Genesis 34
34
The Rape of Dinah
1One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit some of the Canaanite women. 2When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who was chief of that region, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3But he found the young woman so attractive that he fell in love with her and tried to win her affection.#34.3 tried to win her affection; or comforted her. 4He said to his father, “I want you to get this woman for me as my wife.”
5Jacob learnt that his daughter had been disgraced, but because his sons were out in the fields with his livestock, he did nothing until they came back. 6Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob, 7just as Jacob's sons were coming in from the fields. When they heard about it, they were shocked and furious that Shechem had done such a thing and had insulted the people of Israel by raping Jacob's daughter. 8Hamor said to him, “My son Shechem has fallen in love with your daughter; please let him marry her. 9Let us make an agreement that there will be intermarriage between our people and yours. 10Then you may stay here in our country with us; you may live anywhere you wish, trade freely, and own property.”
11Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, “Do me this favour, and I will give you whatever you want. 12Tell me what presents you want, and set the payment for the bride as high as you wish; I will give you whatever you ask, if you will only let me marry her.”
13Because Shechem had disgraced their sister Dinah, Jacob's sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor in a deceitful way. 14They said to him, “We cannot let our sister marry a man who is not circumcised; that would be a disgrace for us. 15We can agree only on the condition that you become like us by circumcising all your males. 16Then we will agree to intermarriage. We will settle among you and become one people with you. 17But if you will not accept our terms and be circumcised, we will take her and leave.”
18These terms seemed fair to Hamor and his son Shechem, 19and the young man lost no time in doing what was suggested, because he was in love with Jacob's daughter. He was the most important member of his family.
20Hamor and his son Shechem went to the meeting place at the city gate and spoke to the people of the town: 21“These men are friendly; let them live in the land with us and travel freely. The land is large enough for them also. Let us marry their daughters and give them ours in marriage. 22But these men will agree to live among us and be one people with us only on condition that we circumcise all our males, as they are circumcised. 23Won't all their livestock and everything else they own be ours? So let us agree that they can live among us.” 24All the citizens of the city agreed with what Hamor and Shechem proposed, and all the males were circumcised.
25Three days later, when the men were still sore from their circumcision, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, took their swords, went into the city without arousing suspicion, and killed all the men, 26including Hamor and his son Shechem. Then they took Dinah from Shechem's house and left. 27After the slaughter Jacob's other sons looted the town to take revenge for their sister's disgrace. 28They took the flocks, the cattle, the donkeys, and everything else in the city and in the fields. 29They took everything of value, captured all the women and children, and carried off everything in the houses.
30Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me; now the Canaanites, the Perizzites, and everybody else in the land will hate me. I haven't many men; if they all band together against me and attack me, our whole family will be destroyed.”
31But they answered, “We cannot let our sister be treated like a common whore.”
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Genesis 34
34
Genesis 34
1¶ And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, which she gave birth unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
2And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her and defiled her.
3And his soul was joined unto Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he fell in love with the damsel and spoke unto her heart.
4And Shechem spoke unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
5And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; now his sons were with his cattle in the field, and Jacob remained silent until they were come.
6¶ And Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out unto Jacob to speak with him.
7And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.
8And Hamor spoke with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem is joined to your daughter; I pray you give her to him as wife.
9And make ye marriages with us and give your daughters unto us and take our daughters unto you.
10And ye shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein and take you possessions therein.
11And Shechem also said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.
12Ask me for as much dowry and gift as ye desire, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me; but give me the damsel to wife.
13And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully and talked because he had defiled Dinah their sister:
14And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, for among us that is a reproach.
15But with this condition we will consent unto you: If ye will become as we are that every male of you be circumcised,
16then we will give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
17But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.
18¶ And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.
19And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter and he was the most honourable of all the house of his father.
20Then Hamor and Shechem, his son, came unto the gate of their city and communed with the men of their city, saying,
21These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
22Only with this condition will these men consent to dwell with us that we may be one people: if every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised.
23 Shall not their livestock and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? Only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.
24And unto Hamor and unto Shechem, his son, hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
25¶ And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword and came upon the city boldly and slew all the males.
26And they slew Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.
27The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and spoiled the city because they had defiled their sister.
28They took their sheep and their oxen and their asses and that which was in the city and that which was in the field
29and all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives they took captive and spoiled even all that was in the house.
30And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
31And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?
The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International