And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him a house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
17. Succoth ] This verse preserves the traditional explanation of the origin of the name Succoth, “booths,” “huts”; LXX . The site of Succoth is not yet identified with any certainty. From this passage we may infer, that it lay on the east of the Jordan, and south of the Jabbok. For other references to Succoth, cf. Jos 13:27; Jdg 8:5; Jdg 8:8; Psa 60:6; Psa 108:7.
an house ] Jacob is here stated to have erected not a “tent” or a “booth,” but a “house,” as a sign of the more permanent character of his sojourn in the land.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 33:17
Jacob journeyed to Succoth
Lessons
1.
Providence in love carrieth on his own after removing of blocks from their way.
2. The movings and journeyings of his own, providence guides, as of the wicked, but with distinction.
3. Esau under providence may be carried to Seir, strong mountains, but Jacob to Succoth, a poor cottage and a booth..
4. Under providence it concerns good householders to build shelters, for themselves, families, and cattle.
5. Such common works of saints are recorded as pleasing unto God.
6. Jacobs seed are careful to keep booth-providences in remembrance, Name of place showeth this. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 17. Journeyed to Succoth] So called from succoth, the booths or tents which Jacob erected there for the resting and convenience of his family, who in all probability continued there for some considerable time.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Built him an house, which doubtless was some slight building, because he intended not to stay there.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. Jacob journeyed to Succoththatis, “booths,” that being the first station at which Jacobhalted on his arrival in Canaan. His posterity, when dwelling inhouses of stone, built a city there and called it Succoth, tocommemorate the fact that their ancestor, “a Syrian ready toperish” [De 26:5], was gladto dwell in booths.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Jacob journeyed to Succoth,…. Perhaps after he had been at Seir, and stayed there some little time. Succoth was on the other side of Jordan, so called by anticipation, for it had its name from what follows; as yet there was no city built here, or at least of this name; afterwards there was, it lay in a valley, and belonged to Sihon king of Heshbon, and was given to the tribe of Gad, Jos 13:27; it is mentioned along with Penuel, and was not far from it, Jud 8:8. It is said to be but two miles distant from it u, but one would think it should be more:
and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle; an house for himself and family, and booths or tents for his servants or shepherds, and for the cattle they had the care of, some for one, and some for the other. This he did with an intention to stay some time here, as it should seem; and the Targum of Jonathan says he continued here a whole year, and Jarchi eighteen months, a winter and two summers; but this is all uncertain:
therefore the name of the place is called Succoth; from the booths or tents built here, which this word signifies.
u Bunting’s Travels, p. 72.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
17. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth. In the word Succoth, as Moses shortly afterwards shows, there is a prolepsis. It is probable that Jacob rested there for some days, that he might refresh his family and his flock after the toil of a long journey; for he had found no quiet resting-place till he came thither. And therefore he gave to that place the name of Succoth, or “Tents,” because he had not dared firmly to plant his foot elsewhere. For though he had pitched tents in many other places; yet on this alone he fixes the memorial of divine grace, because now at length it was granted to him that he might remain in some abode. But since it was not commodious as a dwelling-place, Jacob proceeded farther till he came to Sichem. Now, whereas the city has its recent name from the son of Hamor, its former name is also mentioned, (Gen 32:18😉 for I agree with the interpreters who think Salem to be a proper name. Although I do not contend, if any one prefers a different interpretation; namely, that Jacob came in safety to Sichem. (114) But though this city may have been called Salem, we must nevertheless observe, that it was different from the city afterwards called Jerusalem; as there were also two cities which bore the name of Succoth. As respects the subject in hand, the purchase of land which Moses records in the nineteenth verse, may seem to have been absurd. For Abraham would buy nothing all his life but a sepulcher; and Isaac his son, waiving all immediate possession of lands, was contented with that paternal inheritance; for God had constituted them lords and heirs of the land, with this condition, that they should be strangers in it unto death. Jacob therefore may seem to have done wrong in buying a field for himself with money, instead of waiting the proper time. I answer, that Moses has not expressed all that ought to come freely into the mind of the reader. Certainly from the price we may readily gather that the holy man was not covetous. He pays a hundred pieces of money; could he acquire for himself large estates at so small a price, or anything more shall some nook in which he might live without molestation? Besides, Moses expressly relates that he bought that part on which he had pitched his tent opposite the city. Therefore he possessed neither meadows, nor vineyards, nor stable land. But since the inhabitants did not grant him an abode near the city, he made an agreement with them, and purchased peace at a small price. (115) This necessity was his excuse; so that no one might say, that he had bought from man what he ought to have expected as the free gift of God: or that, when he ought to have embraced, by hope, the dominion of the promised land, he had been in too great haste to enjoy it.
(114) To understand the above passage the English reader will require to be informed that the word שלם, ( Shalem,) which our translators, with Calvin, regarded as a proper name, means also “peace,” or “safety;” and therefore the 18 verse may be read “Jacob came in safety to the city of Sichem.” And this is the translation given in Calvin’s own version, Et venit Iahacob incolumis in civitatem Sechem Thus his own text is, singularly enough, at variance with his Commentary. — Ed
(115) “For a hundred pieces of money.” The word rendered pieces of money, קשיטה, ( Kisitah,) means also lambs; and the price given might have been one hundred lambs; the probability, however, is, that the coin itself was called a lamb, as we have a coin called a sovereign. It is supposed that the coin bore the image of a lamb, perhaps because it was the conventional price at which lambs were generally valued. The testimony of St. Stephen (Act 7:16) is decisive as to the fact that money was in use. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Gen. 33:17. Made booths for his cattle.] Booths, or folds, composed of upright stakes wattled together, and sheltered with leafy branches. (Murphy.)
Gen. 33:18. Shalem, a city of Shechem.] It seems very improbable that the word Shalem should be a proper name, as the A.V. after the LXX. and Vulgate has rendered it. No such place is known in the neighbourhood of Sichem (Nablus), nor mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. The meaning is far more probably in peace. (Alford.)
Gen. 33:19. An hundred pieces of money.] This coin is called kesitah (lamb). Gesenius suggests that this was probably of the value of a lamb. Ancient coins were often stamped with the image of an animal, which they represented.
Gen. 33:20. Called it El-Elohe-Israel.] That is God, the God of Israel.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Gen. 33:17-20
JACOBS FAITH AND PIETY
I. His faith. He bought a parcel of ground as a pledge of his faith in the future possession of that country by his posterity (Gen. 33:19). This purchase of a portion of land, concerning which God had promised Abraham that it should be his, showed Jacobs deep conviction that the promise was renewed to him and to his seed.
II. His piety. This was an evidence of his faith. He gave himself up entirely to God, and this inward feeling was expressed outwardly by acts of obedience and devotion. His piety is seen
1. In an act of worship. He erected there an altar. This was in keeping with his vow (Gen. 28:21).
2. In the use of blessings already given. He called the altar El-elohe-Israel (Gen. 33:20). He now uses his own new name, Israel, for the first time, in association with the name of God. He uses that name which signifies the Mighty One, who was now his covenant God. He lives up to his privilege, uses all that God had given. He had vowed that he would take the Lord to be his God.
3. In the peace he enjoyed. He arrived in peace at his journeys end (Gen. 33:18).(See Critical Notes.)
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen. 33:16-17. We view Jacobs settlement at Succoth
1. In the light of a building of booths and houses for refreshment, after a twenty years servitude, and the toils and soul-conflicts connected with his journeyings.
2. As a station where he might regain his health, so that he could come to Shechem well and in peace.
3. As a station where he could tarry for a time on account of Esaus importunity. (Lange.)
Gen. 33:18-19. The acquisition of a parcel of land at Shechem by Jacob, forms a counterpart to the purchase of Abraham at Hebron. But there is an evident progress here, since he made the purchase for his own settlement during life, while Abraham barely gained a burial place. In Jacobs life, too, the desire to exchange the wandering nomadic life for a more fixed abode becomes more apparent than in the life of Isaac.(Lange.)
Gen. 33:20. Jacob consecrates his ground by the erection of an altar. He calls it the altar of the Mighty One, the God of Israel, in which he signalises the omnipotence of Him who had brought him safely to the land of promise through many perils, the new name by which he himself had been lately designated, and the blessed communion which now existed between the Almighty and himself. This was the very spot where Abraham, about 185 years ago, built the first altar he erected in the promised land (Gen. 12:6-7). It is now consecrated anew to the God of promise.(Murphy.)
He erected an altar
1. As a memorial of the promises, and a symbol of Gods presence.
2. As an external profession of his piety.
3. That he might set up God in his family, and season all his worldly affairs with a relish of religion.(Trapp.)
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
JACOBS SETTLEMENT IN CANAAN.DINAHS WRONG, AND THE FIERCE VENGEANCE OF SIMEON AND LEVI (Gen. 33:17 to Gen. 34:31.).
(17) Succoth.That is, booths. There are two claimants for identification with Jacobs Succoth, of which the one is in the tribe of Gad, on the east of the Jordan, in the corner formed by that river and the Jabbok; the other is the place still called Sakt, on the west of the Jordan, but as it lies ten miles to the north. of the junction of the Jordan and Jabbok, it is not likely that Jacob would go so far out of his way.
Jacob . . . built him an house, and made booths for his cattle.This is something quite unusual, as the cattle in Palestine remain in the open air all the year round, and the fact that the place retained the name of the booths shows that it was noticed as remarkable. But the fact, coupled with the right translation of Gen. 33:18, is a strong but undesigned testimony to the truth of the narrative. Jacob had been pursued by Laban, and suffered much from anxiety and the labour attendant upon the hurried removal of so large a household. Delivered from danger in the rear, he has to face a greater danger in front, and passes many days and nights in terror. At last Esau is close at hand, and having done all that man could do, he stays behind to recover himself, and prepare for the dreaded meeting next day. But instead of a few calm restful hours he has to wrestle fiercely all night, and when at sunrise he moves. forward he finds that he has sprained his hip. He gets through the interview with Esan with much feeling, agitated alternately by fear, and hope, and joy, enduring all the while his bodily pain as best he can, and then, delivered from all danger, he breaks down. The word journeyed simply means that he broke up his camp from the high ground where he had met his brother, and went into the corner close by, where the two rivers would both protect him and provide his cattle with water and herbage. And there he not only put up some protection, probably wattled enclosures made with branches of trees, for his cattle, but built a house for himselfsomething, that is, more solid than a tent: and there he lay until he was healed of his lameness. The strained sinew would require some months of perfect rest before Jacob could move about; but it was healed, for Jacob came whole and sound to the city of Shechem. (See next verse.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
JACOB AT SHECHEM, Gen 33:17-20.
17. Succoth The word means booths, from the hurdles or folds made there by Jacob for his flocks . We find Succoth mentioned later as one of the cities east of the Jordan assigned to the tribe of Gad, (Jos 13:27,) and also in the history of Gideon. Jdg 8:4-17. Its exact site is now unknown .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And Jacob journeyed to Succoth and built himself a house and made booths for his cattle. That is why the name of the place is called Succoth (booths).’
Succoth was later a city in the territory assigned to the Gaddites, east of Jordan, in the Jordan valley not far from a water crossing (Jos 13:27; Jdg 8:4-5) and not far from Penuel (Jdg 8:8).
Here he sets up a permanent residence. He has been through much, as have his family and herds and flocks, and this gives him the opportunity for recovery. He builds a house for himself and provides permanent accommodation for his flocks and herds. The ‘house’, permanent living quarters, may well have been fairly extensive needing to provide accommodation for his wives and family. His men could see to their own needs and would need to protect the herds. It is clear that he was in no hurry to join his father Isaac, and spent some years here while his family grew up. The name Succoth appears to have come from this period. Thus the event that follows at Shechem occurs some time after.
The position had the added advantage that if Esau came back he could always say that his herds and flocks, which had previously been pushed hard, needed recovery time.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 33:17. Journeyed to Succoth, &c. From the booths or tents which Jacob pitched here the place was called Succoth. It lay on the east of the river Jordan, and was not far from it.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
SIXTH SECTION
Jacobs settlement in Canaan. At Succoth. At Shechem. Dinah. Simeon and Levi. The first manifestation of Jewish fanaticism. Jacobs rebuke, and removal to Bethel
Gen 33:17 to Gen 34:31
17And Jacob journeyed to Succoth [booths], and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore, the name of the place is called Succoth.
18And Jacob came to Shalem5 [in peace], a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram [Mesopotamia]; and pitched his tent before the city. 19And he bought a [the] parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor [ass; peaceful bearer of public burdens], Shechems father, for an hundred pieces6of money. 20And he erected there an altar, and called it El-Elohe-Israel [strength].
Gen 34:1.And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went outto see the daughters of the land. 2And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country [region], saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. 3And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake7 kindly unto the damsel. 4And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel [from Jacob] to wife. 5And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: (now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace [held in, or to himself] until they were come).
6And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him. 7And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel, in lying with Jacobs daughter; which thing ought not to be done [and remain]. 8And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife. 9And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. 10And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. 11And Shechem said unto her father, and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me, I will give. 12Ask me never so much dowry and gift [price of the bride], and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife. 13And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully [under mere pretence], and said, Because he had defiled Dinah their sister: 14And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised: for that were a reproach unto us: 15But in this [condition] will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised; 16Then will We give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 17But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone. 18And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem, Hamors son. 19And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacobs daughter: and he was more honorable than all the house of his father.
20And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed 21with the men of their city, saying, These men are peaceable with us, therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein: for the land, behold, it is large enough for them: 22let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only herein [on this condition] will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one 23people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. Shall not their cattle, and their substance, and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us. 24And unto Hamor, and unto Shechem his son, hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city: and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
25And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinahs brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. 26And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechems house, and went out. 27The sons of Jacob came [now] upon the slain and spoiled the city; because they 28[its inhabitants] had defiled their sister. They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field. 29And all their wealth and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house. 30And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me [so greatly] to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites, and the Perizzites: and I being few in number [of a small household; easily numbered], they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me, and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. 31And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot? Gen 35:1.And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God [El] that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. 2Then Jacob said unto his household and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: 3And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day [at the time] of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. 4And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand [possession], and all their ear-rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak [terebinth] which was by Shechem. 5And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
6So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan (that is Bethel), he and all the people that were with him. 7And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el; because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his 8brother. But Deborah [bee], Rebekahs nurse, died, and she was buried beneath Bethel, under an oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth.
9And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram [Mesopotamia]; and blessed him. 10And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. 11And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company [] of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins. 12And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. 13And God went up from him, in the place where he talked with him. 14And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink-offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon. 15And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
The section now before us, whose unity consists in the remarkable sojourn of Jacob at the different stations, on his homeward journey to Hebron, may be divided as follows: 1. The settlement at Succoth; 2. the settlement at Shechem; 3. Dinah: a. The rape of Dinah; b. Shechems offer of marriage; c. the fanatical revenge of the sons of Jacob, or the bloody wedding; the plot, the massacre, the sacking of the city, the judgment of Jacob upon the crime; 4. the departure for Bethel; 5. the sealing of the covenant between God and the patriarch at Bethel. Knobel, as usual, finds here a commingling of Jehovistic and Elohistic elements, since the internal relations are brought into view as little as possible, while names and words are emphasized.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Gen 33:17.To Succoth.The name Succoth, booths, tents, might have been of frequent occurrence in Palestine, but the locality here spoken of is generally regarded as the same with the later well-known city of Succoth, which lies east of the Jordan. It was situated within the limits of the tribe of Gad (Jos 13:27; Jdg 8:5-14; Psa 60:6). Josephus speaks of it under its Greek name , and Jerome Succoth is at this day a city across the Jordan, in the neighborhood of Scythopolis. Robinson (later Resear., pp. 310312) identifies Succoth with Skut, lying west of the Jordan, and southerly from Beisan. The fact that the traditional Succoth lies too far to the north, and that it is not easy to see how Jacob, after crossing the Jabbok, should come hither again, is in favor of this suggestion. Nor is it probable that, having so nearly reached the Jordan, he would have settled in the east-Jordan region (comp. Gen 32:10). Knobel thinks that the writer wished to show that the patriarch had now fixed his abode in the trans-Jordan region. That Succoth belonged to the tribe of Gad, does not disprove Robinsons conjectures, since there may have been more than one Succoth. Compare, further, as to the traditional Succoth, Von Raumer p. 256; Knobel, p. 204 [also Keil, Murphy, Wordsworth, Jacobus, Smiths Bib. Dic., all of whom decide against Robinson.A. G.]And he built.He prepares here for a longer residence, since he builds himself a house instead of tents, and booths for his flocks, i. e., inclosures made of shrubs or stakes wattled together. Knobel thinks that this is very improbable, since Jacob would naturally wish to go to Canaan and Isaac (Gen 31:8). But if we bear in mind that Jacob, exhausted by a twenty-years servitude and oppression, and a flight of more than seven days, shattered by his spiritual conflicts, and lame bodily, now, first, after he had crossed the Jordan, and upon the spiritual and home land, came to the full sense of his need of repose and quiet, we shall then understand why he here pauses and rests. As the hunted hart at last sinks to the ground, so he settles down and rests here for a time. He seems to have hoped, too, that he would be healed at Succoth, and it is probably with a special reference to this that it is said, Gen 33:18, that Jacob came in peace or in health to Shechem. Jacob, too, after his experience of his brother Esaus importunity, had good reason for inquiring into the condition of things at Hebron, before he brought his family thither. [The fact that he built a house for himself, and permanent booths for his flock, indicates his continued residence at Succoth for some years; and the age of Dinah at his flight from Laban makes it necessary to suppose either that he dwelt here or at Shechem six or more years before the sad events narrated in the following chapter.A. G.] And it appears, indeed, that, either from Succoth or Shechem, he made a visit to his father Isaac at Hebron, and brought from thence his mothers nurse, Deborah, since Rebekah was dead, and since she, as the confidential friend of his mother, could relate to him the history of her life and sufferings, and since, moreover, she stood in closer relation to him than any one else. Nor could Jacob, as Keil justly remarks, now an independent patriarch, any longer subordinate his household to that of Isaac.
2. The sojourn at Shechem (Gen 33:18-20).And Jacob came (to Shalem) in good health.The word is taken by the Sept., Vul., and Luther [and by the translators of the Eng. Bib.A. G.], as a proper noun, to Shalem, which some have regarded as another name for Shechem, and others as designating an entirely different place, and the more so, since the village of Salim is still found in the neighborhood of Shechem (Robinson: Researches, vol. iii. p. 114 ff.). But it is never mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament, and as an adjective, refers to the , Gen 28:21. Jehovah has fulfilled his promise.A city of Shechem.Or, to the city. Lit., of Shechem. The city was not in existence when Abraham sojourned in this region (Gen 12:6). The Hivite prince Hamor had built it and called it after the name of his son. For the old name Mamortha of Pliny, see Keil, p. 224 [who holds that it may be a corruption from Hamor; but see also Robinson, vol. iii. p. 119.A. G.].In the land of Canaan.Keil infers from these words that Succoth could not have been in the land of Canaan, i. e., on the west of the Jordan. But the words here, indeed, refer to the immediately following Hebraic acquisition of a piece of ground, just as in the purchase of the cave at Hebron by Abraham it is added, in the land of Canaan (Gen 23:19).Padan-aram (see Gen 25:20)before the city.[See the Bible Dictionaries, especially upon the situation of Jacobs well, and Robinson, vol. iii. pp. 113136.A. G.]. Even after his return to Hebron Jacob kept a pasture station at Shechem (Gen 37:12).A parcel of a field (Jos 24:32).Abraham purchased for himself a possession for a burial place at Hebron. Jacob goes further, and buys a possession for himself during life. This purchase shows that Jacob, in his faith in the divine promise, viewed Canaan as his own home, and the home of his seed. Tradition fixes this parcel of land, which, at the conquest of Canaan, fell as an heritage to the sons of Joseph, and in which Josephs bones were buried (Jos 24:32), as the plain lying at the southeast opening of the valley of Shechem, where, even now, Jacobs well (Joh 4:6) is shown, and about two hundred or three hundred paces north of it a Mohammedan wely, as the grave of Joseph (Robinson: Researches, vol. iii. pp. 113136, and the map of Nablous, in the German Oriental Journal, xvi. p. 634). Keil. For the relation of this passage with Gen 48:22, see the notes upon that passage.An hundred pieces of money.Onk., Sept., Vul., and the older commentators, regard the Quesita as a piece of silver of the value of a lamb, or stamped with a lamb, and which some have held as a prophecy pointing to the Lamb of God. Meyer (Heb. Dict.) estimates the Quesita as equal to a drachm, or an Egyptian double-drachm. Delitzsch says it was a piece of metal of an indeterminable value, but of greater value than a shekel (see Job 42:11).An altar, and named it.That is, he undoubtedly named it with this name, or he dedicated it to El-Elohe-Israel. Delitzsch views this title as a kind of superscription. But Jacobs consecration means more than that his God is not a mere imaginary deity; it means, further, that he has proved himself actually to be God (God is the God of Israel); God in the clear, definite form of El, the Mighty, is the God of Israel, the wrestler with God. Israel had experienced both, in the almighty protection which his God had shown him from Bethel throughout his journeyings, and in the wrestlings with him, and learned his might. In the Mosaic period the expression, Jehovah, the God of Israel, takes its place (Exo 34:23). The chosen name of God, in the book of Joshua. Delitzsch. [The name of the altar embraces, and stamps upon the memory of the world, the result of the past of Jacobs life, and the experiences through which Jacob had become Israel.A. G.]
3. Dinah (Gen 34:1-31).Dinah the daughter of Leah.a. The rape of Dinah (Gen 34:1-4). Dinah was born about the end of the fourteenth year of Jacobs residence in Haran. She was thus about six years old at the settlement at Succoth. The sojourn at Succoth appears to have lasted for about two years. Jacob must have spent already several years at Shechem, since there are prominent and definite signs of a more confidential intercourse with the Shechemites. We may infer, therefore, that Dinah was now from twelve to sixteen years of age. Joseph was seventeen years old when he was sold by his brethren (Gen 37:2), and at that time Jacob had returned to Hebron. There must have passed, therefore, about eleven years since the return from Haran, at which time Joseph was six years of age. If now we regard the residence of Jacob at Bethel and the region of Ephrata as of brief duration, and bear in mind that the residence at Shechem ceased with the rape of Dinah, it follows that Dinah must have been about fourteen or fifteen years of age when she was deflowered. In the East, too, females reach the age of puberty at twelve, and sometimes still earlier (Delitzsch). From the same circumstances it is clear that Simeon and Levi must have been above twenty.Went out to see.Scarcely, however, to see the daughters of the native inhabitants for the first time, nor to a fair or popular festival (Josephus). Her going indicates a friendly visit to the daughters of the land, a circumstance which made her abduction possible, for she was taken by Shechem to his house (Gen 34:26).His soul clave unto Dinah.This harsh act of princely insolence and power is not an act of pure, simple lust, which usually regards its subject with hatred (see the history of Tamar, 2Sa 13:15).Spake kindly to her.Probably makes her the promise of an honorable marriage.b. Shechems offer of marriage(Gen 34:5-12).And Jacob heard it.In a large nomadic family the several members are doubtless often widely dispersed. Besides, Dinah did not return home.Held his peace until they were come.The brothers of the daughter had a voice in all important concerns which related to her (Gen 24:50 ff.). Moreover, Jacob had to deal with the proud and insolent favorite son of the prince, i. e., prince of that region, and a painful experience had made him more cautious than he had been before.And Hamor the father of Shechem.As if he wished to anticipate the indignation of Jacobs youthful sons.Because he had wrought folly.Keil speaks of seduction, but this is an inadequate expression. Some measure of consent on the part of Dinah is altogether probable. In this case the dishonor () had a double impurity, since an uncircumcised person had dishonored her.And the men were grieved.Manly indignation rises in these young men in all its strength, but as the wise sons of Jacob, they know how to control themselves. [It was more than indignation. They were enraged; they burned with anger; it was kindled to them.A. G.]He had wrought folly. , a standing expression for crimes which are irreconcilable with the dignity and destination of Israel as the people of God, but especially for gross sins of the flesh (Deu 22:21; Jdg 20:10; 2Sa 13:12), but also of other great crimes (Jos 7:15).Which thing ought not to be done.A new and stricter morality in this respect also, enters with the name Israel.My son Shechem.The hesitating proposal of the father gives the impression of embarrassment. The old man offers Jacob and his sons the full rights of citizens in his little country, and the son engages to fulfil any demand of the brothers as to the bridal price and bridal gifts. Keil confuses these ordinary determinations. [He holds only with most that they were strictly presents (and not the price for the bride) made to the bride and to her mother and brothers.A. G.]c. The fanatical revenge of the sons of Jacob(Gen 34:13-29).Deceitfully.Jacob had scarcely become Israel when the arts and cunning of Jacob appear in his sons, and, indeed, in a worse form, since they glory in being Israel.And said (), we cannot do this thing.Keil thinks the refusal of the proposition lies fundamentally in the proposal itself, because if they had not refused they would have denied the historical and saving vocation of Israel and his seed. The father, Israel, appears, however, to have been of a different opinion. For he doubtless knew the proposal of his sons in reply. He does not condemn their proposition, however, but the fanatical way in which they availed themselves of its consequences. Dinah could not come into her proper relations again but by Shechems passing over to Judaism. This way of passing over to Israel was always allowable, and those who took the steps were welcomed. We must therefore reject only: 1. The extension of the proposal, according to which the Israelites were to blend themselves with the Shechemites; 2. the motives, which were external advantages. It was, on the contrary, a harsh and unsparing course in reference to Dinah, if the sons of Leah wished her back again; or, indeed, would even gratify their revenge and Israelitish pride. But their resort to subtle and fanatical conduct merits only a hearty condemnation.The young man deferred not.We lose the force of the narrative if we say, with Keil, that this is noticed here by way of anticipation; the thing is as good as done, since Shechem is not only ready to do it, but will make his people ready also. The purpose, indeed, could only be executed afterwards, since Shechem could not have gone to the gate of the city after his circumcision.And communed with the men of the city.They appeal in the strongest way to the self-interest of the Shechemites. Jacobs house was wealthy, and the Shechemites, therefore, could only gain by the connection.. Beasts of burden, camels, and asses. According to Herodotus, circumcision was practised by the Phnicians, and probably also among the Canaanites, who were of the same race and are never referred to in the Old Testament as uncircumcised, as e.g., it speaks of the uncircumcised Philistines. It is remarkable that the Hivites, Hamor and Shechem, are spoken of as not circumcised. Perhaps, however, circumcision was not in general use among the Phnician and Canaanitish tribes, as indeed it was not among the other people who practised the rite, e.g., the Ishmaelites, Edomites, and Egyptians, among whom it was strictly observed only by those of certain conditions or rank. Or we may suppose that the Hivites were originally a different tribe from the Canaanites, who had partly conformed to the customs of the land, and partly not. Knobel.On the third day.After the inflammation set in. This was the critical day (see Delitzsch, p. 340). [He says it is well known that the operation in case of adults was painful and dangerous. Its subjects were confined to the bed from two to three weeks, and the operation was attended by a violent inflammation.A. G.] Adults were to keep quiet for three days, and were often suffering from thirty-five to forty days.Simeon and Levi.Reuben and Judah were also brothers of Dinah, but the first was probably of too feeble a character, and Judah was too frank and noble for such a deed. Simeon and Levi come after Reuben, who, as the first-born, had a special responsibility towards his father (Gen 37:21 ff; Gen 42:22), and appears, therefore, to have withdrawn himself, and as the brothers of Dinah next in order undertake to revenge the dishonor of their sister. For the same reason Ammon was killed by Absalom (2Sa 13:28). Seduction is punished with death among the Arabians, and the brothers of the seduced are generally active in inflicting it (Niebuhr: Arabien, p. 39; Burkhardts Syria, p. 361, and Bedouins, p. 89). Knobel. Keil says that the servants of Simeon and Levi undoubtedly took part in the attack, but it may be a question whether each son had servants belonging to himself. The city lay in security, as is evident from the .Sons of Jacob.Without the conjunctive. The abrupt form of the narrative does not merely indicate the excitement over the shocking crime. For it is not definitely stated that all the sons of Jacob took part in sacking the city (Keil), although the slaughter of the men by Simeon and Levi may have kindled fanaticism in the others, and have led them to view the wealth of the city as the spoils of war, or as property without an owner. Much less can it be said that Simeon and Levi were excluded from these sons (as Delitzsch supposes). On the contrary, they are charged (Gen 49:6) with hamstringing the oxen [Eng. ver., digged through a wall.A. G.], i. e., with crippling the cattle they could not take with them. Nor are we here to bring into prominence that the Jacob nature breaks out again in this act, but, on the contrary, that the deed of the sons of Jacob is entirely unworthy. [Kurtz urges as an extenuation of their crime: 1. The fact that they viewed the rape as peculiarly worthy of punishment because they were Israel, the chosen people of God, the bearers of the promise, etc.; 2. their natural character, and the strength of their passions; 3. their youthful ardor; 4. the absence of counsel with their depressed and suffering father. But with every palliation, their treachery and bloodthirstiness, their use of the covenant sign of circumcision as a means to cloak their purpose, their extension of their revenge to the whole city, and the pillage of the slain, must shock every ones moral sense.A. G.]d. The judgment of Jacob upon their crime(Gen 34:30-31).Ye have troubled me.If we look at the places in which the word occurs (Jos 6:18; Jos 7:15), we shall see plainly that Jacob is not speaking here of mere simple grief. The idea proceeds from the shaking of water, to the utmost confusion and consternation of spirit, or changes and loss of life. The expression made to stink, signifies not merely to become odious, offensive, but to make infamous, literally, to make one an abomination. When Knobel concludes from the words: And I being few in number, that Jacob did not censure the act as immoral, but only as inconsiderate, and one which might thus cause his ruin, the inference is manifestly false and groundless. He expresses his censure of the act as immoral in the words trouble me, put him to shame, made him blameworthy, while they thought that they were glorifying him.Should he deal.Should one then, not should he then (Knobel), for he is dead; nor even should they then. The idea is, that if they had suffered this patiently they would thereby have consented that their sister should generally have been treated in this way with impunity. They thus insist upon the guilt of Shechem, but pass over his offer of an atonement for his crime, and their own fearful guilt. They have the last word (Delitzsch), but Jacob utters the very last word upon his deathbed. [And there, too, he makes clear and explicit his abhorrence of their crime, as not merely dangerous, but as immoral, and this in the most solemn and emphatic way.A. G.] Indirectly, indeed, he even here utters the last word, in his warning call to rise up and purify themselves by repentance. They must now flee from their house and home, i.e., from the land which they have so lately purchased.
Footnotes:
[5][Gen 33:18.Shalem is not a proper noun, but must be rendered in peace, as in Jacobs vow (Gen 28:21), to which it evidently refers.A. G.]
[6][Gen 33:19.Quesitahweighed or measured. Sept., Vul., Onk., have lamb, as if stamped upon the coin; but coined money was not in use among the patriarchs.A. G.]
[7][Gen 34:3.Lit., spake to her heart.A. G.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Succoth, so called from the booths erected there. Heb 11:9 . Observe: this is not the Succoth mentioned in Exo 13:20 , but Jdg 8:5 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 33:17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
Ver. 17. Built him an house, and made booths. ] So did his posterity, at their going out of Egypt, Exo 12:37 and, for a perpetual memorial thereof, were appointed to keep a yearly feast of booths or tabernacles, Lev 23:34 made of green boughs of trees, in praise of God, who had now vouchsafed them better houses. And here one would wonder, saith a divine, a that all along, during the reign of David and Solomon, who gave a pattern of, and built the temple, and all those succeeding reformers, there should something be omitted about this feast of tabernacles, till their return from Babylon: yet so it was. Neh 8:16-17 This feast was kept, as it is thought, by Solomon, 2Ch 7:8 and by these same Jews, Ezr 3:4 yet not in this manner. Now Neh 8:14 they had learned, by sad experience, to keep it aright, in dwelling in booths, by having been lately strangers out of their own land: to signify which, and profess themselves strangers – as this “Syrian ready to perish their father” Deu 26:5 was, now at Succoth – was the intent of that feast, and that rite of it, dwelling in booths. This is intimated, “They did read also out of the law,” &c., Neh 8:17-18 which, till then, they had not done.
a T. Goodwin.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
booths. Hebrew. succoth. Hence the name. First occurance.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Succoth: Jos 13:27, Jdg 8:5, Jdg 8:8, Jdg 8:16, 1Ki 7:46, Psa 60:6, not, Exo 12:37, Exo 13:20
Succoth: i.e. Booths, Succoth was on the east of Jordan, between the brook Jabbok and that river, about 40 miles from Jerusalem, and consequently near Penuel; where a city was afterwards built, which Joshua assigned to the tribe of Gad. Jerome says, that Succoth was in the district of Scythopolis; and the Jews inform us, that the name of Darala was sometime after applied to it.
Reciprocal: Lev 23:42 – General Num 32:16 – General Neh 8:14 – booths Psa 108:7 – the valley
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 33:17. Jacob journeyed to Succoth A place afterward known by that name, in the tribe of Gad, on the other side Jordan; here he rested for the present, set up booths for his cattle, and built a house; doubtless some slight building, because he intended not to stay there; with other conveniences for himself and family. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth That is, booths, that when his posterity afterward dwelt in houses of stone, they might remember that the Syrian, ready to perish, was their father, who was glad of booths, Deu 26:5.
Gen 33:18-19. Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem Or rather, as the Hebrew may be rendered, he came safe, or in peace, to the city of Shechem. After a perilous journey, in which he had met with many difficulties, he came safe at last into Canaan. He bought a parcel of a field For his present possession and use; for the right which he already had to it was only in reversion, after the time that God had appointed. Of the children of Hamor That is, subjects, called children, to signify the duty which they owed to him, and the care and affection he owed to them. Shechems father He only of Hamors sons is mentioned, because he was more honourable than the rest of his brethren, (Gen 34:19,) and so might probably transact this affair with Jacob, the rest consenting thereto.