Genesis 34:1

The Treachery of Jacob's Sons

1 Now 1Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.

Genesis 34:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ver. 1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob
Genesis 34:2

And when Shechem the son of Hamor
From whom the city had its name, near which Jacob and his family now were:

the Hivite, prince of the country;
Hamor was an Hivite, which was one of the nations of the land of Canaan, and this man was the prince or a principal man of that nation, as well as of Shechem. Josephus F3 calls him a king: when the son of this man

saw her;
that is, Dinah, what a beautiful person she was, and was enamoured with her:

he took her:
by force, as the Targum of Jonathan:

and lay with her, and defiled her;
or "humbled" or "afflicted her" F4; and it is a rule with the Jews, that every such act, which is done by force, is called an humiliation and affliction F5: the child begotten in this act of fornication is said F6 by them to be Asenath, who was had into Egypt, and brought up by Potipherah's wife as her daughter, and afterwards married to Joseph, ( Genesis 41:45 Genesis 41:50 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F3 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 21. sect. 1.)
F4 (hneyw) , (kai etapeinwsen authn) , Sept. & afflixit eam, Pagninus, Montanus.
F5 Gerundensis apud Munster, & Drusium in loc.
F6 Pirke Eliezer, ut supra. (c. 33. fol. 42. 2.)

Genesis 34:1 In-Context

1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.
2 When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.
3 He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.
4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this young girl for a wife."
5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in.

Cross References 1

Footnotes 1

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