34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. 1 34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked 2 because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah 3 badly. (Now he was more important 4 than anyone in his father’s household.) 5 34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate 6 of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough 7 for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. 8 34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand 9 that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, 10 won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”
1 tn Heb “and their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem son of Hamor.”
2 tn Heb “doing the thing.”
3 tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
4 tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).
5 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).
3 sn The gate. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the location for conducting important public business.
4 tn Heb “wide on both hands,” that is, in both directions.
5 tn The words “to marry” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”
6 tn The words “If we do so” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.