Genesis 34
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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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Genesis 34
34
The Treachery of Jacob’s Sons
1Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to #34:1 Lit seevisit the daughters of the land. 2When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her and raped her. 3But #34:3 Lit His soul clunghe was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and #34:3 Lit spoke to the heart of the girlspoke tenderly to her. 4So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” 5Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob said nothing until they came in. 6Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard about it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a #34:7 Lit senselessdisgraceful thing in Israel by #34:7 I.e., violating hersleeping with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.
8But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him #34:8 Lit for a wifein marriage. 9And intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. 10So you will live with us, and the land shall be #34:10 Lit before youopen to you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.” 11Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and I will give whatever you tell me. 12Demand of me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give whatever you tell me; but give me the girl #34:12 Lit for a wifein marriage.”
13But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, that is, give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you will be circumcised, 16then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. 17But if you do not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”
18Now their words seemed #34:18 Lit goodreasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19The young man did not delay to do #34:19 Lit the thingthis, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father. 20So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the people of their city, saying, 21“These men are #34:21 Lit peacefulfriendly to us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is #34:21 Lit wide of hands before themlarge enough for them. We will take their daughters #34:21 Lit to us for wivesin marriage, and give our daughters to them. 22Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 23Will their livestock and their property and all their animals not be ours? Let’s just consent to them, and they will live with us.” 24All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
25Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons—Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers—each took his sword and came upon the city undetected, and killed every male. 26They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 27Jacob’s sons came upon those killed and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28They took their flocks, their herds, and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; 29and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even everything that was in the houses. 30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me repulsive among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and #34:30 Lit I, few in numbersince my men are few in number, they will band together against me and #34:30 Lit strikeattack me, and I will be destroyed, I and my household!” 31But they said, “Should he #34:31 Or maketreat our sister like a prostitute?”
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