Genesis 34

1 NOW DINAH daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out [unattended] to see the girls of the place.

2 And when Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he seized her, lay with her, and humbled, defiled, and disgraced her.

3 But his soul longed for and clung to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke comfortingly to her young heart's wishes.

4 And Shechem said to his father Hamor, Get me this girl to be my wife.

5 Jacob heard that [Shechem] had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field. So Jacob held his peace until they came.

6 But Hamor father of Shechem went out to Jacob to have a talk with him.

7 When Jacob's sons heard it, they came from the field; and they were distressed and grieved and very angry, for [Shechem] had done a vile thing to Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter, which ought not to be done.

8 And Hamor conferred with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem craves your daughter [and sister]. I beg of you give her to him to be his wife.

9 And make marriages with us and give your daughters to us and take our daughters to you.

10 You shall dwell with us; the country will be open to you; live and trade and get your possessions in it.

11 And Shechem said to [Dinah's] father and to her brothers, Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask of me.

12 Ask me ever so much dowry and [marriage] gift, and I will give according to what you tell me; only give me the girl to be my wife.

13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, [justifying their intended action by saying, in effect, we are going to do this] because Shechem had defiled and disgraced their sister Dinah.

14 They said to them, We cannot do this thing and give our sister to one who is not circumcised, for that would be a reproach and disgrace to us.

15 But we do consent to do this: if you will become as we are and every male among you be circumcised,

16 Then we will give our daughters to you and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you and become one people.

17 But if you will not listen to us and consent to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.

18 Their words pleased Hamor and his son Shechem.

19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, for he delighted in Jacob's daughter. He was honored above all his family [so, ranking first, he acted first].

20 Then Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their [enclosed] town and discussed the matter with the citizens, saying,

21 These men are peaceable with us; so let them dwell in the land and trade in it; for the land is large enough [for us and] for them; let us take their daughters for wives and let us give them our daughters.

22 But the men will consent to our request that they live among us and be one people only on condition that every male among us be circumcised, as they are.

23 Shall not their cattle and their possessions and all their beasts be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell here with us.

24 And all the people who went out of the town gate listened and heeded what Hamor and Shechem said; and every male was circumcised who was a resident of that town.

25 But on the third day [after the circumcision] when [all the men] were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's [full] brothers, took their swords, boldly entered the city [without danger], and slew all the males.

26 And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house [where she had been all this time] and departed.

27 [Then the rest of] Jacob's [eleven] sons came upon the slain and plundered the town, because there their sister had been defiled and disgraced.

28 They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the town and in the field;

29 All their wealth and all their little ones and their wives they took captive, making spoil even of all [they found] in the houses.

30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, You have ruined me, making me infamous and embroiling me with the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites! And we are few in number, and they will gather together against me and attack me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my household.

31 And they said, Should he [be permitted to] deal with our sister as with a harlot?

Genesis 34

1-4One day Dinah, the daughter Leah had given Jacob, went to visit some of the women in that country. Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite who was chieftain there, saw her and raped her. Then he felt a strong attraction to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, fell in love with her, and wooed her. Shechem went to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl for my wife.”

5-7Jacob heard that Shechem had raped his daughter Dinah, but his sons were out in the fields with the livestock so he didn’t say anything until they got home. Hamor, Shechem’s father, went to Jacob to work out marriage arrangements. Meanwhile Jacob’s sons on their way back from the fields heard what had happened. They were outraged, explosive with anger. Shechem’s rape of Jacob’s daughter was intolerable in Israel and not to be put up with.

8-10Hamor spoke with Jacob and his sons, “My son Shechem is head over heels in love with your daughter—give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us. Give your daughters to us and we’ll give our daughters to you. Live together with us as one family. Settle down among us and make yourselves at home. Prosper among us.”

11-12Shechem then spoke for himself, addressing Dinah’s father and brothers: “Please, say yes. I’ll pay anything. Set the bridal price as high as you will—the sky’s the limit! Only give me this girl for my wife.”

13-17Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father with cunning. Their sister, after all, had been raped. They said, “This is impossible. We could never give our sister to a man who was uncircumcised. Why, we’d be disgraced. The only condition on which we can talk business is if all your men become circumcised like us. Then we will freely exchange daughters in marriage and make ourselves at home among you and become one big, happy family. But if this is not an acceptable condition, we will take our sister and leave.”

18That seemed fair enough to Hamor and his son Shechem.

19The young man was so smitten with Jacob’s daughter that he proceeded to do what had been asked. He was also the most admired son in his father’s family.

20-23So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the public square and spoke to the town council: “These men like us; they are our friends. Let them settle down here and make themselves at home; there’s plenty of room in the country for them. And, just think, we can even exchange our daughters in marriage. But these men will only accept our invitation to live with us and become one big family on one condition, that all our males become circumcised just as they themselves are. This is a very good deal for us—these people are very wealthy with great herds of livestock and we’re going to get our hands on it. So let’s do what they ask and have them settle down with us.”

24Everyone who was anyone in the city agreed with Hamor and his son, Shechem; every male was circumcised.

25-29Three days after the circumcision, while all the men were still very sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each with his sword in hand, walked into the city as if they owned the place and murdered every man there. They also killed Hamor and his son Shechem, rescued Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. When the rest of Jacob’s sons came on the scene of slaughter, they looted the entire city in retaliation for Dinah’s rape. Flocks, herds, donkeys, belongings—everything, whether in the city or the fields—they took. And then they took all the wives and children captive and ransacked their homes for anything valuable.

30Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You’ve made my name repulsive to the people here, these Canaanites and Perizzites. If they decided to gang up on us and attack, as few as we are we wouldn’t stand a chance; they’d wipe me and my people right off the map.”

31They said, “Nobody is going to treat our sister like a whore and get by with it.”

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Genesis 34

Genesis 34