341 And Dinah, daughter of Leah, whom she hath borne to Jacob, goeth out to look on the daughters of the land, 2 and Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, a prince of the land, seeth her, and taketh her, and lieth with her, and humbleth her; 3 and his soul cleaveth to Dinah, daughter of Jacob, and he loveth the young person, and speaketh unto the heart of the young person. 4 And Shechem speaketh unto Hamor his father, saying, 'Take for me this damsel for a wife.' 5 And Jacob hath heard that he hath defiled Dinah his daughter, and his sons were with his cattle in the field, and Jacob kept silent till their coming.
6 And Hamor, father of Shechem, goeth out unto Jacob to speak with him; 7 and the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard, and the men grieve themselves, and it 'is' very displeasing to them, for folly he hath done against Israel, to lie with the daughter of Jacob—and so it is not done. 8 And Hamor speaketh with them, saying, 'Shechem, my son, his soul hath cleaved to your daughter; give her, I pray you, to him for a wife, 9 and join ye in marriage with us; your daughters ye give to us, and our daughters ye take to yourselves, 10 and with us ye dwell, and the land is before you; dwell ye and trade 'in' it, and have possessions in it.' 11 And Shechem saith unto her father, and unto her brethren, 'Let me find grace in your eyes, and that which ye say unto me, I give; 12 multiply on me exceedingly dowry and gift, and I give as ye say unto me, and give to me the young person for a wife.' 13 And the sons of Jacob answer Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and they speak (because he defiled Dinah their sister), 14 and say unto them, 'We are not able to do this thing, to give our sister to one who hath a foreskin: for it 'is' a reproach to us. 15 'Only for this we consent to you; if ye be as we, to have every male of you circumcised, 16 then we have given our daughters to you, and your daughters we take to ourselves, and we have dwelt with you, and have become one people; 17 and if ye hearken not unto us to be circumcised, then we have taken our daughter, and have gone.'
18 And their words are good in the eyes of Hamor, and in the eyes of Shechem, Hamor's son; 19 and the young man delayed not to do the thing, for he had delight in Jacob's daughter, and he is honourable above all the house of his father.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 34:1-19
Commentary on Genesis 34:1-19
(Read Genesis 34:1-19)
Young persons, especially females, are never so safe and well off as under the care of pious parents. Their own ignorance, and the flattery and artifices of designing, wicked people, who are ever laying snares for them, expose them to great danger. They are their own enemies if they desire to go abroad, especially alone, among strangers to true religion. Those parents are very wrong who do not hinder their children from needlessly exposing themselves to danger. Indulged children, like Dinah, often become a grief and shame to their families. Her pretence was, to see the daughters of the land, to see how they dressed, and how they danced, and what was fashionable among them; she went to see, yet that was not all, she went to be seen too. She went to get acquaintance with the Canaanites, and to learn their ways. See what came of Dinah's gadding. The beginning of sin is as the letting forth of water. How great a matter does a little fire kindle! We should carefully avoid all occasions of sin and approaches to it.