American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Genesis 34
1
And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 30:21
2
And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
Reference
People
3
And his soul joined to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spoke kindly to the damsel.
4
And Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
Reference
Parallel theme
Judges 14:2
5
And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.
6
And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to commune with him.
7
And 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 worked folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter: which thing ought not to be done.
Reference
8
And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.
9
And make you marriages with us, and give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to you.
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Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 7:3
10
And you shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade you therein, and get you possessions therein.
Reference
11
And Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what you shall say to me I will give.
Reference
Grace
Genesis 33:15
12
Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as you shall say to me: but give me the damsel to wife.
13
And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:
14
And they said to them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach to us:
15
But in this will we consent to you: If you will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;
16
Then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
17
But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
18
And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.
19
And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honorable than all the house of his father.
20
And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
Reference
Parallel theme
Ruth 4:1
21
These 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.
22
Only herein will the men consent to us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.
23
Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of their's be our's? only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.
24
And to Hamor and to Shechem his son listened 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.
Reference
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 brothers, took each man his sword, and came on the city boldly, and slew all the males.
26
And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.
27
The sons of Jacob came on the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
28
They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,
29
And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
30
And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, You 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.
Reference
31
And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?
Reference
Parallel theme
Proverbs 6:34
Summary of Genesis 34
Genesis chapter thirty-four is one of the darkest, most difficult chapters in Genesis, and a turning point in how the sons of Jacob start asserting themselves, for the better or, in this case, much worse.
The chapter opens with Dinah, Leah's daughter going out to visit the women of the land where they are now living, near Shechem. While she is out on her own, Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, who is the ruler of this area, takes notice of her, and takes her, brutally violating her. This is a brutal, violent episode depicted with blunt bluntness by the text, and is the catalyst for the events of the chapter.
What follows is strange and difficult in its own way. The text tells us that Shechem's heart was drawn to Dinah, that he loved her, spoke tenderly to her, and she asked her father to get her for him as a wife. It is a jarring switch from the abuse to the professed affection, and a demonstration of how different this culture's perspective on marriage and consent was compared to the way we would understand it today. Whatever Shechem's feelings, the damage to Dinah, and her family's sense of honor has already been done.
Jacob hears of what has happened to his daughter, but his sons are out in the fields with the livestock, so he waits until they return before speaking with them. When they return back to the home, and hear the news, they are filled with grief and rage, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel, the text tells us, lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing that should not be done.
Hamor comes to speak to Jacob, and lays out a proposal to smooth over the situation on a far greater scale than just this single marriage. He suggests that his son Shechem is deeply attached to Dinah, and asks that she be given to him as a wife, and that they propose intermarriage between their peoples, stating that he will allow them to settle, trade and acquire property throughout the land. Shechem himself speaks, saying that he would pay any bride price and gift, no matter how high, if he could have Dinah as his wife.
But Jacob's sons answer deceitfully to the text, because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah. They tell Hamor and Shechem that they cannot give their sister to a man who is uncircumcised, as it would be a disgrace to them. There is one condition, however, that they would agree to this: every male in the city must be circumcised, as Jacob's own family is. Then, they say, they will give their daughters in marriage and take Shechem's daughters for themselves, in order to become one people. If the men refuse this, they will take Dinah home.
Hamor and Shechem find this proposal agreeable, and Shechem, clearly eager to make things right and marry Dinah, makes no hesitation in carrying it out. The two of them go to the gate of their city and persuade the other men there to accept the terms, saying that these newcomers are peaceful, that the land is large enough for everyone and that intermarrying will bring them great economic benefit, since Jacob's livestock, property and animals will effectively become theirs too. Every man who goes out through the city gate agrees, and they are all circumcised.
Then comes the devastating turn. On the third day, when the men of the city are still in pain from the circumcision, two of Dinah's full brothers, Simeon and Levi, take their swords and attack the city without warning, killing every male, including Hamor and Shechem specifically. They take Dinah out of Shechem's house and leave. The rest of Jacob's sons follow, and plunder the whole city in retaliation for what has been done to their sister, taking flocks, herds, donkeys, everything in the city and fields, taking all the wealth, along with the women and children, and looting every house.
Jacob's reaction to all this is one of alarm, although it is framed around danger rather than moral outrage at the killing itself. He says to Simeon and Levi, you have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me, I and my household will be destroyed.
Simeon and Levi's response closes out the chapter, unapologetic and pointed: should he have treated our sister like a prostitute? It is a question that sticks with them throughout the chapter's conclusion, a moral dilemma that is left unanswered within the text itself. Their anger at what has happened to Dinah is entirely understandable, but the scale and deception of their revenge, the use of the sacred sign of circumcision as a trap, and the slaughter of an entire city, go far beyond anything resembling the proportional justice that would seem to be required here.
Chapter thirty-four doesn't offer easy resolution or moral clarity, leaving us to ponder the complexities and contradictions of a family growing more complicated and dangerous. It is a story about violation, grief, deception and vengeance, stacked upon each other without the narrative taking sides on which character's actions deserve more condemnation. What it does demonstrate is that a family is capable of, a set of brothers who are capable of real loyalty to their sister, but also of ruthless, calculated violence, foreshadowing tensions that will continue to surface among Jacob's sons in the rest of Genesis.
The chapter opens with Dinah, Leah's daughter going out to visit the women of the land where they are now living, near Shechem. While she is out on her own, Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, who is the ruler of this area, takes notice of her, and takes her, brutally violating her. This is a brutal, violent episode depicted with blunt bluntness by the text, and is the catalyst for the events of the chapter.
What follows is strange and difficult in its own way. The text tells us that Shechem's heart was drawn to Dinah, that he loved her, spoke tenderly to her, and she asked her father to get her for him as a wife. It is a jarring switch from the abuse to the professed affection, and a demonstration of how different this culture's perspective on marriage and consent was compared to the way we would understand it today. Whatever Shechem's feelings, the damage to Dinah, and her family's sense of honor has already been done.
Jacob hears of what has happened to his daughter, but his sons are out in the fields with the livestock, so he waits until they return before speaking with them. When they return back to the home, and hear the news, they are filled with grief and rage, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel, the text tells us, lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing that should not be done.
Hamor comes to speak to Jacob, and lays out a proposal to smooth over the situation on a far greater scale than just this single marriage. He suggests that his son Shechem is deeply attached to Dinah, and asks that she be given to him as a wife, and that they propose intermarriage between their peoples, stating that he will allow them to settle, trade and acquire property throughout the land. Shechem himself speaks, saying that he would pay any bride price and gift, no matter how high, if he could have Dinah as his wife.
But Jacob's sons answer deceitfully to the text, because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah. They tell Hamor and Shechem that they cannot give their sister to a man who is uncircumcised, as it would be a disgrace to them. There is one condition, however, that they would agree to this: every male in the city must be circumcised, as Jacob's own family is. Then, they say, they will give their daughters in marriage and take Shechem's daughters for themselves, in order to become one people. If the men refuse this, they will take Dinah home.
Hamor and Shechem find this proposal agreeable, and Shechem, clearly eager to make things right and marry Dinah, makes no hesitation in carrying it out. The two of them go to the gate of their city and persuade the other men there to accept the terms, saying that these newcomers are peaceful, that the land is large enough for everyone and that intermarrying will bring them great economic benefit, since Jacob's livestock, property and animals will effectively become theirs too. Every man who goes out through the city gate agrees, and they are all circumcised.
Then comes the devastating turn. On the third day, when the men of the city are still in pain from the circumcision, two of Dinah's full brothers, Simeon and Levi, take their swords and attack the city without warning, killing every male, including Hamor and Shechem specifically. They take Dinah out of Shechem's house and leave. The rest of Jacob's sons follow, and plunder the whole city in retaliation for what has been done to their sister, taking flocks, herds, donkeys, everything in the city and fields, taking all the wealth, along with the women and children, and looting every house.
Jacob's reaction to all this is one of alarm, although it is framed around danger rather than moral outrage at the killing itself. He says to Simeon and Levi, you have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me, I and my household will be destroyed.
Simeon and Levi's response closes out the chapter, unapologetic and pointed: should he have treated our sister like a prostitute? It is a question that sticks with them throughout the chapter's conclusion, a moral dilemma that is left unanswered within the text itself. Their anger at what has happened to Dinah is entirely understandable, but the scale and deception of their revenge, the use of the sacred sign of circumcision as a trap, and the slaughter of an entire city, go far beyond anything resembling the proportional justice that would seem to be required here.
Chapter thirty-four doesn't offer easy resolution or moral clarity, leaving us to ponder the complexities and contradictions of a family growing more complicated and dangerous. It is a story about violation, grief, deception and vengeance, stacked upon each other without the narrative taking sides on which character's actions deserve more condemnation. What it does demonstrate is that a family is capable of, a set of brothers who are capable of real loyalty to their sister, but also of ruthless, calculated violence, foreshadowing tensions that will continue to surface among Jacob's sons in the rest of Genesis.