Genesis 34:14

Summary

The sons of Jacob respond to the proposal to give their sister in marriage, declaring the act impossible because the man is uncircumcised. They state that such a marriage would constitute a cherpah ("reproach", H2781) for them.

Key words

• nukhal ("we are able", H3201) — qal imperfect, first person plural: expresses an ongoing/future incapacity, "we cannot/we will not be able."
• la'asot ("to do", H6213A) — qal infinitive with prefixed preposition la (H9005), marking purpose: "in order to do."
• dabar ("thing", H1697I) — masculine singular noun with definite article ha (H9009), referring back to the previous proposal ("this thing/matter").
• orlah ("foreskin", H6190H) — feminine singular noun, used to describe the physical condition of the prospective husband.
• cherpah ("reproach", H2781) — feminine singular noun functioning as predicate nominative with the pronoun hi' ("she/it", H1931), stating what the action would constitute.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative va-yomeru ("and they said", H0559 with vav), continuing the sequential storyline. The subject "they" is unspecified in the Hebrew grammar itself (the verb form carries "they" as subject), and the text moves directly into direct speech introduced by lo' ("not", H3808) plus nukhal ("we are able", H3201), an imperfect verb giving the sense of an ongoing refusal rather than a single completed denial.

The clause la'asot ha-dabar ha-zeh ("to do this thing", H6213A + H1697I + H2088) sets up the general refusal, which is then specified by a second infinitive clause: latet et-achoteinu le-ish ("to give our sister to a man", H5414G + H0269 + H0376G). The relative clause asher lo orlah ("who has a foreskin", H0834A + H6190H) qualifies "man" by describing his uncircumcised physical state, using the possessive construction "to him [belongs] a foreskin" rather than a single adjective.

The final clause, introduced by ki ("for/because", H3588A), gives the reason: cherpah hi' lanu ("it is a reproach to us", H2781 + H1931 + H9035/9005). Here hi' ("it/she", H1931) functions as a copula linking the demonstrative situation to the predicate noun cherpah, and lanu ("to us", built from le + nu) marks the parties for whom this would hold true.

Differences between versions

The LXX inserts an identification of the speakers absent in the Hebrew: "Λευὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ Δείνας υἱοὶ δὲ Λείας" ("Levi, the brothers of Dinah, sons of Leah"), specifying who is speaking, whereas the Hebrew text leaves the subject of va-yomeru unnamed at this point. The Vulgate renders dabar ha-zeh ("this thing") as "quod petitis" ("what you ask"), making explicit a request that the Hebrew phrase leaves more generic. The Vulgate also adds "quod illicitum et nefarium est apud nos" ("which is unlawful and forbidden among us"), an expanded gloss on cherpah ("reproach", H2781) not present as separate wording in the Hebrew or the LXX's simpler "ὄνειδος" ("reproach").