Bible Strands
Genesis 34:20
So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and addressed the men of their city:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Hamor and his son Shechem go to their city gate to address the assembled men of their city. This occurs immediately after Shechem agrees to Jacob’s condition of circumcision, positioning the gate as the venue for their public proposal.
The words — The verb יָבֹא (ya.vo) denotes "he went," and שַׁעַר (sha'ar) refers to the literal "gate" or city entrance. These terms anchor the scene in a formal civic space where public business and legal proceedings traditionally took place.
The thread — City gates function as venues for communal negotiation in Ruth 4:1 and Genesis 23:10. This pattern establishes the gate as the standard location for civic authority and public discourse in ancient Israelite culture.
Why it lands — The text records a political maneuver rather than a spiritual appeal, demanding recognition of how power operates through formal institutions. Readers must observe how language at the gate can legitimize coercion under the guise of civic peace.
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 Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
Cross-references
- Ruth 4:1 Meanwhile, Boaz went to the gate and sat down there. Soon the kinsman-redeemer of whom he had spoken came along, and Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
- Genesis 22:17 I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
- Genesis 23:10 Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth. So in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham,
- Deuteronomy 17:5 you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.
- 2 Samuel 15:2 He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out and ask, “What city are you from?” And if he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”
- Job 29:7 When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the public square,
- Proverbs 31:23 Her husband is known at the city gates, where he sits among the elders of the land.
- Amos 5:10 There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity.
- Amos 5:12 For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate.
- Amos 5:15 Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Perhaps the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”