Genesis 34
34
The Rape of Dinah and the Massacre at Shechem
1Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2And Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. And he took her and lay with her and raped her. 3And his soul clung to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly#Literally “to the heart” to the girl. 4So Shechem said to Hamor his father, saying, “Get this girl for me as a wife.”
5And Jacob heard that Dinah his daughter had been defiled, but his sons were with his flocks in the field. And Jacob kept silent until they came. 6And Hamor, father of Shechem, went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. And the men were distressed and very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by having sexual relations with the daughter of Jacob—something that#Literally “and thus” should not be done. 8And Hamor spoke with them saying, “Shechem my son is in love with#Literally “his soul longs for” your daughter. Please give her to him for a wife. 9Make marriages with us. Give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. 10You shall dwell with us and the land shall be before you; settle and trade in it, and acquire property in it.” 11Then Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will do. 12Make the bride price and gift as high as you like;#Literally “Increase upon me very bride price and gift” I will give what you say to me. But give me the girl as a wife.” 13Then the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor speaking deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. 14And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for that is a disgrace for us. 15Only on this condition will we give consent to you; if you will become like us—every male among you to be circumcised. 16Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take for ourselves your daughters, and we will live with you and become one family. 17But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised, then we will take our daughters and we will go.” 18And their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem, the son of Hamor. 19And the young man did not delay to do the thing, for he wanted the daughter of Jacob. Now he was the most honored of his father’s house. 20Then Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city, and they spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21“These men are at peace with us. Let them dwell in the land and let them trade in it. Now, behold, the land is broad enough for them.#Literally “broad on sides before them” Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give our daughters to them. 22Only on this condition will they give consent to us, to live with us and to become one family—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us give consent to them so they will live among us.” 24And all those who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and Shechem. Every male was circumcised, all those who went out of the gate of his city. 25And it happened that on the third day, while they were in pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, each took his sword and came against the unsuspecting city and killed all the males. 26They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and they took Dinah from the house of Shechem and went out. 27The other sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28They took their flocks and their cattle and their donkeys, and whatever was in the field. 29They captured and plundered all that was in the houses—all their wealth, their little ones, and their women. 30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, making me stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites! I am few in number! If they gather against me and attack me, I will be destroyed—I and my household!” 31But they said, “Shall he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
Currently Selected:
Genesis 34: LEB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2010 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
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?”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc