² tn The cohortative expresses Shechem’s resolve to have Dinah as his wife.

¹ tn Heb “So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem.”

² tn Heb “drove…out from dwelling in Shechem.”

¹ sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.

¹ tn The parallel account in Josh 21:21 has the singular “city,” referring only to Shechem.

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹ tn Heb “his soul stuck to [or “joined with”],” meaning Shechem became very attached to Dinah emotionally.

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “as far as the place of Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh.”

¹ tn Heb “Make very great upon me the bride price and gift.” The imperatives are used in a rhetorical manner. Shechem’s point is that he will pay the price, no matter how expensive it might be.

² sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan, the Valley of Sukkoth for the region east of the Jordan.

² tn Heb “The leaders of Shechem were disloyal.” The words “he made” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹ sn These three cities, later designated by Joshua, were Kedesh of Galilee, Shechem, and Hebron (Josh 20:7-9).

¹ tn Heb “and their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem son of Hamor.”

² sn Sychar was somewhere in the vicinity of Shechem, possibly the village of Askar, 1.5 km northeast of Jacob’s well.

² sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan River; the Valley of Sukkoth represents the region east of the Jordan.

³ sn Zalmon was apparently a mountain in the region, perhaps the one mentioned in Judg 9:46 as being in the vicinity of Shechem.

¹ sn Abimelech commanded Israel. Perhaps while ruling as king over the city-state of Shechem, Abimelech also became a leader of the Israelite tribal alliance (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 175).

² tn The Hebrew word שְׁכֶם (sh^ekhem) could be translated either as “mountain slope” or “shoulder, portion,” or even taken as the proper name “Shechem.” Jacob was giving Joseph either (1) one portion above his brothers, or (2) the mountain ridge he took from the Amorites, or (3) Shechem. The ambiguity actually allows for all three to be the referent. He could be referring to the land in Shechem he bought in Gen 33:18-19, but he mentions here that it was acquired by warfare, suggesting that the events of 34:25-29 are in view (even though at the time he denounced it, 34:30). Joseph was later buried in Shechem (Josh 24:32).