Genesis 34:26

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 34:26 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem`s house, and went forth.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem`s house, and went forth.
Genesis 34:26 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 34

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
26And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem`s house, and went forth.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, etc.] Whom they had been just treating with in a seeming friendly manner: Shechem was the chief aggressor, and his crime was very heinous; but considering that he did all he could, after the fact was committed, to make recompence for the injury done, he deserved other treatment, at least mercy should have been shown him. Hamor, perhaps, was too indulgent to his son, connived at his sin, and did not punish him for it; and, it may be, approved of it, and now dies for it: and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out; where she was kept from the time of her being ravished by Shechem, with an intention to marry her, could…”
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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