Genesis 34:20

Summary

Hamor and his son Shechem go to the gate of their city and speak to the men of the city, introducing the proposal that will follow in direct speech. The verse sets the scene for a public negotiation, naming the speakers and the audience.

Key words

• va-yavo ("and he went", H0935G) — qal narrative verb, 3rd person masculine singular. Though the subject that follows is compound (Hamor and Shechem), the verb form is grammatically singular, agreeing with the first-named subject, Hamor.
• shekhem beno ("Shechem his son", H7927H + H1121A) — ben is in construct form ("son of"), followed by the pronominal suffix -o ("his"), identifying Shechem as Hamor's son within the clause.
• sha'ar iram ("gate of their city", H8179G + H5892B) — a construct chain: sha'ar ("gate of") governs ir ("city"), which carries the suffix -am ("their"), producing "the gate of their city."
• yedabberu ("they spoke", H1696G) — piel narrative verb, 3rd person masculine plural, marking an intensified or purposeful act of speaking, distinct from a simple qal "to say."
• le'mor ("saying", H0559) — qal infinitive construct with the preposition le-, functioning as a formal introduction to the direct speech that follows in the next verses.

What the text says

The verse is built on two parallel narrative clauses joined by the vav-consecutive: first va-yavo ("and he went") with the compound subject "Hamor and Shechem his son," then va-yedabberu ("and they spoke") with plural agreement, since by this point both men are acting together. The shift from singular verb agreement in the first clause to plural in the second reflects a common Hebrew pattern where a verb preceding a compound subject may agree with the nearer or primary member (here Hamor), while a verb following or restating the same compound subject aligns fully with the plural sense.

The construct chains sha'ar iram ("gate of their city") and later anshei iram ("men of their city") repeat the possessive suffix -am ("their"), anchoring the scene twice in the same location and same community — the gate being the customary site for public or legal proclamations. The infinitive le'mor ("saying") does not carry independent tense; it simply opens the quotation that follows, a standard formula in Hebrew narrative for introducing reported speech.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders the compound subject impersonally as "Ingressique... locuti sunt" ("and having entered, they spoke"), using a plural participle and plural verb without repeating the proper names Hamor and Shechem within this verse, unlike the Hebrew, which names both explicitly. The Vulgate also renders anshei iram ("men of their city") as "ad populum" ("to the people"), a broader term than the specific "men" of the Hebrew. The LXX preserves the singular verb ἦλθεν ("he came") matching the Hebrew va-yavo, and translates the construct chains closely with πρὸς πύλην τῆς πόλεως αὐτῶν ("to the gate of their city") and πρὸς τοὺς ἄνδρας τῆς πόλεως αὐτῶν ("to the men of their city"), staying nearer to the Hebrew's repeated construct structure than the Vulgate does.