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Genesis 34 shows Jacob’s sons saying they would take their sister and leave if Shechem’s family refused them, implying Dinah was held captive. The Greek Septuagint changes this to “their daughters,” likely to remove mention of Dinah’s situation.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 34:17
Hebrew Bible
15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become like us by circumcising all your males. 16 Then we will give you our daughters to marry, and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 17 But if you do not agree to our terms by being circumcised, then we will take our sister and depart.” 18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Genesis 34:17
Septuagint
15 Only on these terms will we conform to you, and dwell among you, if you also will be as we are, in that every male of you be circumcised. 16 And we will give our daughters to you, and we will take of your daughters for wives to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will be as one race. 17 But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, we will take our daughters and depart. 18 And the words pleased Hamor, and Shechem the son of Hamor.
Date: 300–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The other noteworthy change is found in 34:17. Here the sons of Jacob prescribe the alternatives for Hamor and Shechem. If they don't accede to the demand that they be circumcised. then Jacob's family will take their 'daughter' and will go. While the Hebrew has a singular here referring to Dinah, the Greek translates with a plural. Was Dinah being held hostage by the family of Shechem while this bargaining was going on or not? If she is being held, that illuminates the nature of the dialogue and the coming attack on the residents of Shechem. The Hebrew with a singular implies she is a hostage. The plural referring to the hypothetical 'daughters' of 34:16 does not imply that any hostage is being held ..."
John A. Beck, Translators as Storytellers: A Study in Septuagint Translation Technique, StBibLit 25 (New York: Peter Lang, 2000), 31.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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