seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 34:8 But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. 9 Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade(b) in it, and acquire property in it.”
11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. 12 Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.”
11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. 12 Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.”
b. Genesis 34:10 Or move about freely; also in verse 21
Biblestudytools.com says this.
The prince and his son seem at first sight to have acted honestly, and our feelings are enlisted on their side. They betray no jealousy of the powerful shepherds; on the contrary, they show every desire to establish friendly intercourse. But their conduct was unjustifiable in neither expressing regret nor restoring Dinah to her family; and this great error was the true cause of the negotiations ending in so unhappy a manner.
This is from bible-commentaries.com.
Hamor presents the matter in a larger context. He proposes that not only his son, Shechem marry Dinah, but also that intermarriage take place between both parties. Dinah is kept at Shechem's house. There seems to have been no intention to return her and it is quite probable that if the brothers would have refused to make this marriage official, their sister would have stayed with Shechem without their blessing. Hamor talks smoothly, but he has Jacob and his sons over a barrel. This does not justify Simeon's and Levi's action, but we can understand how infuriated they were.
Biblehub.com offers this.
Hamor proposes that Jacob’s family shall abandon their nomad life, and settle among the Hivites. and trade with them, and get possessions, not merely of cattle and movable goods, but of immovable property. He wished the two clans to coalesce into one community
So Hamor has Dinah at his place. She's either a nitwit teen girl who is in "lllooovvveee" with the prince or a victim of rape. Hamor, the way I read it, is offering Jacob whatever price and all of his daughters. Who does he think he is? Oh yeah, he thinks he's the king, the head honcho, and totally in charge. Jacob [Israel] is in a tough spot here. It's all because his nitwit teen daughter, Dinah, went to a party [festival]and ran into Hamor's son.
What a family.... what a pickle....
