2 Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Prince of the country - i.e., Hamor was prince; Shechem was the son of the prince or chief. Our version appears to represent Shechem as prince, but his father was the chief of the country. See Genesis 34:6, Genesis 34:8, etc.
And when Shechem the son of Hamor,.... From whom the city had its name, near which Jacob and his family now were:
the Hivite, prince of the country; Hamor was an Hivite, which was one of the nations of the land of Canaan, and this man was the prince or a principal man of that nation, as well as of Shechem. Josephus (c) calls him a king: when the son of this man
saw her; that is, Dinah, what a beautiful person she was, and was enamoured with her:
he took her: by force, as the Targum of Jonathan:
and lay with her, and defiled her; or "humbled" or "afflicted her" (d); and it is a rule with the Jews, that every such act, which is done by force, is called an humiliation and affliction (e): the child begotten in this act of fornication is said (f) by them to be Asenath, who was had into Egypt, and brought up by Potipherah's wife as her daughter, and afterwards married to Joseph, Genesis 41:45.
(c) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 1. c. 21. sect. 1.) (d) , Sept. & afflixit eam, Pagninus, Montanus. (e) Gerundensis apud Munster, & Drusium in loc. (f) Pirke Eliezer, ut supra. (c. 33. fol. 42. 2.)
*More commentary available at chapter level.