Genesis 34:2

Gen 34:2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

Ver. 2. Saw her, he look her, and lay with her.] Ut vidit, periit. By those windows of the eyes and ears, sin and death often enter: through them the devil throws balls of wild fire into the soul, and sets all into a combustion. Visus, colloquium, contactus, osculum, concubitus, do too oft one succeed another. {a} See to the five senses, if ye would keep out the enemy. Shut up the five windows, if ye would have the house, the heart, full of light, saith the Arabian proverb. Joseph’s mistress cast her eyes upon him; but when she laid hands on him, she was the more inflamed, and set agog, as it were. The viewing, touching, or familiar talking with a woman, either without necessary occasion, or then, without prayer for holy affection, is dangerous, saith a grave divine. {b} Thou mayest not look intently upon what thou mayest not love. Democritus the philosopher pulled out his eyes, that he might not look upon forbidden beauties. This was no part of his wisdom: but it shall be ours, by mortification, to pluck the wanton eye out of old Adam, and to set it sober into the new man: to get that occulum irretortum, that well-ordered eye, that Job had; {Job 31:1} that Joseph had; that Gregory Nazianzen had, who could σοφρονιζειν τους οφθαλμους, tutor his eyes; that Charles V, Emperor of Germany, had, who would shut the casements, when at any time he saw fair women afar off, or heard that such were to pass by his window {c} It is not safe to pry into the beauty of a fair woman. Circe {d} often used allusively. may enchant us, the cockatrice slay us with her sight. "Let her not take thee with her eyelids," saith Solomon; {Pro 6:25} as larks, while they gaze in a glass, are taken in a hunter’s net. {See Trapp on "Gen 6:2"} {See Trapp on "Gen 26:7"}

{a} Mars videt hanc, visamque cupit, potiturque cupita. - Ovid.

{b} Time Well Spent, by Ezek. Culverwel, p. 53.

{c} Saepe clausit fenestram, ne inspiceret formosiores foeminas, &c. - Par., Hist. Profan., p. 908.

{d} In Greek and Latin mythology the name of an enchantress who dwelt in the island of Aea, and transformed all who drank of her cup into swine.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 34:2. Shechem took her, and defiled her — Hebrew, humbled her. “The word,” says Bishop Kidder, “intimates his violence, as well as her dissent.” Young women may learn from this to be “chaste, keepers at home,” (Tit 2:5,) which qualities have a closer connection than many are willing to believe. They that are fond of going abroad, and intermixing in company with persons of whose piety and good conduct they have no proof, often expose their virtue to a snare. From what happened to Dinah, all may learn to avoid all occasions of falling into temptation, or leading others into it.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hebrew, humbled her.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 2. Prince of the country] i.e., Hamor was prince; Shechem was the son of the prince or chief. Our version appears to represent Shechem as prince, but his father was the chief of the country. See Ge 34:6; Ge 34:8, &c.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Hivite] See Gen_10:17. The name of a Canaanite tribe. In Jos_9:7 the Hivites are found in Gibeon; but, from Jdg_3:3 and Jos_11:3, their dwelling-place was traditionally connected with Lebanon.

LXX has “Horite,” as in Jos_9:7.

“Hamor,” as the name of an animal, means “he-ass.”

the prince] This word, in Heb. nasi, is used frequently by P, Gen_17:20, Gen_23:6, Gen_25:16. Lat. princeps.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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 (c) 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" (d); and it is a rule with the Jews, that every such act, which is done by force, is called an humiliation and affliction (e): the child begotten in this act of fornication is said (f) 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, Gen 41:45.

(c) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 21. sect. 1.) (d) , Sept. & afflixit eam, Pagninus, Montanus. (e) Gerundensis apud Munster, & Drusium in loc. (f) Pirke Eliezer, ut supra. (c. 33. fol. 42. 2.)

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Virgin. Hebrew and Septuagint, "He humbled or afflicted the virgin." It is well if she made all the resistance she was able, and resented the indignity; as she seems to have done, though Sichem tried all means to comfort her. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the country, saw her (literally, and Shechem... saw her, and) he took her. "Dinah paid the full penalty of her carelessness. She suffered the fate which Sarah and Rebekah encountered in the land of Pharaoh and Abimelech; she was seen and taken by the son of the prince" (Kalisch); forcibly, i.e. against her will in the first instance, though not, it is apparent, without the blandishments of a lover. And lay with her, and defiled her literally, oppressed her, offered violence to her, whence humbled her ejtapeinwsen (LXX), vi opprimens (Vulgate).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

AND HE LAY WITH HER, AND HE AFFLICTED HER. He lay with her in natural gratification; and he afflicted her unnaturally. This is Rashi’s language. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said: And he afflicted her naturally because she was a maiden.” But there is no need for this for all forced sexual connection is called “affliction.” Likewise, Thou shalt not deal with her as a slave, because thou hast afflicted her. And so also: And my concubine they afflicted, and she is dead. Scripture thus tells — in Dinah’s praise — that she was forced, and she did not consent to the prince of the country.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

וירא, the reason why the Torah uses the word ויעניה when what Shechem had done was more in the nature of a seduction that a violent rape, is that this term is used in connection with a virgin having intercourse, something usually very painful for her. The term is also used on account of this reason in Deuteronomy 22,29.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.