Genesis 34 — Hebrew and Greek compared
← Genesis 33 compared · Reading text of Genesis 34 · Genesis: all chapters · Genesis 35 compared →
Same 10 Similar 7 Different 6 Divergent 6 Disparate 2
Disparate in this chapter: 34:13, 34:14
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
Dinah’s Rape
34:1 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:1 Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.
Greek · Saints priority
34:1 Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
34:2 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:2 Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, a ruler of the land, saw her. He seized her, lay with her, and violated her.
Greek · Saints priority
34:2 Shechem, son of Hamor the Horite, a ruler of the land, saw her. He seized her, lay with her, and violated her.
Hivite/Horite is an ethnic-name difference. Both describe a sexual violation; humbled is not allowed to obscure the assault [H34; G34].
34:3 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:3 His soul clung to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.
Greek · Saints priority
34:3 He was attached to the soul of Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He loved the young woman and spoke to her according to her heart.
The attachment and heart/mind expressions differ. Greek parthenos is rendered young woman in this context; it does not undo the assault in verse 2. His feelings do not establish her consent [G34].
34:4 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:4 So Shechem spoke to Hamor, his father, saying, “Take this young girl for me as a wife.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:4 So Shechem spoke to Hamor, his father, saying, “Take this young girl for me as a wife.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
34:5 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; but his sons were with his cattle in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came.
Greek · Saints priority
34:5 Now Jacob heard that the son of Hamor had defiled Dinah, his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came.
Greek explicitly identifies Hamor’s son as the offender [G34].
34:6 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:6 Then Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out to Jacob to speak to him.
Greek · Saints priority
34:6 Then Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out to Jacob to speak to him.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
34:7 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:7 Jacob’s sons came from the field when they heard. The men were grieved and very angry, because he had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter. Such a thing ought not to be done.
Greek · Saints priority
34:7 Jacob’s sons came from the field. When they heard, they were deeply distressed and greatly grieved, because Shechem had committed a disgraceful act in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter. Such a thing must not happen.
Both condemn the deed. Greek’s pierced expression describes distress; it is not automatically a reference to repentance [G34].
34:8 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:8 And Hamor spoke to them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; give her to him, I pray, as a wife.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:8 Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has set his heart on your daughter. Give her to him as a wife.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
34:9 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:9 “Make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:9 “Intermarry with us. Give your daughters to us and take our daughters for your sons.”
Greek explicitly says for your sons [G34].
34:10 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:10 “And you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions in it.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:10 “And you shall dwell with us, and the land is broad before you; dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions in it.”
Greek explicitly describes the land as broad [G34].
34:11 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:11 Shechem said to her father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight; I will give whatever you ask of me.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:11 Shechem said to her father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight; we will give whatever you ask of us.”
The offer is singular in Hebrew and plural in Greek [G34].
34:12 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:12 “Ask of me a very great bride-price and gift, and I will give whatever you say. Only give me the young woman as a wife.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:12 “Make the marriage payment very great, and I will give whatever you ask. Give me this young woman as a wife.”
The consulted Greek has one marriage-payment term, without a separate gift item [G34]. No modern monetary conversion is supplied.
34:13 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah.
Greek · Saints priority
34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because they had defiled their sister Dinah.
Hebrew’s final subject is singular, he defiled Dinah; Greek’s is plural, they defiled Dinah. The attribution of responsibility broadens, which matters in this account of collective retaliation. Both retain the brothers’ deceitful answer. [H34; G34]
34:14 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:14 They said to them, “We cannot do this: give our sister to an uncircumcised man, for that would be a disgrace to us.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:14 Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers and Leah’s sons, said to them, “We cannot do this: give our sister to an uncircumcised man, for that would be a disgrace to us.”
Greek identifies Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers and Leah’s sons, as the speakers of the circumcision demand. Hebrew continues with an unnamed plural they. Naming the two future attackers narrows the stated agency in the deception and retaliation narrative. [H34; G34]
34:15 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:15 “Only on this condition will we agree with you: become like us by circumcising every male among you.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:15 “On this condition we will become like you and live among you: you must become like us by circumcising every male among you.”
Restored after omission from V1. Greek includes living among them in this verse [H34; G34].
34:16 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:16 “Then we will give our daughters to you and take your daughters for ourselves. We will live with you and become one people.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:16 “Then we will give our daughters to you and take wives for ourselves from your daughters. We will live among you and become one family.”
Restored after omission from V1. Greek explicitly names wives and uses a family/people term [H34; G34].
34:17 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:17 “If you will not listen to us and be circumcised, we will take our daughter and leave.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:17 “If you will not listen to us and be circumcised, we will take our daughters and leave.”
Restored after omission from V1. Daughter is singular in Hebrew and plural in Greek [H34; G34].
34:18 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:18 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.
Greek · Saints priority
34:18 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.
Restored after omission from V1; the agreement of the two men appears in both texts [H34; G34].
34:19 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:19 The young man did not delay doing this, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was the most honored in all his father’s household.
Greek · Saints priority
34:19 The young man did not delay doing this, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was the most honored in all his father’s household.
Restored after omission from V1. Both describe his haste, desire, and standing [H34; G34].
The Massacre
34:20 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:20 So Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke to the men of their city, saying,
Greek · Saints priority
34:20 So Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke to the men of their city, saying,
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
34:21 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:21 “These men are peaceful with us; therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is broad enough before them. Let us take their daughters for wives, and let us give them our daughters.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:21 “These men are peaceful with us; therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is broad enough before them. Let us take their daughters for wives, and let us give them our daughters.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
34:22 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:22 “Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised, just as they are circumcised.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:22 “Only on this condition will the men become like us so as to dwell with us as one people: if every male among us is circumcised, just as they are circumcised.”
The circumcision condition agrees; Greek expresses becoming like us, where Hebrew expresses consent to dwell together.
34:23 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:23 “Shall not their cattle, their possessions, and all their animals be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:23 “Shall not their livestock, their possessions, and all their four-footed animals be ours? Only let us become like them, and they will dwell with us.”
Greek keeps livestock and four-footed animals distinct and calls for becoming like them; the Hebrew wording presents consent.
34:24 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
Greek · Saints priority
34:24 All who went out through the city gate listened to Hamor and Shechem his son, and every male was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Greek explicitly names the foreskin but does not repeat the gate description at the close [G34].
34:25 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:25 On the third day, while they were in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword, entered the city unopposed, and killed every male.
Greek · Saints priority
34:25 On the third day, while they were in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword, entered the city unopposed, and killed every male.
The safety/security expressions describe the attackers’ entry; unopposed is contextual. Their revenge is narrated, not thereby endorsed.
34:26 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:26 And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.
Greek · Saints priority
34:26 And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
34:27 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:27 Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and plundered the city where their sister had been defiled.
Greek · Saints priority
34:27 Jacob’s sons came upon the wounded and plundered the city where their sister Dinah had been defiled.
Slain/wounded differs, and Greek names Dinah. Greek traumatiai can include casualties; it does not prove that every victim was still alive [G34].
34:28 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:28 They took their sheep, their oxen, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and whatever was in the field;
Greek · Saints priority
34:28 They took their sheep, their oxen, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and whatever was in the field;
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
34:29 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:29 They took all their wealth, children, and wives captive, and plundered everything in the houses.
Greek · Saints priority
34:29 They took all their people, household goods, and wives captive, and plundered everything in the city and in the houses.
Greek has different collective terms and includes the city. Wives is restored to the Greek column from the consulted text; V1 omitted it [G34].
34:30 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious to the people of the land, the Canaanites and Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather against me and strike me, and my household and I will be destroyed.”
Greek · Saints priority
34:30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have made me hated, offensive to all who live in the land, among the Canaanites and Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather against me and cut me down, and my household and I will be utterly destroyed.”
The speeches emphasize danger to the household. Genesis 49:5–7 returns to Simeon and Levi’s violence; the present concern does not exhaust the narrative’s moral assessment.
34:31 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
34:31 But they said, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
Greek · Saints priority
34:31 They said, “Should they treat our sister like a prostitute?”
The acting subject is singular in Hebrew and plural in Greek. The brothers’ reply is preserved as their defense [G34].
← Genesis 33 compared · Reading text of Genesis 34 · Genesis: all chapters · Genesis 35 compared →
Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.