Bible Strands
Genesis 34:19
The young man, who was the most respected of all his father’s household, did not hesitate to fulfill this request, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes Shechem’s immediate compliance with Hamor’s proposal to intermarry with Jacob’s family. This occurs after the patriarch’s men agree to the circumcision condition and Hamor and his son approve the arrangement.
The words — The Hebrew verb אֵחַר ('e.Char) means "he delayed," used here in the negative לֹא־אֵחַר ("he did not delay"). The verb חָפֵץ (cha.Fetz) translates to "he delighted" or "was pleased," stating the cause of his haste.
The thread — The pattern of swift action driven by romantic affection parallels Jacob’s rapid service for Rachel in Genesis 29:20. The diplomatic maneuvering to secure city-wide approval mirrors the envoy dispatch described in Numbers 22:15.
Why it lands — The text records a political proposal executed without pause, requiring the reader to note how immediate compliance can mask underlying consequences. It demands attention to the structural link between personal desire and communal action.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.
Cross-references
- Genesis 29:20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.
- Genesis 41:20 Then the thin, ugly cows devoured the seven well-fed cows that were there first.
- Numbers 22:15 Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first messengers.
- 1 Samuel 22:14 Ahimelech answered the king, “Who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king’s son-in-law, the captain of your bodyguard and honored in your house?
- 2 Kings 5:1 Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. And he was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
- 1 Chronicles 4:9 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”
- Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all.
- Isaiah 3:3 the commander of fifty and the dignitary, the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter.
- Isaiah 5:13 Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst.
- Isaiah 23:8 Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth?