Genesis 34
34
The Rape of Dinah
1Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the region. 2When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the region, saw her, he seized her and lay with her by force. 3And his soul was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the girl, and spoke tenderly to her. 4So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl to be my wife.”
5Now Jacob heard that Shechem#34.5 Heb he had defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with his cattle in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him, 7just as the sons of Jacob came in from the field. When they heard of it, the men were indignant and very angry, because he had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.
8But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The heart of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. 9Make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10You shall live with us; and the land shall be open to you; live and trade in it, and get property in it.” 11Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor with you, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12Put the marriage present and gift as high as you like, and I will give whatever you ask me; only give me the girl to be my wife.”
13The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15Only on this condition will we consent to you: that you will become as we are and every male among you be circumcised. 16Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 17But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.”
18Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem. 19And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his family. 20So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21“These people are friendly with us; let them live in the land and trade in it, for the land is large enough for them; let us take their daughters in marriage, and let us give them our daughters. 22Only on this condition will they agree to live among us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. 23Will not their livestock, their property, and all their animals be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will live among us.” 24And all who went out of the city gate heeded Hamor and his son Shechem; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
Dinah's Brothers Avenge Their Sister
25On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city unawares, and killed all the males. 26They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went away. 27And the other sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. 28They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and made their prey. 30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites; my numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” 31But they said, “Should our sister be treated like a whore?”
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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?”
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