matthew 23:1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
• Romans 4:11And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

Commentaries on Genesis 34:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14That were a reproach unto us - Because the uncircumcised were not in the covenant of God; and to have given an heiress of the promise to one who had no kind of right to its spiritual blessings, from whom might spring children who would naturally walk in the way of their father would have been absurd, reproachful and wicked. Thus far they were perfectly right; but to make this holy principle a cloak for their deceitful and murderous purposes, was the full…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. 13-17Dinah’s brothers responded to the proposal without waiting for Jacob to respond, and they acted deceitfully. They may not have thought that Shechem and his people would ever agree to the rite of circumcision, but they knew what they would do if the Canaanites accepted (34:25).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 34:14

• Deception

In the dictionaries

• Ask
• Consent
• Daughter
• Defile
• Dinah
• Folly
• Please
• Archaeology; Archaeology and Criticism
• Foreskin
• Genesis

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