Genesis 34
34
1Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to meet the women of that country. 2When Shechem the son of the Hivite Hamor and the country’s prince saw her, he took her, slept with her, and humiliated her. 3He was drawn to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He loved the young woman and tried to win her heart. 4Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get this girl for me as my wife.” 5Now Jacob heard that Shechem defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with the animals in the countryside, so he decided to keep quiet until they got back. 6Meanwhile, Hamor, Shechem’s father, went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7Just then, Jacob’s sons got back from the countryside. When they heard what had happened, they were deeply offended and very angry, because Shechem had disgraced Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter. Such things are simply not done.
8Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem’s heart is set on your daughter. Please let him marry her. 9Arrange marriages with us: give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. 10Live with us. The land is available to you: settle down, travel through it, and buy property in it.”
11Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “If you approve of me, tell me what you want, and I will give it to you. 12Make the bride price and marriage gifts as large as you like, and I will pay whatever you tell me. Then let me marry the young woman.”
13Jacob’s sons responded deviously to Shechem and his father Hamor because Shechem defiled their sister Dinah. 14They said to them, “We can’t do this, allowing our sisters to marry uncircumcised men, because it’s disgraceful to us. 15We can only agree to do this if you circumcise every male as we do. 16Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves. We will live with you and be one people. 17But if you don’t listen to us and become circumcised, we will take our daughter and leave.”
18Their idea seemed like a good one to Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. 19The young man didn’t waste any time doing this because he liked Jacob’s daughter so much. He was more respected than anyone else in his father’s household. 20Hamor and his son Shechem went to their city’s gate and spoke to the men of their city: 21“These men want peace with us. Let them live in the land and travel through it; there’s plenty of land for them. We will marry their daughters and give them our daughters. 22But the men will agree to live with us and become one people only if we circumcise every male just as they do. 23Their livestock, their property, and all of their animals—won’t they be ours? Let’s agree with them and let them live with us.” 24Everyone at the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, so every able-bodied male in the city was circumcised.
25On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons and Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi took their swords, came into the city, which suspected nothing, and killed every male. 26They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah from Shechem’s household, and left. 27When Jacob’s other sons discovered the dead, they looted the city that had defiled their sister. 28They took their flocks, their cattle, and their donkeys, whether in the city or in the fields nearby. 29They carried off their property, their children, and their wives. They looted the entire place. 30Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You’ve put me in danger by making me offensive to those who live here in the land, to the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I have only a few men. They may join forces, attack me, and destroy me, me and my household.”
31They said, “But didn’t he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
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Genesis 34: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Genesis 34
34
1Dinah, Jacob and Leah's daughter, went to visit some of the local women. 2Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her. He grabbed hold of her and raped her. 3However, then he fell deeply in love with Dinah and tried to get her to love him too. 4He went and asked his father, “Get this young girl for me so I can marry her.”
5Jacob found out that Shechem had violated#34:5. “Violated”: the word here is the one used in connection with being unclean. his daughter Dinah, but as his sons were away looking after the flocks in the fields he didn't say anything until they came home. 6In the meantime Hamor, Shechem's father, arrived to talk with Jacob. 7When Jacob's sons returned from the fields they were very upset when they heard the news and became extremely angry because Shechem had done something outrageous in Israel by having sex with Jacob's daughter—something that should never be done.
8Hamor told them, “My son Shechem is very much in love with your daughter and your sister Dinah.#34:8. “And sister Dinah”: supplied for clarity, since Hamor is addressing both Jacob and his sons. Please allow him to marry her. 9In fact we can have more marriages—you can give us your daughters and you can have our daughters. 10You can live among us and settle down wherever you like. You can go where you want and buy land for yourselves.”
11Then Shechem himself spoke up, and said to Dinah's father and brothers, “Please accept me and my proposal, and I'll do whatever you ask. 12You can set the bride price as high as you like, and I'll pay it along with all the gifts I'll give. Just let me have the girl so I can marry her.”
13Jacob's sons weren't honest when they answered him and his father Hamor because Shechem had violated their sister Dinah. 14They told them, “We can't do this! We can't allow our sister to marry a man who's not circumcised. That would bring disgrace on us. 15We will only agree to it with this condition: all of you must be circumcised like us. 16Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters, and we will live among you and become one family. 17But if you don't agree with us that you should be circumcised, then we'll take our sister and leave.”
18Hamor and his son Shechem agreed to what was proposed. 19The young man Shechem didn't waste any time in arranging this because he was infatuated with Jacob's daughter, and he was viewed as the most important person in his father's family. 20Hamor and Shechem went to the town gate and spoke to the other leaders there.
21“These men are our friends,” they told them. “Let's have them live here in our country and allow them to go wherever they want—it's big enough for all of them too. We can take their daughters as wives, and we can give our daughters to them to marry. 22But they will only agree to this on one condition: they will only join us and become one family if every male among us is circumcised like they are. 23If that happens, won't all their livestock and property—all their animals—end up belonging to us? We just have to agree to this and they will come and live among us.”
24Everyone there at the town gate agreed with Hamor and Shechem so every male in the town was circumcised. 25Three days later while they were still suffering pain, Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's sons and Dinah's brothers, came with their swords into the town. Unopposed, they slaughtered every male. 26They killed Hamor and Shechem with their swords, took Dinah from Shechem's house, and left.
27Jacob's other sons arrived, robbed the dead bodies, and looted the town where their sister had been violated. 28They took their sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. They took whatever was in the town, and in the fields— 29all their possessions. They captured all their women and children, and plundered everything in their homes.
30But Jacob criticized Simeon and Levi, telling them, “You've just caused me a lot of trouble! You've made me like a bad smell among the people in this country, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I only have a few men, and if these people gather to attack me, I and my whole family will be wiped out.”
31But they replied, “Should we have let him treat our sister like a prostitute?”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com