Shall not their cattell, and their substance, and euery beast of theirs bee ours? onely let vs consent vnto them, and they will dwell with vs. Genesis 34:23 (KJV)
The quotation presented does not appear in the King James Version of the Bible. The closest passage that resembles the language is found in Genesis 34:10, where Hamor says, “And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.” Even this verse lacks the specific phrasing about cattle, substance, and beasts that is cited in the quotation.
The actual dialogue in Genesis 34:22‑23 records the sons of Jacob responding to the proposal concerning their sister Dinah. Their words are, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; but we will consent unto you, if ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised. And then will we dwell with you, and we will be one people. But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.” This passage makes clear that the sons of Jacob are negotiating a covenant of circumcision as a condition for co‑habitation, and it contains no reference to acquiring cattle or beasts.
A separate passage, Genesis 47:23, contains a statement by Pharaoh to Joseph concerning his brothers, and the wording of that verse has sometimes been confused with the present quotation. However, the speaker in Genesis 47:23 is explicitly Pharaoh, and the context concerns the distribution of grain during famine, not a proposal about livestock or settlement.
The discrepancy highlights the importance of verifying scriptural citations. When a quotation does not match any known verse, readers may be misled about the biblical source and its theological implications. Careful comparison with the actual KJV text shows that the quoted sentence is a misquotation, and the themes it suggests—acquisition of livestock and conditional dwelling—are not present in the authentic Genesis narrative. Scholars and teachers should therefore reference the correct verses—Genesis 34:10 and Genesis 34:22‑23 for the Hamor‑Jacob dialogue, and Genesis 47:23 for the Pharaoh‑Joseph context—to avoid confusion and to maintain fidelity to the biblical record.
