Genesis 34 · Verse 1

Genesis 34:1

And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
Genesis 34:1, King James Version

Genesis 34:1 in other translations

BSBNow Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.
WEBDinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
ASVAnd Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
YLTAnd Dinah, daughter of Leah, whom she hath borne to Jacob, goeth out to look on the daughters of the land,
DARBYAnd Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
BBENow Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had by Jacob, went out to see the women of that country.
WebsterAnd Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

What does Genesis 34:1 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 34:1-4

Ge 34:1-31. The Dishonor of Dinah.

1-4. Though freed from foreign troubles, Jacob met with a great domestic calamity in the fall of his only daughter. According to Josephus, she had been attending a festival; but it is highly probable that she had been often and freely mixing in the society of the place and that she, being a simple, inexperienced, and vain young woman, had been flattered by the attentions of the ruler's son. There must have been time and opportunities of acquaintance to produce the strong attachment that Shechem had for her.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Introduction

Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, going out to see the daughters of the land, is ravished by Shechem, the son of Hamor, Gen 34:1, Gen 34:2. He entreats his father to get her for him to wife, Gen 34:3. Jacob and his sons hear of the indignity offered to Dinah, Gen 34:5-7. Hamor proposes the suit of Shechem to Jacob and his sons, and offers them a variety of advantages, Gen 34:8-10. Shechem himself comes forward, begs to have Dinah to wife, and offers dowry to any extent, Gen 34:11, Gen 34:12. The sons of Jacob pretend scruples of conscience to give their sister to one who was uncircumcised; and require, as a condition of this marriage, and of intermarriages in general, that all the Shechemites should be circumcised, Gen 34:13-17. Hamor and Shechem consent, Gen 34:18, Gen 34:19. They lay the business before the elders of their city, dwell on the advantages of a connection with Jacob and his family, and propose to them the condition required by the sons of Jacob, Gen 34:20-23. The elders consent, and all the males are circumcised, Gen 34:24. While the Shechemites are incapable of defending themselves, on the third day after their circumcision, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, came upon the city, slew all the males, sacked the city, took the women and children captives, and seized on all the cattle belonging to the Shechemites, Gen 34:25-29. Jacob is greatly displeased and alarmed at this treachery and cruelty of his sons, and lays before them the probable consequences, Gen 34:30. They endeavor to vindicate their conduct, Gen 34:31. Verse 1 And Dinah - went out to see the daughters of the land - It is supposed that Jacob had been now about seven or eight years in the land, and that Dinah, who was about seven years of age when Jacob came to Canaan, was now about fourteen or fifteen. Why or on what occasion she went out we know not, but the reason given by Josephus is very probable, viz., that it was on one of their festivals.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 34:1-19
Young persons, especially females, are never so safe and well off as under the care of pious parents. Their own ignorance, and the flattery and artifices of designing, wicked people, who are ever laying snares for them, expose them to great danger. They are their own enemies if they desire to go abroad, especially alone, among strangers to true religion. Those parents are very wrong who do not hinder their children from needlessly exposing themselves to danger. Indulged children, like Dinah, often become a grief and shame to their families. Her pretence was, to see the daughters of the land, to see how they dressed, and how they danced, and what was fashionable among them; she went to see, yet that was not all, she went to be seen too. She went to get acquaintance with the Canaanites, and to learn their ways. See what came of Dinah's gadding. The beginning of sin is as the letting forth of water. How great a matter does a little fire kindle! We should carefully avoid all occasions of sin and approaches to it.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Genesis 34:1 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַתֵּצֵ֤אva.te.Tze'and she went outH3318
דִינָה֙di.NahDinahH1783
בַּת\־bat-[the] daughter ofH1323
לֵאָ֔הle.'AhLeahH3812
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhomH834
יָלְדָ֖הYal.dahshe had borneH3205
לְיַעֲקֹ֑בle.ya.'a.Koto JacobH3290
לִרְא֖וֹתlir.'otto lookH7200
בִּבְנ֥וֹתbiv.Noton [the] daughters ofH1323
הָאָֽרֶץ\׃ha.'A.retzthe landH776

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 34:1

  • Genesis 30:21

    And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

  • Jeremiah 2:36

    Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.

  • Genesis 27:46

    And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

  • Genesis 46:15

    These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padan–aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.

  • Genesis 26:34

    And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

  • Genesis 30:13

    And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

  • Genesis 28:6

    When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan–aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;

  • 1 Timothy 5:13

    And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

  • Titus 2:5

    To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1 Dinah is ravished by Shechem.
4 He sues to marry her.
13 The sons of Jacob offer the condition of circumcision to the Shechemites.
20 Hamor and Shechem persuade them to accept it.
25 The sons of Jacob upon that advantage slay them, and spoil their city.
30 Jacob reproves Simeon and Levi.

A.M. 2272. B.C. 1732.
Dinah.
30:21; 46:15
the daughters.
26:34; 27:46; 28:6; 30:13; Jer 2:36; 1Ti 5:13; Tit 2:5

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 34:1

    And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

  • Genesis 34:2

    And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

Read all of Genesis 34

Genesis 34:1 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y SALIÓ Dina la hija de Lea, la cual había ésta parido á Jacob, á ver las hijas del país.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Dina, fille de Léa, qu’elle avait enfantée à Jacob, sortit pour voir les filles du pays;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Dina, die Tochter Leas, die sie dem Jakob geboren hatte, ging aus, die Töchter des Landes zu sehen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Egressa est autem Dina filia Liæ ut videret mulieres regionis illius.