The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 461

and he lgved the damael,-on the use of they came home-and they ware vary wroth, na'ar for u youth of either sex vide eh. xxiv. -literally, it burned t& t/,qm, (jl"W.tl!f (ef. l'-and 1pake kindly unto the damsel- eh. xxxi. 36 ; l Sam. xv. 11 ; 2 Sam. xix. literally, 11poke to the heart of the damsel, 43). Michaelis mentions an opinion still iXaX'llff t<aTa r,jV O<UVOtaV TijC ,rapfJ/ VOIJ entertained in the East which explains the avr-p (LXX.), i. e. a.<ldresse<l to her such excessive indignation kindle<l in the breasts words as wore agreeable to her inclinations of Dinah's brothers, viz., that "in those (cf. on the import of the phrase eh. L 21 ; countries it is thought that a brother is more Judges xix. 3 ; l11a.. xl. 2 ; Hosea ji. 14), dishonoured by the seduction of his sister probably expressing his affection, and offer- than a man by the infidelity of his wife ; for, ing the reparation of honourable rna.rringe, soy the Arabs, a man may divorce his wife, as may be legitimately inferred from what is and then she is no longer his ; while a sister next recorded of his behaviour. And Shechem an<l daughter remain always sister and spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get daughter" (vide Kurtz, 'Hist. of OI<l Cove- me this damsel to wife-cf. the case of nant,' 982)-because he (i. e. Shechem)-had Samson (Judges xiv. 2). wrought folly-the term folly easily passes Ver. 5.-And Ja.cob heard-most likely into the idea of wickedness of a shameful from some of Dineh's companions (Patrick), character (1 Sam. xxv. 25; 2 Sam. xiii. 12), sir.co she herself was still detained in She- since from the standpoint of Scripture sin chem's hou.q~ (ver. 26)-tha.t he (Hamor's is the height of unreasoo (Ps. lxxiv. 22 ; son) ha.d defiled-the verb here employo.:l Jer. xvii. 11), 1md holiness the sublimest conveys the idea of rendering uncle1tn (cf. net of wisdom (Ps. cxi 10; Prov. L 4)-in vcrs. 13, 27; Numb. xix. 13; 2 Kings xxiii. (or against) Israel-the word, here applie<l 10; Ps. Ix.Tix. l; that in ver. 2 expresses for the first time to Jacob's household, n.fter- the notion of violence)-Dina.h his daughter. wards became the usual national designation It was an aggravation of Shechem's wicked- of Ja.cob's descendants; and the phrase here ness that it was perpetrated not a?inst any employed for the first time afterwards passed of Jacob's handmaids, but against llis <laugh- into a standing expression for acts done ter. Now (literally, and) his sons were agaiust the sacred character which belonged with his oattle in the field-perhaps that to Israel as e. separated and covenanted com- which he hnd lately purchased (eh. xxxiii munity, especially for sins of the ll.esh (Deut. 19), or in some pasture ground more remote uii. 21; Ju<lges JIL 10; Jer. xrix. 23), from the city. And Jacob held his peaoe- but also for other crimes (Josh. vii. 15)-in literally, acted as one dumb, i. e. maintained lying with Jaoob's da.ughter. The ~pecial silence upon the painful subject, an<l took wickedness of Shechem consisted iu dis- no measures to avenge Shechem's crime (cf. honouring n daughter of one who was the eh. xxiv. 21 ; 1 Sam. x. 27 ; 2 Sam. xiii. head of the theocratic lino. and therefore 22); either through sorrow (Ainsworth, Cal- un<ler peculiar obligations to lea<l II holy lifo. vin)[ or through caution (Murphy, Lango), Which thing ought not to be done-liter- or t 1rough perplexity, e.s not knowing how nlly, and so is it not done (cf. eh. xxix. to act (Kalisch), or e.s recognising the right 26). Assigned to the historinn (' Sreakcr's of his sons bv the some mother to have 11 Commentary'), or to the hnnd o II late voice in the· settlement of so important 11 redactor (Dnvidson, Coleoso, Alfor<l), there question (Kurtz, Gerlach), to which uodoubt- is no reason why these words shoul<l not e<lly the next clause points-until they were have been spoken by Jo.cob's sons (Keil, oome-litemlly, until their coming. Murphy, and others) to io<licnte their sonso Ver. 6.-And (meantime) Hamorthe fa.ther of the new and higher morality that h,ul of 8heohem went out-11ccompaoie<l by coma in with the name of Israel (Lange). Shechem (ver. 11)-unto J'acob-who wns Vers. 8-10. -And Ha.mor communed cncnmped in the outskirts of the city (eh. (literally, a-pake) with them (i. e. the whole xxxiii. 18)-to commune with him concern- family, or Jacob nocl his sons), saying, The ing Dioah'e marriage with his son. aou! of my son Sheohem longeth for-tho root Ver. 7.-And the 1ona of Jacob (i. e. (i'~Q) signifies to join together, intrans., to Lbah's children, Dinah's full brothers, for be joined together, hence to cleave to nnother certain, though perhaps also her half brothers) in lovo (cf. Dcut. vii. 7, 10, 15; xxi. 11) ; ea.me out of the field when they heard it of similar import to the word (i';l1) em- (Jacob h11ving probably sent them word): ployee! in ver. 3, which means to be ,le- and the men were grieved,-literally, grieved votedly nttoched to any one, ns, e. g., to Go,! themaelve4, or bece.mo pained with 11ngcr, (Deut. x. 20), to II king (2 Sam. xx. 2), to n the verb being the hithpael of JV1, to toil wifo (1 Kings xL 2)-your daughter. The or l11bour with pain. The LXX. connect words are 11<l,lressed to Je.cob's sons as well this with the preceding cl11use, we~! ,jco11aav, as J11cob himself, the brothers cqunlly with 1tariviryJJaav oi avop1c, implying that they the father bein~ regar<lecl as thll n11tural Jill not learn of their sister's seduction till guardians of e. sister. I pray you give her  Ttrn BOO:tt Oil' G~NRsts. [m. XXXIV. 1-31.