Hamor talked with them, saying, “The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.
Parallel translations
- KJV And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.
- BSB But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.
- NKJV But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.
- NASB But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage.
- NLT Hamor tried to speak with Jacob and his sons. “My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter,” he said. “Please let him marry 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
Hamor proposes marriage between Shechem and Dinah, presenting his son's longing as the basis for union.
Overview
Hamor speaks of Shechem's love but says nothing of repentance for the violation. His appeal frames the wrong as a matter to be settled by marriage and alliance. The proposal opens the door to the wider intermarriage that would have absorbed Jacob's family into Canaan, a threat to the distinct covenant line.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Ps 119:20My soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times.
- 1 Kgs 11:2of the nations concerning which Yahweh said to the children of Israel, “You shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon joined to these in love.
- Ps 63:1A Psalm by David, when he was in the desert of Judah. God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.
- Gen 34:3His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.
- Ps 84:2My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of Yahweh. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
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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 34:8 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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