Genesis 34
34
CHAPTER 34
1Forsooth Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see the women of that country.
2And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of that land, had seen her, he loved her, and he ravished her, and slept with her, and oppressed the virgin by violence.
3And his soul was bound fast with her, and he pleased her sorry with flatterings.
4And he went to Hamor, his father, and said, Take to me this damsel for a wife.
5And when Jacob had heard this thing, while his sons were absent, and occupied in the feeding or the pasturing of [the] sheep, he was still, till they came again.
6Soothly when Hamor, the father of Shechem, was gone out to speak to Jacob,
7lo! his sons came from the field. And when this thing that befelled was heard, they were wroth greatly; for he had wrought a foul thing in Israel, and he had done a thing unleaveful in the defouling of the daughter of Jacob.
8And so Hamor spake to them, The soul of my son Shechem hath cleaved to your daughter; give ye her a wife to him,
9and join we weddings together; give ye your daughters to us, and take ye our daughters,
10and dwell ye with us; the land is in your power; till ye, and make ye merchandise, and wield ye it.
11But also Shechem said to the father and brethren of her, Find I grace before you, and whatever things ye ordain I shall give;
12increase ye the dower, and ask ye for gifts, and I shall give willfully that that ye ask; only give ye this damsel a wife to me.
13The sons of Jacob answered in guile to Shechem and to Hamor, his father, and they were made fierce for the defouling of the maidenhood of their sister,
14We may not do this that ye ask, neither we may give our sister to a man uncircumcised, which thing is unleaveful and abominable with us.
15But in this we shall be able to be bound in peace, if ye will be like us, and each of male kind be circumcised in you;
16then we shall give and take together our daughters and yours; and we shall dwell with you, and we shall be one people.
17Forsooth if ye will not be cir-cumcised, we shall take our daughter, and we shall go away.
18The proffering of them pleased Hamor, and Shechem, his son,
19and the young waxing man delayed not, that not he fulfilled anon that that was asked; for he loved the damsel greatly, and he was the most noble in all the house of his father.
20And they entered into the gate of the city, and spake to the people,
21These men be peaceable, and will dwell with us; make they merchandise in the land, and till they it, which is large and broad, and hath need to tillers; we shall take their daughters to wives, and we shall give our daughters to them.
22One thing is, for which so great good is delayed; if we circumcise our males, and follow the custom of the folk,
23both their substance, and sheep, and all things which they wield, shall be ours; only assent we in this, that we dwell together, and make one people.
24And all men assented, and all [the] males were circumcised.
25And lo! in the third day, when the sorrow of [the] wounds was most grievous, two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, [the] brethren of Dinah, took swords, and entered into the city boldly; and when all [the] males were slain,
26they killed Hamor and Shechem together, and took Dinah, their sister, from the house of Shechem. And when they were gone out,
27 [the] other sons of Jacob felled in on the slain men, and rifled the city, for the vengeance of [the] defouling of the virgin.
28And they wasted the sheep of those men, and droves of oxen, and asses, and all things that were in the houses and fields,
29and led away as prisoners the little children, and [the] wives of those men. And when these things were done hardily,
30Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me, and have made me hateful to Canaanites and Perizzites, [the] dwellers of this land; we be few, [and] they shall be gathered together against me, and shall slay me, and I shall be done away, and mine house.
31Simeon and Levi answered, Whether they ought to mis-use our sister as a whore?
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Genesis 34: WBMS
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Genesis 34
34
The Rape of Dinah. 1#The story of the rape of Dinah and the revenge of Jacob’s sons on the men of the city of Shechem may reflect the relations of the tribes of Simeon and Levi to their Canaanite neighbors around Shechem; the tribes are represented by their eponymous ancestors. Jacob’s farewell testament (49:5–7) cites this incident as the reason for the decline of the tribes of Simeon and Levi. Ominously, vv. 30–31 leave the situation unresolved, with Jacob concerned about the welfare of the whole family, and Simeon and Levi concerned only about the honor of their full sister. The danger to the family from narrow self-interest will continue in the Joseph story. Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit some of the women of the land. 2When Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite,#Hivite: the Greek text has “Horite”; the terms were apparently used indiscriminately to designate the Hurrian or other non-Semitic elements in Palestine. the leader of the region, saw her, he seized her and lay with her by force. 3He was strongly attracted to Dinah, daughter of Jacob, and was in love with the young woman. So he spoke affectionately to her. 4Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this young woman for a wife.”
5Meanwhile, Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah; but since his sons were out in the field with his livestock, Jacob kept quiet until they came home. 6Now Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out to discuss the matter with Jacob, 7just as Jacob’s sons were coming in from the field. When they heard the news, the men were indignant and extremely angry. Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter; such a thing is not done.#2 Sm 13:12. 8Hamor appealed to them, saying: “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 9Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10Thus you can live among us. The land is open before you. Settle and move about freely in it and acquire holdings here.”#Hamor seems to be making concessions to Jacob’s family in the hope of avoiding warfare between the two families. 11Then Shechem appealed to Dinah’s father and brothers: “Do me this favor, and whatever you ask from me, I will give. 12No matter how high you set the bridal price and gift, I will give you whatever you ask from me; only give me the young woman as a wife.”
Revenge of Jacob’s Sons. 13Jacob’s sons replied to Shechem and his father Hamor with guile, speaking as they did because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14They said to them, “We are not able to do this thing: to give our sister to an uncircumcised man. For that would be a disgrace for us. 15Only on this condition will we agree to that: that you become like us by having every male among you circumcised. 16Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters in marriage; we will settle among you and become one people. 17But if you do not listen to us and be circumcised, we will take our daughter and go.”
18Their proposal pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. 19The young man lost no time in acting on the proposal, since he wanted Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more highly regarded than anyone else in his father’s house. 20So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and said to the men of their city: 21“These men are friendly toward us. Let them settle in the land and move about in it freely; there is ample room in the land for them. We can take their daughters in marriage and give our daughters to them. 22But only on this condition will the men agree to live with us and form one people with us: that every male among us be circumcised as they themselves are. 23Would not their livestock, their property, and all their animals then be ours? Let us just agree with them, so that they will settle among us.”
24All who went out of the gate of the city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and all the males, all those who went out of the gate of the city,#All those who went out of the gate of the city: apparently meaning all the residents. By temporarily crippling the men through circumcision, Jacob’s sons deprived the city of its defenders. were circumcised. 25On the third day, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, brothers of Dinah, each took his sword, advanced against the unsuspecting city and massacred all the males.#Gn 49:6. 26After they had killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, they took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left.#Jdt 9:2. 27Then the other sons of Jacob followed up the slaughter and sacked the city because their sister had been defiled. 28They took their sheep, cattle and donkeys, whatever was in the city and in the surrounding country. 29They carried off all their wealth, their children, and their women, and looted whatever was in the houses.#Jdt 9:3–4.
30Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: “You have brought trouble upon me by making me repugnant to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I have so few men that, if these people unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be wiped out.” 31But they retorted, “Should our sister be treated like a prostitute?”
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