Verse

Genesis 34:4

ESV So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this girl for my wife."
NIV And Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife."
NASB So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, 'Get me this young woman as a wife.'
CSB "Get me this girl as a wife," he told his father.
NLT He said to his father, Hamor, 'Get me this young girl. I want to marry her.'
KJV And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
NKJV So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”

What does Genesis 34:4 mean?

Shechem has violently raped Jacob's daughter Dinah (Genesis 34:1–2). Then, almost beyond belief, we are told he announces his affection for her in loving terms (Genesis 34:3). His act was something the not-yet-given Mosaic Law would punish with death (Deuteronomy 22:25–27), but he has the nerve to make romantic advances to the victim.

Now, Shechem insists he be married to his woman he has brutalized. He goes to his father, Hamor, who would have been required to arrange such a marriage. This demand reveals Shechem to be extraordinarily self-entitled. This might have been partly due to his father's status as a "prince" of the region. The following passage further proves Shechem suffers from an extreme lack of self-control. He will blindly agree to anything, so long as he gets his prize.

While not explicitly stated, it seems that Shechem not only raped Dinah, he kidnapped her, as well. The next time she is directly mentioned, her brothers Simeon and Levi are removing her from Shechem's house in the middle of their bloody revenge (Genesis 34:26).
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