Genesis 34:2

2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of the land, saw her, he took her and forced her to have sexual relations with him.

Genesis 34:2 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 34:2

And when Shechem the son of Hamor
From whom the city had its name, near which Jacob and his family now were:

the Hivite, prince of the country;
Hamor was an Hivite, which was one of the nations of the land of Canaan, and this man was the prince or a principal man of that nation, as well as of Shechem. Josephus F3 calls him a king: when the son of this man

saw her;
that is, Dinah, what a beautiful person she was, and was enamoured with her:

he took her:
by force, as the Targum of Jonathan:

and lay with her, and defiled her;
or "humbled" or "afflicted her" F4; and it is a rule with the Jews, that every such act, which is done by force, is called an humiliation and affliction F5: the child begotten in this act of fornication is said F6 by them to be Asenath, who was had into Egypt, and brought up by Potipherah's wife as her daughter, and afterwards married to Joseph, ( Genesis 41:45 Genesis 41:50 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F3 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 21. sect. 1.)
F4 (hneyw) , (kai etapeinwsen authn) , Sept. & afflixit eam, Pagninus, Montanus.
F5 Gerundensis apud Munster, & Drusium in loc.
F6 Pirke Eliezer, ut supra. (c. 33. fol. 42. 2.)

Genesis 34:2 In-Context

1 At this time Dinah, the daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land.
2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of the land, saw her, he took her and forced her to have sexual relations with him.
3 Shechem fell in love with Dinah, and he spoke kindly to her.
4 He told his father, Hamor, "Please get this girl for me so I can marry her."
5 Jacob learned how Shechem had disgraced his daughter, but since his sons were out in the field with the cattle, Jacob said nothing until they came home.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.