3
But his soulוַ נַפְשׁוֹclungתִּדְבַּקto Dinah,בְּדִינָהthe daughterבַּתof Jacob;יַעֲקֹבhe lovedוַיֶּאֱהַבthe young womanאֶת הַנַּעֲרָand spokeוַיְדַבֵּרto the heartעַל לֵבof the young woman.הַנַּעֲרָ
Genesis 34:3
Study it in the app“But his soul clung to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke to the heart of the young woman.”
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 34:3, word by word
- But his soulנַפְשׁnafsh
soul
A person's innermost self: what they feel and desire.
Where else “nafsh” appears- clungתִּדְבַּקtidbak
cling
To stay close to someone, like YHWH.
Where else “tidbak” appears- to Dinahדִינָהdina
Dinah
Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah.
Where else “dina” appears- the daughterבַּתbat
daughter
A girl or woman born of her parents, who belongs to her father's house.
Where else “bat” appears- of Jacobיַעֲקֹבyaakov
Jacob
Jacob, the younger son of Isaac and Rebekah, twin brother of Esau and father of the twelve tribes. In Hebrew "Yaakov" sounds like "heel" and "supplant" (Genesis 25:26; 27:36). God later gave him the name Israel; the name also stands for his descendants, the people of Israel.
Where else “yaakov” appears- he lovedיֶּאֱהַבyeehav
love
To care for someone from the heart and seek their good.
Where else “yeehav” appears- the young womanנַּעֲרָnaara
girl
An unmarried female of marrying age.
Where else “naara” appears- and spokeיְדַבֵּרyedaber
speak
To speak, say something; above all God to his people.
Where else “yedaber” appears- to the heartלֵבlev
heart
The deepest part of a person: where they think, feel and decide.
Where else “lev” appears
The context
2Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the chief of the land, saw her, and he took her, lay with her, and humbled her.
3 · This verse (above)
4Shechem said to Hamor his father, saying, “Get me this girl as a wife.”
To study Genesis 34 in a group
1. What it says
What did Simeon and Levi do after what happened to Dinah (vv. 25-26)?
2. What it means
Why was Jacob upset with them, and what did his sons answer (vv. 30-31)?
3. How I live it
How can you respond to an injustice without paying back harm?