And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.
Parallel translations
- WEB His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.
- BSB And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly.
- ESV And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.
- 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.
- NASB But he was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.
- NLT But then he fell in love with her, and he tried to win her affection with tender words.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
After the assault, Shechem becomes deeply attached to Dinah and speaks tenderly to her, seeking to win her.
Overview
Shechem's affection ('his soul joined to Dinah') does not undo his guilt; love expressed after violence cannot erase the wrong done. The text presents a tangled mix of genuine attraction and prior sin, the kind of moral complexity Scripture does not gloss over. His desire to marry her drives the negotiations that the sons of Jacob will exploit.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Hos 2:14Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
- Isa 40:2Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.
- 2 Sam 19:7Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now.
- 2 Chr 30:22And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the LORD: and they did eat throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings, and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers.
- Ruth 1:14And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
- 1 Sam 18:1And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 34:3 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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