Genesis 34
34
1And Dinah, daughter of Leah, whom she hath borne to Jacob, goeth out to look on the daughters of the land,
2and Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, a prince of the land, seeth her, and taketh her, and lieth with her, and humbleth her;
3and his soul cleaveth to Dinah, daughter of Jacob, and he loveth the young person, and speaketh unto the heart of the young person.
4And Shechem speaketh unto Hamor his father, saying, ‘Take for me this damsel for a wife.’
5And Jacob hath heard that he hath defiled Dinah his daughter, and his sons were with his cattle in the field, and Jacob kept silent till their coming.
6And Hamor, father of Shechem, goeth out unto Jacob to speak with him;
7and the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard, and the men grieve themselves, and it [is] very displeasing to them, for folly he hath done against Israel, to lie with the daughter of Jacob — and so it is not done.
8And Hamor speaketh with them, saying, ‘Shechem, my son, his soul hath cleaved to your daughter; give her, I pray you, to him for a wife,
9and join ye in marriage with us; your daughters ye give to us, and our daughters ye take to yourselves,
10and with us ye dwell, and the land is before you; dwell ye and trade [in] it, and have possessions in it.’
11And Shechem saith unto her father, and unto her brethren, ‘Let me find grace in your eyes, and that which ye say unto me, I give;
12multiply on me exceedingly dowry and gift, and I give as ye say unto me, and give to me the young person for a wife.’
13And the sons of Jacob answer Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and they speak (because he defiled Dinah their sister),
14and say unto them, ‘We are not able to do this thing, to give our sister to one who hath a foreskin: for it [is] a reproach to us.
15‘Only for this we consent to you; if ye be as we, to have every male of you circumcised,
16then we have given our daughters to you, and your daughters we take to ourselves, and we have dwelt with you, and have become one people;
17and if ye hearken not unto us to be circumcised, then we have taken our daughter, and have gone.’
18And their words are good in the eyes of Hamor, and in the eyes of Shechem, Hamor's son;
19and the young man delayed not to do the thing, for he had delight in Jacob's daughter, and he is honourable above all the house of his father.
20And Hamor cometh — Shechem his son also — unto the gate of their city, and they speak unto the men of their city, saying,
21‘These men are peaceable with us; then let them dwell in the land, and trade [in] it; and the land, lo, [is] wide before them; their daughters let us take to ourselves for wives, and our daughters give to them.
22‘Only for this do the men consent to us, to dwell with us, to become one people, in every male of us being circumcised, as they are circumcised;
23their cattle, and their substance, and all their beasts — are they not ours? only let us consent to them, and they dwell with us.’
24And unto Hamor, and unto Shechem his son, hearken do all those going out of the gate of his city, and every male is circumcised, all those going out of the gate of his city.
25And it cometh to pass, on the third day, in their being pained, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, take each his sword, and come in against the city confidently, and slay every male;
26and Hamor, and Shechem his son, they have slain by the mouth of the sword, and they take Dinah out of Shechem's house, and go out.
27Jacob's sons have come in upon the wounded, and they spoil the city, because they had defiled their sister;
28their flock and their herd, and their asses, and that which [is] in the city, and that which [is] in the field, have they taken;
29and all their wealth, and all their infants, and their wives they have taken captive, and they spoil also all that [is] in the house.
30And Jacob saith unto Simeon and unto Levi, ‘Ye have troubled me, by causing me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanite, and among the Perizzite: and I [am] few in number, and they have been gathered against me, and have smitten me, and I have been destroyed, I and my house.’
31And they say, ‘As a harlot doth he make our sister?’
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Genesis 34: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
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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