Genesis 34:17

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 34:17 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
Genesis 34:17 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 34

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
17But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“But if ye will not hearken to us to be circumcised, etc.] Will not agree to this condition, circumcision: then will we take our daughter; by force, as the Targum of Jonathan adds: and we will be gone: depart from this part of the country, and go elsewhere.”
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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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Related study paths

Sources and verification