UST GEN Chapter 34

Shechem Rapes Dinah, and Jacob’s Sons Take Revenge

34:1-31

34 Then one day Dinah, who was the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went out to visit with some of the local women. 2 The chief of that region was a Hivite named Hamor. His son Shechem saw how beautiful Dinah was, so he grabbed hold of her and raped her. 3 Shechem admired Jacob’s daughter Dinah so much that he fell in love with her and spoke sweetly to her to try to woo her. 4 Then Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Negotiate things for me so that I can marry this girl.”

5 When Jacob found out that Shechem had dishonored his daughter Dinah, his sons were still out in the fields taking care of his animals, so he didn’t say anything about it until they returned home. 6 Meanwhile, Shechem and his father Hamor went to talk to Jacob. 7 Soon Jacob’s sons returned home from the fields. When they heard what had happened, they were shocked and extremely angry that Shechem had dishonored the people of Israel by raping Jacob’s daughter. No one should ever do such a horrible thing! 8 But Hamor urged Jacob and his sons, “My son Shechem deeply loves your daughter and sister. So please allow him to marry her. 9 In fact, let’s allow marriage between our two people groups, so that your daughters can marry our young men and your young men can marry our daughters. 10 You can live among us. The land is available for you to choose what you want; live in it wherever you want. You can also trade freely here, and you can buy your own land.”

11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Please be kind to me and let me marry her. Then I will pay you whatever you request from me for her. 12 Set the bride-price and marriage gifts that I must pay for her as high as you want, and I will pay you whatever you ask from me. Just please give the young woman to me to marry.”

13 But since Shechem had dishonored their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons replied to him and his father Hamor in a deceitful way. 14 They said to them, “It would not be acceptable for us to let our sister marry a man like you who is not circumcised, because that would dishonor our family! 15 The only way that we can agree with your proposal is if first you and your people become like us by circumcising all of your males. 16 If you do that, then we will allow your young men to marry our daughters, and we will allow your daughters to marry our young men. We will also live among you in this land, so that we become one people group. 17 However if you refuse to agree with our requirement that you circumcise your people, then we will take our sister and move somewhere else.”

18 What Jacob’s sons said seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 So right away Shechem, who was the most respected member in his family, started to do what they required, because he was thrilled with Jacob’s daughter. 20 In fact, he and his father Hamor went straight to their city entrance for a town meeting, and they told the elders of their city about Jacob and his sons, 21 “These people are friendly toward us, so let’s allow them to live in our land and trade freely here. After all, there is more than enough space in the land for them too. Besides that, then our young men can marry their daughters, and their young men can marry our daughters. 22 There is just one thing: They will only agree to live among us and become one people group with us if we circumcise all our males so that we are like them. 23 But if we do that, all their property, including their livestock and all their other animals will belong to us! So let’s just agree to do what they require so that they will live among us!”

24 All the men who were leaders of the city agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, so they circumcised every male in the city, including themselves.

25 Three days later, when the men of the city of Shechem were all still sore from being circumcised, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the city, with no one opposing them. They killed all the men there 26 with their swords, including Hamor and his son Shechem. Then they got Dinah from Shechem’s house and left the city. 27 Next all Jacob’s sons went into the city and took everything valuable from the dead bodies and from the rest of the city. They did that, because that was where Shechem had dishonored their sister. 28 They plundered whatever was in the city and in the surrounding fields, including the people’s flocks of sheep and goats, their herds of cattle and their donkeys. 29 They carried away all the valuable things the people of Shechem had owned, including everything that was in their houses. They also captured their women and children.

30 Later Jacob scolded Simeon and Levi by saying, “You have brought me serious trouble by causing the Canaanites and Perizzites who live in this land to hate us!” I only have a few men to defend us, so if they all join forces against us and attack us, they will destroy us and the rest of our family!” 31 But Simeon and Levi responded, “Shechem should not have treated our sister like a whore!”