And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
Parallel translations
- WEB Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.
- BSB When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.
- NKJV And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her.
- NASB When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her and raped her.
- NLT But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he seized her and raped her.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Shechem, the local prince, seizes Dinah and violates her, a grievous wrong that drives the rest of the chapter.
Overview
Shechem son of Hamor abuses his power as ruler to take and defile Dinah. Scripture reports the act plainly as a violation ('humbled her'), naming sin as sin without excusing it. The crime exposes the moral corruption of Canaan and foreshadows the conflict that follows, reminding readers that human sin brings ruin where God's order is despised.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Matt 5:28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
- Job 31:9If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door;
- Judg 14:1And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
- Prov 13:20He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
- Job 31:1I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?
- Gen 20:2And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
- Gen 10:17And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
- Deut 22:24Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
- Gen 33:19And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.
- Ezek 22:10–11In thee have they discovered their fathers’ nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.
- Deut 22:29Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.
- Deut 21:14And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.
- Gen 6:2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
- Gen 39:6–7And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
- Judg 19:24–25Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.
- 2 Sam 11:2And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 34:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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