A Hivite prince, father of Shechem.
Hamor
Named in 13 verses across 4 books, first in Genesis 33:19.
חֲמוֹרHamor
ἘμμόρHamor
The name means “an ass; clay; dirt.” Hitchcock's Bible Names, 1869
About Hamor Written by AI
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 (Genesis 33:19). When Israel (or 'Jacob') and his family settled near Shechem, Hamor's son Shechem assaulted Jacob's daughter Dinah (Genesis 34:2). Hamor and Shechem sought to arrange a marriage between Shechem and Dinah and proposed that their people intermarry with Jacob's family (Genesis 34:8 to 10). Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, deceitfully agreed on the condition that all the men of Shechem be circumcised (Genesis 34:13 to 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 (Genesis 34:25 to 29). The land that Jacob had purchased from Hamor became a possession of the Israelites and was later allocated to the tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 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 (Judges 9:28). In Acts 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.
Drafted by an AI model for STEPBible's TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Check it against the verses below.
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).
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897), public domain, from CrossWire. Shown as written; its Scripture quotes are from older translations.
Where the Bible names him
- Genesis 33:19
And the plot of ground where he pitched his tent, he purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver.
- Genesis 34:2
When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.
- Genesis 34:4
So Shechem told his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as a wife.”
- Genesis 34:6
Meanwhile, Shechem’s father Hamor came to speak with Jacob.
- Genesis 34:8
But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.
- Genesis 34:13
But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.
- Genesis 34:18
Their offer seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem.
- Genesis 34:20
So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and addressed the men of their city:
- Genesis 34:24
All the men who went out of the city gate listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male of the city was circumcised.
- Genesis 34:26
They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.
- Joshua 24:32
And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the plot of land that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. So it became an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.
- Judges 9:28
Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? You are to serve the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Why should we serve Abimelech?
- Acts 7:16
Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.
From STEPBible's TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0): names, family, references and the AI written article. Verse text is the BSB.