inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Gen 34:14)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding Shechem and Hamor.

complete verse (Genesis 34:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 34:14:

  • Newari: “They said — ‘We cannot give our younger sister to an uncircumcised person. [lit.: to a person who does not have the sign in [his] body.] If [we] do like this it will dishonor us.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They said, ‘(It) is- not -possible that we (excl.) will-have- Dina -marry to a man who has- not -been-circumcised, for that would-bring-shame upon us (excl.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “by saying to them, ‘No, we cannot do that. We cannot give our sister to be the wife of a man who is not circumcised, because that would be a shameful thing for us to do.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 34:14

We cannot do this thing is a general statement whose content comes in the following clause. This thing refers to giving Dinah to Shechem in marriage. Translators may find that this statement and the following must be made into one for the sake of clarity; for example, “We cannot give our sister to one who is uncircumcised.” See Good News Translation. Some translations say “It is hard [impossible] for us to do this.”

Give our sister may need to filled out to say “let our sister marry” or “give our sister in marriage.”

Uncircumcised: see 17.10 for a detailed discussion of this term and its translation. See also 17.14.

For that would be a disgrace to us: disgrace refers to “shame,” “dishonor,” “humiliation.” The word is used in this sense in such passages as 1 Sam 11.2 and Job 10.15. In some languages disgrace is expressed in figurative terms; for example, “that would make our faces burn” or “that would make us lower our heads.” In some languages for that would be … is more naturally expressed as “If we did that we would have very big shame.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .