Genesis 34:8

Gen 34:8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.

Ver. 8. And Hamor communed with them.] A fond father seeks to satisfy the lust of a loose son, whom he should severely have punished; such parents are peremptores potius quam parentes, saith Bernard; like apes, that kill their young with culling them. They show their love as little, as if, by clapping their hands on their children’s mouths, to keep the cold wind from them, they should strangle them to death. A fair hand, here, maketh a foul wound; when correction would be a kind of cure. Severitas tamen non sit tetra, sed tetrica, saith Sidonius. {a} For, as a cur by trying waxeth fiercer, and as new wine breaketh weak vessels; so too much severity overthroweth, and quite spilleth a tender mind.

{a} Sidonius, lib, iv. epist. 9.

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 34:8. Hamor communed with them — Not only with Jacob, but with his sons, to whom Jacob had imprudently referred him. And here we have a particular account of the treaty, in which, it is a shame to say, the Canaanites were more honest than the Israelites.

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

34:8-10 Hamor proposed an alliance of intermarriage with the prospect of mutual economic benefit, but God had already promised Jacob everything, including the land (34:10; see 14:21-24). Hamor wanted to gain control of Israel’s wealth (34:23); no good could come of trusting the defiling Canaanites. For some of these reasons, intermarriage with Canaanites was not allowed under the law (see Exod 23:27-33; Deut 7:1-5)—unless, of course, they came to faith (see Josh 2:1-15; 6:23-25; Matt 1:5).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, marriage.

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

Hamor communed with them--The prince and his son seem at first sight to have acted honestly, and our feelings are enlisted on their side. They betray no jealousy of the powerful shepherds; on the contrary, they show every desire to establish friendly intercourse. But their conduct was unjustifiable in neither expressing regret nor restoring Dinah to her family; and this great error was the true cause of the negotiations ending in so unhappy a manner.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

8. And Hamor communed with them. Though the sons of Jacob were justly incensed, yet their indignation ought to have been appeased, or at least somewhat mitigated, by the great courteousness of Hamor. And if the humanity of Hamor could not reconcile the sons of Jacob to Shechem, the old man himself was indeed worthy of a benignant reception. We see what equitable conditions he offers; he himself was the prince of the city, the sons of Jacob were strangers. Therefore their minds must have been savage beyond measure, not to be inclined to levity. Besides, the suppliant entreaty of Shechem himself deserved this, that they should have granted forgiveness to his fervent love. Therefore, that they remained implacable, is a sign of most cruel pride. What would they have done to enemies who had purposely injured them, when they are not moved by the prayers of him, who, being deceived by blind love, and by the error of incontinence, has injured them without any malicious intention?

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

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 wife; he not only requests the consent of the parents of the damsel, but of her brothers also, which in those times and countries seems to have been usual to ask and have, see Gen 24:50.

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

Hamor communed with them; with Jacob’s sons, to whom Jacob committed the business, being himself oppressed with shame and grief, and fear for his daughter.

Your daughter, the daughter of your family; or he thus speaketh to her brothers, because they transacted all in their father’s name.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 8-10. And Hamor communed (literally, spake) with them (i.e. the whole family, or Jacob and his sons), saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for the root (qvj;) signifies to join together, intrans., to be joined together, hence to cleave to another in love; (cf. Deu_7:7, Deu_7:10, 15 21:11) of similar import to the word (qbD;) employed in ver. 3, which means to be devotedly attached to any one, as, e.g., to God, (Deu_10:20) to a king, (2Sa_20:2) to a (1Ki_11:2) your daughter. The words are addressed to Jacob"s sons as well as Jacob himself, the brothers equally with the father being regarded as the natural guardians of a sister. I pray yon give her him to wife. The absence of any apology for Shechem"s atrocious outrage against Dinah need not be regarded as indicating some measure of consent on the part of Dinah, but may be explained on the supposition that Hamor"s proposal was considered by himself as a practical admission of his son"s guilt. And make ye marriages with us, literally, contract affinity with us by marriage, the verb chathan being spoken of the father-in-law (chothen), who makes the alliance (vide Furst, "Lex.," sub voce)and give your daughters unto us, from this it has been inferred that Jacob had other daughters besides Dinah, which is not improbable, (Gen_46:7) but the words may not imply more than that Humor thought he had and take our daughters unto you. And (as an inducement to form this alliance) ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions thereini.e. he offers them the privilege of unrestricted movement throughout his dominions, with the right of establishing settlements, carrying on trade, and acquiring property.

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

Hamor communed - That is, talked. He came to treat with Jacob himself, but he turns them over to his sons. And here we have a particular account of the treaty, in which it is a shame to say the Canaanites were more honest than the Israelites.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Hamor spoke with them

"Hamor spoke with Jacob and his sons"

loves your daughter

Here the word "love" refers to romantic love between a man and a woman. AT: "loves her and wants to marry her"

give her to him as a wife

In some cultures, the parents decide whom their children will marry.

Intermarry with us

To intermarry is to marry a member of a different racial, social, religious or tribal group. AT: "Allow marriages between your people and ours"

the land will be open to you

"the land will be available to you"

translationWords

Hamor

Shechem

love

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

חשקה means desires.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

וידבר חמור אתם, with Yaakov and his sons.

בבתכם, not “your sister,” although she was the sister to 11 brothers, but “your daughter,” seeing her status as the daughter of Yaakov was the foremost consideration. Besides, each of Dinah’s brothers was concerned for her well being as if she had been his daughter, not just his sister.

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.