1583 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out unto Jacob,.... Unto the tent of Jacob without the city: to commune with him; to talk with him about the affair of Dinah, to pacify him, and endeavour to gain his consent, that his son might marry her, and to settle the, terms and conditions of the marriage.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the sons of Jacob came out of the field, when they heard [it],..... Either by a messenger Jacob sent to them, to acquaint them with it, or by some other hand: however, be it as it will, as soon as they heard of the abuse of their sister, they immediately left their flocks to the care of their servants, and came to their father's tent: and the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Hamor communed with them,.... With Jacob and his sons, who came in just at that time: saying, the soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: the daughter of the family, and the only daughter in it; for her Shechem had a vehement affection, a strong desire to marry her, and could not be satisfied without her: I pray you, give her him to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And make ye marriages with us,.... There was no objection on their side, it lay on the other; Abraham's servant was charged by him not to take a wife of the Canaanites to his son Isaac; and the same charge was given Jacob by Isaac, Genesis 24:3; and therefore Jacob would never agree that his children should marry any of that nation; and marriages...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And ye shall dwell with us,..... Peaceably and quietly, not as sojourners only, but as inhabitants: and the land shall be before you; to choose what part of it they pleased to dwell in, and which they should have in their own power and possession: dwell and trade you therein; in any sort of traffic and commerce the land would admit of, and they...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren,.... To the father and brethren of Dinah; he addressed them after his father Hamor had done speaking: let me find grace in your eyes; forgive the offence committed, the injury done to Dinah, and grant the request of her marriage, and it will be considered as a great favour: and what ye shall...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Ask me never so much dowry and gift,.... Or "multiply [them] exceedingly" (i), fix them at as high a rate as may be thought fit; the "dowry" was what a man gave to a woman at her marriage; for in those times and countries, instead of a man having a portion with his wife, as with us in our times, he gave one to his wife, or to her parents for her;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor deceitfully,.... Proposing the marriage of their sister on terms after mentioned, when they never intended it should ever be: Onkelos, Jonathan, and Jarchi interpret it, "with wisdom", as if they answered wisely and prudently, but the word is never used in a good sense; and if it was wisdom, it was...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they said unto them,.... Levi and Simeon, to Hamor and Shechem: we cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; not that there was any law against it at that time; and there were, on the other hand, precedents for it both in Isaac and Jacob, who had married the daughters of uncircumcised persons; nor indeed do they...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But in this will we consent unto you,.... Upon the following condition, that Dinah should be given in marriage: if ye will be as we [be], that every male of you be circumcised; as the sons of Jacob were, according to the command given to Abraham their great grandfather, Genesis 17:10.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then will we give our daughters unto you,.... Meaning Dinah, whom they call their daughter, 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, Genesis 34:9; and we will take your daughters to us; in...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But if ye will not hearken to us to be circumcised,.... 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.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son. The condition proposed was acceptable to them both, and they agreed to comply with it; Hamor, because of the great love he had for his son; Shechem, because of the great love he had for Dinah.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the young man deferred not to do the thing,.... To be circumcised himself, and to get all the males of the city circumcised; he delayed not a moment, but made all the haste he could to get it accomplished: because he had delight in Jacob's daughter; he really loved her, and delighted in her person and company: it was not the effect of a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Hamor and Shechem his son went unto the gate of their city,.... Where courts of judicature were held, and all public affairs respecting the common interest of the city were transacted: here, no doubt, Hamor their prince summoned them to come, by the usual method in which the citizens were convened on certain occasions: and communed with the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
These men [are] peaceable with us,.... Meaning Jacob and his sons, pointing to their tents which were near their city; and no doubt more was said than is here expressed, and that these words were introduced with a preface, in which notice was taken of Jacob and his family, and their names mentioned, as here their character is given; that they were...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Only herein will the men consent unto us,.... The only term or condition insisted upon, to come into an alliance and affinity with us, and for to dwell with us, to be one people, to become one body politic, is the following one: if every male among us be circumcised, as they [are] circumcised; submitting to this rite, they agree to take up their...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Shall not their cattle, and their substance, and every beast of theirs, [be] ours?.... Which would in course come into their families in process of time, by intermarrying with them, or, being more numerous and powerful than they, could seize upon them when they pleased, and take all they had: thus they argue from the profit and advantage that...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city,.... That is, all the inhabitants of the city who came to the gate of it, upon the summons given them, and departed from thence to their habitations, having a great opinion of their prince and his son; and moved either with awe of them or love to them, and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore,.... Or in "pain" (k), when their pains were strong upon them, as the Targum of Onkelos; or when they were weak through the pain of circumcision, as the Targum of Jonathan; for it seems that the pain of circumcision was more intense on the third day (l), and the part the more inflamed, and...