2544. Chamor
Lexical Summary
Chamor: Hamor, Hamor's

Original Word: חֲמוֹר
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Chamowr
Pronunciation: khaw-more'
Phonetic Spelling: (kham-ore')
KJV: Hamor
NASB: Hamor, Hamor's
Word Origin: [the same as H2543 (חֲמוֹר חֲמוֹר - donkey)]

1. donkey
2. Chamor, a Canaanite

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Hamor

The same as chamowr; donkey; Chamor, a Canaanite -- Hamor.

see HEBREW chamowr

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from chamar
Definition
father of Shechem
NASB Translation
Hamor (12), Hamor's (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
III. חֲמוֺר proper name, masculine father of Shechem (he-ass; see RSK 220; Sem i. 449) — Genesis 33:19; Genesis 34:2,4,6,8,13,18 (twice in verse); Genesis 34:20,24,26; Joshua 24:32; Judges 9:28.

Topical Lexicon
Name and Meaning

Hamor (חֲמוֹר, Ḥămôr) bears the ordinary Hebrew word for “donkey,” yet in Scripture the term functions chiefly as a proper name. The semantic linkage between name and animal underscores traits of strength and stubborn persistence that appear in the narrative.

Occurrences in Scripture

Genesis 33:19; 34:2, 4, 6, 8, 13, 18 (appears twice in the verse list), 20, 24, 26

Joshua 24:32

Judges 9:28

Historical Background

Hamor is introduced as a Hivite chieftain inhabiting the ancient city of Shechem in Canaan during the Patriarchal era. Archaeological layers at Tell Balata (identified with Shechem) show fortified occupation in the Middle Bronze Age, aligning with the Genesis setting. As “prince of the land” (Genesis 34:2), Hamor wielded civic authority, controlled commercial exchange at the city gate, and negotiated alliances with passing clans.

Interaction with the Patriarchs

Jacob purchased a parcel of land “from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver” (Genesis 33:19). The transaction marks the first recorded land acquisition by Israel in Canaan outside the family burial plot at Machpelah, anticipating eventual territorial possession (cf. Genesis 15:18-21).

The Shechem Covenant Proposal

The Dinah incident (Genesis 34) places Hamor at the center of an inter-family crisis. When Shechem violated Dinah, Hamor sought to regularize the union through bride-price and covenant. His words emphasize integration: “Make marriages with us. Give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves” (Genesis 34:9). Circumcision, proposed by Jacob’s sons, represented to Hamor not a divine covenant sign but a political gesture toward one peoplehood. His advocacy—“Will not their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours?” (Genesis 34:23)—reveals economic motives beneath the veneer of reconciliation.

Consequences and Legacy

The massacre led by Simeon and Levi resulted in Hamor’s death (Genesis 34:26) and the decimation of Shechem’s male populace. Immediate fallout included Jacob’s fear of Canaanite reprisal (Genesis 34:30) and the subsequent divine directive to move to Bethel (Genesis 35:1). Long-term, the event served as a moral caution: Jacob’s deathbed oracle condemns Simeon and Levi’s violence (Genesis 49:5-7), yet God still preserved covenant promises.

Later Biblical Reflections

Joshua 24:32 cites the same land tract, linking Hamor with Israel’s burial of Joseph’s bones—“the tract of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor.” Thus a Hivite parcel becomes Israelite inheritance, symbolizing fulfilled promise. Judges 9:28 references “the men of Hamor father of Shechem” as an ancestral benchmark of civic independence against Abimelech’s tyranny. The name continues to represent indigenous governance in contrast to foreign rule.

Theological Observations

1. Covenant vs. convenience: Hamor’s acceptance of circumcision without faith contrasts sharply with Abraham’s covenantal reception (Genesis 17), illustrating that outward ritual devoid of heart allegiance cannot produce true unity.
2. Sovereign orchestration: Even human treachery (Simeon and Levi) furthers divine narrative; Shechem’s territory eventually houses Joseph’s tomb and becomes a Levitical city of refuge (Joshua 20:7), pointing to redemption arising from violence.
3. Ethical warning: Hamor’s pragmatic politics and the ruthless response of Jacob’s sons collectively demonstrate the peril of marrying covenant blessings to worldly advantage.

Practical Ministry Applications

• Evangelism and cultural engagement must rest on spiritual transformation rather than mere social assimilation; otherwise, partnerships mirror Hamor’s superficial covenant.
• Church leaders, like Jacob, face accountability for family or congregational violence done under the guise of righteousness; silence invites greater turmoil.
• The purchase of Hamor’s field models prudent, peaceable investment in God’s mission field, foreshadowing the believer’s call to engage society while awaiting full inheritance in Christ.

Summary

Hamor stands as a pivotal yet cautionary figure whose land became a tangible token of promise, whose diplomacy exposed mixed motives, and whose demise underscores that only covenants forged in faith and obedience endure.

Forms and Transliterations
חֲמ֑וֹר חֲמ֖וֹר חֲמ֛וֹר חֲמ֥וֹר חֲמֽוֹר׃ חֲמוֹר֙ חמור חמור׃ chaMor ḥă·mō·wr ḥămōwr
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 33:19
HEB: מִיַּ֥ד בְּנֵֽי־ חֲמ֖וֹר אֲבִ֣י שְׁכֶ֑ם
NAS: of the sons of Hamor, Shechem's
KJV: of the children of Hamor, Shechem's
INT: the hand of the sons of Hamor father Shechem's

Genesis 34:2
HEB: שְׁכֶ֧ם בֶּן־ חֲמ֛וֹר הַֽחִוִּ֖י נְשִׂ֣יא
NAS: the son of Hamor the Hivite,
KJV: the son of Hamor the Hivite,
INT: Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite the prince

Genesis 34:4
HEB: שְׁכֶ֔ם אֶל־ חֲמ֥וֹר אָבִ֖יו לֵאמֹ֑ר
NAS: to his father Hamor, saying,
KJV: unto his father Hamor, saying,
INT: Shechem about Hamor to his father saying

Genesis 34:6
HEB: וַיֵּצֵ֛א חֲמ֥וֹר אֲבִֽי־ שְׁכֶ֖ם
NAS: Then Hamor the father of Shechem
KJV: And Hamor the father of Shechem
INT: went Hamor the father of Shechem

Genesis 34:8
HEB: וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר חֲמ֖וֹר אִתָּ֣ם לֵאמֹ֑ר
NAS: But Hamor spoke with them, saying,
KJV: And Hamor communed with them, saying,
INT: spoke Hamor for saying

Genesis 34:13
HEB: שְׁכֶ֨ם וְאֶת־ חֲמ֥וֹר אָבִ֛יו בְּמִרְמָ֖ה
NAS: and his father Hamor with deceit,
KJV: Shechem and Hamor his father
INT: Jacob's Shechem Hamor and his father deceit

Genesis 34:18
HEB: דִבְרֵיהֶ֖ם בְּעֵינֵ֣י חֲמ֑וֹר וּבְעֵינֵ֖י שְׁכֶ֥ם
NAS: seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem,
KJV: pleased Hamor, and Shechem
INT: now their words affliction to Hamor affliction and Shechem

Genesis 34:18
HEB: שְׁכֶ֥ם בֶּן־ חֲמֽוֹר׃
NAS: to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son.
KJV: Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.
INT: and Shechem son Hamor's

Genesis 34:20
HEB: וַיָּבֹ֥א חֲמ֛וֹר וּשְׁכֶ֥ם בְּנ֖וֹ
NAS: So Hamor and his son Shechem
KJV: And Hamor and Shechem his son
INT: came Hamor Shechem and his son

Genesis 34:24
HEB: וַיִּשְׁמְע֤וּ אֶל־ חֲמוֹר֙ וְאֶל־ שְׁכֶ֣ם
NAS: listened to Hamor and to his son
KJV: And unto Hamor and unto Shechem
INT: listened to Hamor about Shechem

Genesis 34:26
HEB: וְאֶת־ חֲמוֹר֙ וְאֶת־ שְׁכֶ֣ם
NAS: They killed Hamor and his son Shechem
KJV: And they slew Hamor and Shechem
INT: Hamor Shechem and his son

Joshua 24:32
HEB: מֵאֵ֛ת בְּנֵֽי־ חֲמ֥וֹר אֲבִֽי־ שְׁכֶ֖ם
NAS: from the sons of Hamor the father
KJV: of the sons of Hamor the father
INT: Jacob the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem

Judges 9:28
HEB: אֶת־ אַנְשֵׁ֤י חֲמוֹר֙ אֲבִ֣י שְׁכֶ֔ם
NAS: the men of Hamor the father
KJV: the men of Hamor the father
INT: serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem

13 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 2544
13 Occurrences


ḥă·mō·wr — 13 Occ.

2543
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