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Person

Hamor

Man living at the time of the Patriarchs

Hamor, a Hivite prince, was the father and founder of Shechem and negotiated with Jacob's sons after Shechem's assault on Dinah.

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Also known as Emmor

Hamor was a Hivite who founded the city of Shechem during the time of the patriarchs. His son was called Shechem, after whom the city was named (Gen.33.19). When Israel (or 'Jacob') and his family settled near Shechem, Hamor's son Shechem assaulted Jacob's daughter Dinah (Gen.34.2). Hamor and Shechem sought to arrange a marriage between Shechem and Dinah and proposed that their people intermarry with Jacob's family (Gen.34.8-10). Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, deceitfully agreed on the condition that all the men of Shechem be circumcised (Gen.34.13-24). However, while the men of Shechem were recovering from the circumcision, Simeon and Levi attacked the city, killed Hamor and Shechem, and rescued Dinah (Gen.34.25-29). The land that Jacob had purchased from Hamor became a possession of the Israelites and was later allocated to the tribe of Manasseh (Jos.24.32). In the time of the judges, Gaal son of Ebed challenged Abimelech's rule in Shechem, invoking the memory of Hamor as the city's ancestral leader (Jdg.9.28). In Act.7.16, Stephen mentions that Abraham bought a tomb from the sons of Hamor in Shechem, which may refer to the same transaction or a separate one.

Family

Connections

Simeon and Levi at Shechem: the avenging brothers of Dinah

FamilyStated in the text

After Shechem son of Hamor violated Dinah, Simeon and Levi, her full brothers, tricked the city into circumcision and massacred its males. Jacob condemned it and in his deathbed words scattered both tribes; Levi's later zeal for the LORD (Exod 32) redirected this energy.

Where the text shows it: Gen 34:1-2 — Dinah and ShechemGen 34:25-30 — Simeon and Levi's massacre; Jacob's rebukeGen 49:5-7 — Jacob's dying curse on their angerExod 32:26-29 — Levites act at the golden calf

Sources: Gen 34:1-2 · Gen 34:25-30 · Gen 49:5-7 · Exod 32:26-29

Bible dictionary

Hamor Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

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 which Simeon and Levi destroyed because of his crime in the matter of Dinah, Jacob’s daughter (Gen. 34:20). Hamor and Shechem were also slain (ver. 26).

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Hamor Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(an ass), a Hivite who at the time of the entrance of Jacob on Palestine was prince of the land and city of Shechem. (Genesis 33:19; 34:2,4,6,8,13,18,20,24,26) (B.C. 1737.) [Dinah]

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Hamor Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

an ass; clay; dirt

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Hamor Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

HA'MOR (ass), the father of Shechem, who ravished Dinah, Gen 33:19. He was killed by Jacob's sons, Gen 34:26. He is called Emmor in Acts 7:16.

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Hamor Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

HA'MOR (ass), the father of Shechem, who ravished Dinah, Gen 33:19. He was killed by Jacob's sons, Gen 34:26. He is called Emmor in Acts 7:16.

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Hamor appears

13 verses in 4 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H2544

Genesis10
Joshua1
Judges1
Acts1

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.