And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.
He bought a parcel of a field, ... х chelqat (H2513) hasaadeh (H7704)] - a portion of the field; i:e., cultivable ground (cf. Genesis 37:7-15; John 4:35), it being a desirable acquisition to one who combined agricultural with pastoral pursuits. It probably comprised a considerable part of Wady Sahl, which is "before" or east of Shechem (cf. John 4:12), and was kept by him under tillage, while his numerous flocks found pasturage on the adjoining hills, the right to which would naturally follow his possession of the valley. Jacob thus became the first of the patriarchs who held an estate in Canaan.
At the hand of the children of Hamor. [The Septuagint has simply: para Emmoor-from Hamor.]
For an hundred pieces of money, х qªsiyTaah (H7192)] - a coin stamped with the figure of a lamb, and it has been supposed, from Genesis 23:15-16, that the kesitah was equivalent to four shekels. It is, however, uncertain whether this was its actual value in Canaan in the time of Jacob. But the circulation of coined money is an additional proof of the progress of the Canaanites in social advancement. 'There is no more reason for rendering kesitah by a piece of money, than for rendering shekel in the same way. It is a well-established law of translation, that the original names of coins, and of weights by which their value is determined, should be retained, (Campbell, 'Dissert.,' 8:) There is a strong reason for adhering to this rule in the present instance, because pieces of money are never designated by the name of kesitah subsequently to the patriarchal age, the statement in Josh. 33:19 being only a verbal repetition of this passage (cf. Job 45:11).