Genesis 34:16

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 34:16 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
Genesis 34:16 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 34

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
16then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Then will we give our daughters unto you, etc.] Meaning Dinah, whom they call their daughter, (<013417>Genesis 34:17); because she was the daughter of their family, and because they were entreating in the name of their father, and in conformity to the language used by those they were treating with, (<013409>Genesis 34:9); and we will take your daughters to us; in marriage for wives: and we will dwell with you; not as sojourners but as fellow citizens: and we will become one people; being so nearly related by marriage, and professing one religion, alike submitting to circumcision, which was the distinguished badge of Abraham’s seed.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- Dinah’s Dishonor This chapter records the rape of Dinah and the revenge of her brothers. Genesis 34:1-5 Dinah went out to see the daughters of the land. The Jewish doctors of a later period fix the marriageable age of a female at twelve years and a day. It is probable that Dinah was in her thirteenth year when she went out to visit the daughters of the land. Six or seven years, therefore, must have been spent by Jacob between Sukkoth, where he abode some time, and the neighborhood of Shekerm, where he had purchased a piece of ground. If we suppose Dinah to have been born in the same year with Joseph, who was in his seventeenth year at the time of his being sold as a bondslave Genesis 37:2,…”
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Sources and verification