Genesis 33:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 33:19
And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.
to erect · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
parcel
חֶלְקַ֣תchel.Kat
H2513
properly · noun, common feminine singular construct
field
הַשָּׂדֶ֗הha.sa.Deh
H7704
a field (as flat) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
spread
נָֽטָהna.tah-
H5186
to stretch or spread out · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
tent
אָהֳל֔וֹ'o.ho.Lo
H168
a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
hand
מִיַּ֥דmi.Yad
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
children
בְּנֵֽיbe.nei-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Hamor
חֲמ֖וֹרcha.Mor
H2544
Chamor · proper noun, a man's name
Shechem’s
שְׁכֶ֑םshe.Khem
H7927
Shekem · proper noun, a man's name
father
אֲבִ֣י'a.Vi
H1
father · noun, common masculine singular construct
hundred
בְּמֵאָ֖הbe.me.'Ah
H3967
a hundred · preposition + cardinal number, feminine singular absolute
money
קְשִׂיטָֽהke.si.Tah
H7192
an ingot (as definitely estimated and stamped for a coi… · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 4:5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Acts 7:16 And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Syche…
Joshua 24:32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bou…
Genesis 23:17-20 And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that w…
Genesis 34:2-31 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
Genesis 49:30-32 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron t…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 33:16–end
Here, 1. Jacob comes to Succoth. Having in a friendly manner parted with Esau, who had gone to his own country (Gen 33:16), he comes to a place where, it should seem, he rested for some time, set up booths for his cattle, and other conveniences for himself and family. The place was afterwards known by the name of Succoth, a city in the tribe of Gad, on the other side Jordan (it signifies booths), that when his posterity afterwards 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); such was the rock whence they were hewn. 2. He comes to Shechem; we read it, to Shalem, a city of Shechem; the critics generally incli…
an hundred pieces of money--literally, "lambs"; probably a coin with the figure of a lamb on it.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 33:19
For a hundred pieces of money - The original, במאה קשיטה bemeah kesitah, has been a matter of long and learned discussion among critics. As kesitah signifies a lamb, it may imply that Jacob gave the Hamorites one hundred lambs for the field; but if it be the same transaction that St. Stephen refers to in Act 7:16, it was money, τιμης αργυριον, a sum or price of silver, which was given on the occasion. It has been conjectured that the money had the figure of a lamb stamped on it, because it was on an average the value of a lamb; and hence it might be called a kesitah or lamb from the impression it bore. It is certain that in many countries the coin has had its name from the image it bore; so…
And he bought a parcel of a field,.... Not the whole, but a part of it; this he did, though he was heir of the whole country, because, as yet, the time was not come for him or his to take possession of it:
where he had spread his tent; the ground that it stood upon, and what was adjoining to it, for the use of his cattle: this he bought
at the hand of the children of Hamor; of some one of them, in whose possession it was, and perhaps with the consent of the rest, and before them, as witnesses:
for an hundred pieces of money; Onkelos, the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Samaritan, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it a hundred lambs or sheep, cattle being used to be given in exchange for thing…
Dictionary and topics
Coin — Before the Exile the Jews had no regularly stamped money. They made use of uncoined shekels or talents of silver, which they weighed out (Gen. 23:16; Ex. 38:24; 2 Sam. 18:12). Probably the silver…
Eleloheisrael — (God, the God of Israel), the name bestowed by Jacob on the altar which he erected facing the city of Shechem. (Genesis 33:19,20)
Field — (Heb. sadeh), a cultivated field, but unenclosed. It is applied to any cultivated ground or pasture (Gen. 29:2; 31:4; 34:7), or tillage (Gen. 37:7; 47:24). It is also applied to woodland (Ps. 132:6)…
Gerizim — A mountain of Samaria, about 3,000 feet above the Mediterranean. It was on the left of the valley containing the ancient town of Shechem (q.v.), on the way to Jerusalem. It stood over against Mount…
Hamor — He-ass, a Hivite from whom Jacob purchased the plot of ground in which Joseph was afterwards buried (Gen. 33:19). He is called “Emmor” in Acts 7:16. His son Shechem founded the city of that name…
Jacob’s Well — (John 4:5, 6). This is one of the few sites in Palestine about which there is no dispute. It was dug by Jacob, and hence its name, in the “parcel of ground” which he purchased from the sons of Hamor…
Joseph — Remover or increaser. (1.) The elder of the two sons of Jacob by Rachel (Gen. 30:23, 24), who, on the occasion of his birth, said, “God hath taken away [Heb. ‘asaph] my reproach.” “The Lord shall add…
Kesitah — (Gen. 33:19, R.V., marg., a Hebrew word, rendered, A.V., pl. “pieces of money,” marg., “lambs;” Josh. 24:32, “pieces of silver;” Job 42:11, “piece of money”). The kesitah was probably a piece of…
Money — Of uncoined money the first notice we have is in the history of Abraham (Gen. 13:2; 20:16; 24:35). Next, this word is used in connection with the purchase of the cave of Machpelah (23:16), and again…
Pieces — (1) of silver. In Ps. 68:30 denotes “fragments,” and not properly money. In 1 Sam. 2:36 (Heb. agorah), properly a “small sum” as wages, weighed rather than coined. Josh. 24:32 (Heb. kesitah, q.v.),…
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 far…
From Succoth, Jacob crossed a ford of the Jordan, and "came in safety to the city of Sichem in the land of Canaan." שׁלם is not a proper name meaning "to Shalem," as it is rendered by Luther (and Eng. Vers., Tr.) after the lxx, Vulg., etc.; but an adjective, safe, peaceful, equivalent to בּשׁלום, "in peace," in Gen 28:21, to which there is an evident allusion. What Jacob had asked for in his vow at Bethel, before his departure from Canaan, was now fulfilled. He had returned in safety "to the land of Canaan;" Succoth, therefore, did not belong to the land of Canaan, but must have been on the eastern side of the Jordan. שׁכם עיר, lit., city of Shechem; so called from Shechem the son of the Hiv…
These verses form an epilogue to Jacob’s adventures outside the land. He returned in peace with a large family and many possessions. • Jacob, like Abraham, built an altar at Shechem (see 12:6-8) and purchased land from the family of Hamor.
Rashi on Genesis 33:19
קשיטה is a Meah (a certain coin) — Rabbi Akiba said, “When I visited the coast-towns I found that they called a Meah a Kesittah (Rosh Hashanah 26a). In the Targum it is rendered by חורפן good ones, current everywhere: the same idea as (23:16) “current with the merchant.
Shalem — Perfect, a place (probably the village of Salim) some 2 miles east of Jacob’s well. There is an abundant supply of water, which may have been the reason for Jacob’s settling at this place (Gen.…
Shechem — Shoulder. (1.) The son of Hamor the Hivite (Gen. 33:19; 34). (2.) A descendant of Manasseh (Num. 26:31; Josh. 17:2). (3.) A city in Samaria (Gen. 33:18), called also Sichem (12:6), Sychem (Acts…
Hamor · Jacob buys a piece of property from — Jacob buys a piece of property from
Lamb, The · The image of, was the first impression of on money — The image of, was the first impression of on money
Land · Bought and — Bought and
Money · Originally stamped with the image of a lamb — Originally stamped with the image of a lamb
Shechem · General references — General references
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
