Genesis 34:8

But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Hamor addresses Jacob’s sons immediately after they return from the field and react to Shechem’s violation of Dinah. He proposes marriage to negotiate peace and secure a family alliance.

The words — The Hebrew חָשְׁקָה (cha.shqah) and נַפְשׁוֹ (nafsho) literally render “his soul longs” or “he loves deeply,” marking an intense, possessive desire rather than casual affection.

The thread — This intermarriage proposal directly contrasts with the later covenant warning in 1 Kings 11:2 against binding with foreign nations, while the language of longing parallels Shechem’s initial attachment in Genesis 34:3 and the psalmist’s spiritual craving in Psalm 119:20.

Why it lands — The text presents a diplomatic marriage offer that overlooks the explicit boundaries surrounding Jacob’s family. It requires the reader to recognize how human negotiation routinely substitutes social convenience for divine instruction.

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

וַיְדַבֵּ֥רva/y.da.Berand/ he spoke חֲמ֖וֹרcha.MorHamor אִתָּ֣ם'i.Ta/mwith/ them לֵאמֹ֑רle./Mor<to>/ saying שְׁכֶ֣םshe.KhemShechem בְּנִ֗יbe.N/ison/ my חָֽשְׁקָ֤הcha.she.Kahit loves נַפְשׁוֹ֙naf.Sh/oself/ his בְּבִתְּכֶ֔םbe./vi.te./Khem<in>/ daughter/ your תְּנ֨וּte.Nugive נָ֥אna'please אֹתָ֛הּ'o.Ta/h<obj.>/ herל֖וֹl/oto <the>/ himלְאִשָּֽׁה׃le./'i.Shahto/ a wife

King James Version

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

Cross-references

1 Kings 11:2 These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love.
Psalms 119:20 My soul is consumed with longing for Your judgments at all times.
Genesis 34:3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly.
Psalms 63:1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
Psalms 84:2 My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

People named

HamorShechem