Genesis 34

Simeon and Levi Kill the Men of Shechem

1Dinah was the daughter Leah had by Jacob. Dinah went out to visit the women of the land. 2Hamor, the Hivite, was the ruler of that area. When his son Shechem saw Dinah, he took her and raped her. 3Then he longed for Jacob’s daughter Dinah. He fell in love with her and spoke tenderly to her. 4Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me that young woman. I want her to be my wife.”

5Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been raped. His sons were in the fields with his livestock. So he did nothing about it until they came home.

6Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 7Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields. They came as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and very angry. Shechem had done a very terrible thing. He had forced Jacob’s daughter to have sex with him. He had done something that should never be done in Israel.

8But Hamor said to Jacob and his sons, “My son Shechem wants your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. 9Let your people and ours get married to each other. Give us your daughters as our wives. You can have our daughters as your wives. 10You can live among us. Here is the land. Live in it. Trade in it. Buy property in it.”

11Then Shechem spoke to Dinah’s father and brothers. He said, “I want to please you. I’ll give you anything you ask for. 12Make the price for the bride as high as you want to. I’ll pay you whatever you ask. Just give me the young woman. I want to marry her.”

13Their sister Dinah had been raped. So Jacob’s sons lied to Shechem and his father Hamor. 14They said to them, “We can’t do it. We can’t give our sister to a man who isn’t circumcised. That would bring shame on us. 15We’ll agree, but only on one condition. You will have to become like us. You will have to circumcise all your males. 16Then we’ll give you our daughters as your wives. And we’ll take your daughters as our wives. We’ll live among you and become one big family with you. 17But if you won’t agree to be circumcised, then we’ll take our sister and go.”

18Their offer seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19The young man was the most honored of all his father’s family. He didn’t lose any time in doing what Dinah’s father and brothers had said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. 20Hamor and his son Shechem went to the city gate. They spoke to the other men there. 21“These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land. Let them trade in it. The land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters. And they can marry ours. 22But they will agree to live with us as one big family only on one condition. All our males must be circumcised, just as they are. 23Won’t their livestock and their property belong to us? Won’t all their animals become ours? So let’s say yes to them. Then they’ll live among us.”

24All the men who went out through the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. So every male in the city was circumcised.

25Three days later, all of them were still in pain. Then Simeon and Levi took their swords. They were Jacob’s sons and Dinah’s brothers. They attacked the city when the people didn’t expect it. They killed every male. 26They also used their swords to kill Hamor and his son Shechem. Then they took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. 27Jacob’s other sons found the dead bodies. They robbed the city where their sister had been raped. 28They took the flocks and herds and donkeys. They took everything in the city and in the fields. 29They carried everything away. And they took all the women and children. They took away everything in the houses.

30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me. Now I’m like a very bad smell to the Canaanites and Perizzites who live in this land. There aren’t many of us. They may join together against me and attack me. Then I and my family will be destroyed.”

31But they replied, “Should Shechem have treated our sister like a prostitute?”

Genesis 34

1Dinah, Jacob and Leah's daughter, went to visit some of the local women. 2Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her. He grabbed hold of her and raped her. 3However, then he fell deeply in love with Dinah and tried to get her to love him too. 4He went and asked his father, “Get this young girl for me so I can marry her.”

5Jacob found out that Shechem had violated#34:5. “Violated”: the word here is the one used in connection with being unclean. his daughter Dinah, but as his sons were away looking after the flocks in the fields he didn't say anything until they came home. 6In the meantime Hamor, Shechem's father, arrived to talk with Jacob. 7When Jacob's sons returned from the fields they were very upset when they heard the news and became extremely angry because Shechem had done something outrageous in Israel by having sex with Jacob's daughter—something that should never be done.

8Hamor told them, “My son Shechem is very much in love with your daughter and your sister Dinah.#34:8. “And sister Dinah”: supplied for clarity, since Hamor is addressing both Jacob and his sons. Please allow him to marry her. 9In fact we can have more marriages—you can give us your daughters and you can have our daughters. 10You can live among us and settle down wherever you like. You can go where you want and buy land for yourselves.”

11Then Shechem himself spoke up, and said to Dinah's father and brothers, “Please accept me and my proposal, and I'll do whatever you ask. 12You can set the bride price as high as you like, and I'll pay it along with all the gifts I'll give. Just let me have the girl so I can marry her.”

13Jacob's sons weren't honest when they answered him and his father Hamor because Shechem had violated their sister Dinah. 14They told them, “We can't do this! We can't allow our sister to marry a man who's not circumcised. That would bring disgrace on us. 15We will only agree to it with this condition: all of you must be circumcised like us. 16Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters, and we will live among you and become one family. 17But if you don't agree with us that you should be circumcised, then we'll take our sister and leave.”

18Hamor and his son Shechem agreed to what was proposed. 19The young man Shechem didn't waste any time in arranging this because he was infatuated with Jacob's daughter, and he was viewed as the most important person in his father's family. 20Hamor and Shechem went to the town gate and spoke to the other leaders there.

21“These men are our friends,” they told them. “Let's have them live here in our country and allow them to go wherever they want—it's big enough for all of them too. We can take their daughters as wives, and we can give our daughters to them to marry. 22But they will only agree to this on one condition: they will only join us and become one family if every male among us is circumcised like they are. 23If that happens, won't all their livestock and property—all their animals—end up belonging to us? We just have to agree to this and they will come and live among us.”

24Everyone there at the town gate agreed with Hamor and Shechem so every male in the town was circumcised. 25Three days later while they were still suffering pain, Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's sons and Dinah's brothers, came with their swords into the town. Unopposed, they slaughtered every male. 26They killed Hamor and Shechem with their swords, took Dinah from Shechem's house, and left.

27Jacob's other sons arrived, robbed the dead bodies, and looted the town where their sister had been violated. 28They took their sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. They took whatever was in the town, and in the fields— 29all their possessions. They captured all their women and children, and plundered everything in their homes.

30But Jacob criticized Simeon and Levi, telling them, “You've just caused me a lot of trouble! You've made me like a bad smell among the people in this country, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I only have a few men, and if these people gather to attack me, I and my whole family will be wiped out.”

31But they replied, “Should we have let him treat our sister like a prostitute?”

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Genesis 34

Genesis 34