Genesis 34
34
Dinah Is Attacked
1Dinah was the daughter of Leah and Jacob. At this time Dinah went out to visit the women of that land. 2Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that land, saw Dinah. He took her and raped her. 3Shechem fell in love with Dinah, and he spoke kindly to her. 4He told his father, Hamor, “Please get this girl for me so I can marry her.”
5Jacob learned how Shechem had disgraced his daughter. But Jacob’s sons were out in the field with the cattle. So Jacob said nothing until they came home. 6And Hamor father of Shechem went to talk with Jacob.
7When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they came in from the field. They were very angry, because Shechem had done such a wicked thing to Israel. It was wrong for him to have raped Jacob’s daughter. A thing like this should not be done.
8But Hamor talked to the brothers of Dinah. He said, “My son Shechem is deeply in love with Dinah. Please let him marry her. 9Marry our people. Give your women to our men as wives. And take our women for your men as wives. 10You can live in the same land with us. You will be free to own land and to trade here.”
11Shechem also talked to Jacob and to Dinah’s brothers. He said, “Please accept my offer. I will give anything you ask. 12Ask as much as you want for the payment for the bride. I will give it to you. Just let me marry Dinah.”
13The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father with lies. They were angry because Shechem had disgraced their sister Dinah. 14The brothers said to them, “We cannot allow you to marry our sister. You are not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15But we will allow you to marry her if you do this one thing: Every man in your town must be circumcised like us. 16Then your men can marry our women, and our men can marry your women. Then we will live in your land and become one people. 17If you refuse to be circumcised, we will take Dinah and leave.”
18What they asked seemed fair to Hamor and Shechem. 19So Shechem went quickly to be circumcised because he loved Jacob’s daughter.
Now Shechem was the most respected man in his family. 20So Hamor and Shechem went to the gate of their city. They spoke to the men of their city. They said, 21“These people want to be friends with us. So let them live in our land and trade here. There is enough land for all of us. Let us marry their women. And we can let them marry our women. 22But our men must agree to one thing. All our men must agree to be circumcised as they are. Then they will agree to live in our land. And we will be one people. 23If we do this, their cattle and their animals will belong to us. Let us do what they say, and they will stay in our land.” 24All the men who had come to the city gate heard this. And they agreed with Hamor and Shechem. And every man was circumcised.
25Three days later the men who were circumcised were still in pain. Two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi (Dinah’s brothers), took their swords. They made a surprise attack on the city. And they killed all the men there. 26Simeon and Levi killed Hamor and his son Shechem. Then they took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and left. 27Jacob’s sons went among the dead bodies and stole everything that was in the city. This was to pay them back for what Shechem had done to their sister. 28So the brothers took the flocks, herds and donkeys. And they took everything in the city and in the fields. 29They took every valuable thing those people owned. They even took the wives and children and everything that was in the houses.
30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused me a lot of trouble. Now the Canaanites and the Perizzites who live in the land will hate me. There are only a few of us. If they join together to attack us, my people and I will be destroyed.”
31But the brothers said, “We will not allow our sister to be treated like a prostitute.”
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Genesis 34
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?
1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation