Discovery BoxGenesis 34:4-10 
Context34:4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” 1 34:5 When 2 Jacob heard that Shechem 3 had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent 4 until they came in.
34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah. 5 34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. 6 They 7 were offended 8 and very angry because Shechem 9 had disgraced Israel 10 by sexually assaulting 11 Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. 12
34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. 13 Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us. 14 Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. 15 34:10 You may live 16 among us, and the land will be open to you. 17 Live in it, travel freely in it, 18 and acquire property in it.”
1 tn Heb “Take for me this young woman for a wife.”
2 tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 sn The expected response would be anger or rage; but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.
5 tn Heb “went out to Jacob to speak with him.” The words “about Dinah” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.
8 tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.
9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”
11 tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.
12 tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.
13 tn Heb “Shechem my son, his soul is attached to your daughter.” The verb means “to love” in the sense of being emotionally attached to or drawn to someone. This is a slightly different way of saying what was reported earlier (v. 3). However, there is no mention here of the offense. Even though Hamor is speaking to Dinah’s brothers, he refers to her as their daughter (see v. 17).
14 tn Heb “form marriage alliances with us.”
sn Intermarry with us. This includes the idea of becoming allied by marriage. The incident foreshadows the temptations Israel would eventually face when they entered the promised land (see Deut 7:3; Josh 23:12).
15 tn Heb “Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.” In the translation the words “let…marry” and “as wives” are supplied for clarity.
16 tn The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.
17 tn Heb “before you.”
18 tn The verb seems to carry the basic meaning “travel about freely,” although the substantival participial form refers to a trader (see E. A. Speiser, “The Verb sh£r in Genesis and Early Hebrew Movements,” BASOR 164 [1961]: 23-28); cf. NIV, NRSV “trade in it.”
