Genesis 34
34
1 Then Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see the women of that region.
2 And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the leader of that land, had seen her, he fell in love with her. And so he seized her and slept with her, overwhelming the virgin by force.
3 And his soul was closely bound to her, and, since she was sorrowful, he soothed her with flattery.
4 And going on to Hamor, his father, he said, "Obtain this girl for me as a mate."
5 But when Jacob had heard this, since his sons were absent and he was occupied in pasturing the cattle, he remained silent until they came back.
6 Then, when Hamor, the father of Shechem, had gone out to speak to Jacob,
7 behold, his sons arrived from the field. And hearing what had happened, they were very angry, because he had done a filthy thing in Israel and, in violating a daughter of Jacob, had perpetrated an unlawful act.
8 And so Hamor spoke to them: "The soul of my son Shechem has become attached to your daughter. Give her to him as a wife.
9 And let us celebrate marriages with one with another. Give us your daughters, and receive our daughters.
10 And live with us. The land is in your power: cultivate, trade, and possess it."
11 And Shechem even said to her father and to her brothers: "May I find favor in your sight, and whatever you will appoint, I will give.
12 Increase the dowry, and request gifts, and I will freely bestow what you will ask. Only give me this girl as a wife."
13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father with deceit, being enraged at the rape of their sister:
14 "We are not able to do what you ask, nor to give our sister to an uncircumcised man. For us, this is unlawful and abominable.
15 But we may succeed in this, so as to be allied with you, if you are willing to become like us, and if all the male sex among you will be circumcised.
16 Then we will mutually give and receive your daughters as well as ours; and we will live with you, and we will become one people.
17 But if you will not be circumcised, we will take our daughter and withdraw."
18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem.
19 Neither did the young man cause any delay; in fact he immediately fulfilled what was requested. For he loved the girl very much, and he was well-known throughout his father's house.
20 And entering at the gate of the city, they spoke to the people:
21 "These men are peaceful, and they want to live among us. Let them trade in the land and cultivate it, for, being spacious and broad, it is in need of cultivation. We will receive their daughters as wives, and we will give them ours.
22 There is one thing that prevents so great a good: whether we will circumcise our males, imitating the ritual of their nation.
23 And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, will be ours, if only we will acquiesce to this, and so, in living together, will form one people."
24 And they all agreed to circumcise every one of the males.
25 And behold, on the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, boldly entered the city with swords. And they put to death all of the males.
26 They killed Hamor and Shechem together, taking their sister Dinah from the house of Shechem.
27 And when they had departed, the other sons of Jacob rushed over the slain, and they plundered the city in vengeance for the rape.
28 Taking their sheep, and herds, and donkeys, and laying waste to everything else that was in their houses and in their fields,
29 they also took their little ones and their wives captive.
30 When they had boldly completed these acts, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: "You have troubled me, and you have made me hateful to the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the inhabitants of this land. We are few. They, gathering themselves together, may strike me down, and then both I and my house will be wiped away."
31 They responded, "Should they abuse our sister like a prostitute?"
Genesis 34
34
1Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land; 2and when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humbled her. 3And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob; he loved the maiden and spoke tenderly to her. 4So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this maiden for my wife.” 5Now Jacob heard that 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. 7The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard of it; and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had wrought folly in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.
8But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; I pray you, give her to him in marriage. 9Make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10You shall dwell with us; and the land shall be open to you; dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.” 11Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12Ask of me ever so much as marriage present and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; only give me the maiden 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 of you be circumcised. 16Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.”
18Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem. 19And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he had delight in 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 men are friendly with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, 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 the men agree to dwell with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. 23Will not their cattle, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” 24And all who went out of the gate of his city hearkened to Hamor and his son Shechem; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
25On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came upon the city unawares, and killed all the males. 26They slew Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went away. 27And the 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 asses, 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 he treat our sister as a harlot?”
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America