Genesis 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 told his father, “I want you to get Dinah for me as my wife.”

5Jacob learned 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 favor, 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 the 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 gotten me into trouble; now the Canaanites, the Perizzites, and everybody else in the land will hate me. I do not have 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.”

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Berĕshith (Genesis) 34

1And Dinah, the daughter of Lĕ’ah, whom she had borne to Ya‛aqoḇ, went out to see the daughters of the land.

2And Sheḵem, son of Ḥamor the Ḥiwwite, prince of the land, saw her and took her and lay with her, and humbled her.

3And his being clung to Dinah the daughter of Ya‛aqoḇ, and he loved the girl and spoke kindly to the girl.

4And Sheḵem spoke to his father Ḥamor, saying, “Take this girl for me for a wife.”

5And Ya‛aqoḇ heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Ya‛aqoḇ kept silent until they came.

6And Ḥamor, the father of Sheḵem, went out to Ya‛aqoḇ to speak with him.

7And the sons of Ya‛aqoḇ came in from the field when they heard it. And the men were grieved and very wroth, because he had done a senseless deed in Yisra’ĕl by lying with Ya‛aqoḇ’s daughter, which should not be done.

8But Ḥamor spoke with them, saying, “My son Sheḵem’s being longs for your daughter. Please give her to him for a wife.

9“And intermarry with us, give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves,

10and dwell with us, and let the land be before you. Dwell and move about in it, and have possessions in it.”

11And Sheḵem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favour in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I give.

12Ask of me a bride price and gift ever so high, and I give according to what you say to me, but give me the girl for a wife.

13But the sons of Ya‛aqoḇ answered Sheḵem and Ḥamor his father, and spoke with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.

14And they said to them, “We are not able to do this matter, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us.

15Only on this condition would we agree to you: If you become as we are, to have every male of you circumcised,

16then we shall give our daughters to you, and take your daughters to us. And we shall dwell with you, and shall become one people.

17But if you do not listen to us and be circumcised, we shall take our daughter and go.

18And their words pleased Ḥamor and Sheḵem, Ḥamor’s son.

19And the young man did not delay to do this because he delighted in Ya‛aqoḇ’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father.

20And Ḥamor and Sheḵem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying,

21“These men are at peace with us, so let them dwell in the land and move about in it. And see, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters for us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

22“Only on this condition would the men agree to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised.

23Their herds and their possessions, and all their beasts, should they not be ours? Only let us agree with them, and let them dwell with us.

24And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Ḥamor and Sheḵem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

25And it came to be on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Ya‛aqoḇ, Shim‛on and Lĕwi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males.

26And they killed Ḥamor and Sheḵem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Sheḵem’s house, and went out.

27The sons of Ya‛aqoḇ came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

28They took their flocks and their herds, and their donkeys, 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 they plundered all that was in the houses.

30And Ya‛aqoḇ said to Shim‛on and Lĕwi, “You have troubled me by making me a stench among the inhabitants of the land, among the Kena‛anites and the Perizzites. And I am few in number, they shall gather themselves against me and shall strike me, and I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”

31But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a whore?”

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