Genesis 34:12

dowry and gift The "dowry," or mohar, is the present made to the parents or relations, cf. Genesis 24:53; Exo 22:16; 1 Samuel 18:25. The rendering "dowry" hardly, therefore, gives the correct idea to English readers. The "gift," on the other hand, was the present made by the bridegroom to the bride, as in Genesis 24:53; Genesis 29:18. In Exodus 22:16, as in the present passage, the "dowry" is a payment to the parents as "compensation" for wrong, as well as "purchase-money" for the wife; cf. Deuteronomy 22:28-29.