Chapter Thirty-Four
Sinning in Shechem
34:1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. 3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
Even before the law was given which required the Israelites to live a holy life,[1] following God was not compatible with the world’s way of thinking or lifestyle. With Jacob and his family living in or near a city whose people did not honor God or worse yet, being a pagan-worshiping city, it would be only a matter of time before their morals would clash. It certainly did not work well for Abraham’s nephew, Lot (see Genesis chapter 19). It is unknown as to how much Jacob was able to teach his children about God and His promises regarding being a great nation at this time. It may have been somewhat awkward to teach about God in a polygamist environment, but undoubtedly Jacob had the opportunity to explain who God was and how He had spoken to him.
Dinah being possibly the only daughter, in a family of mostly men, probably wanted to and may have regularly visited other girls her age. This time she went out alone and was seen by Hamor’s son, Shechem, who seized her and raped her. Interestingly, he did not walk away from her, nor hurt her any further. Instead, he stayed with her and spoke to her in a loving way. Again, we are not given any details regarding the conversation, however we see that she did not consent (being seized) and that she was humiliated (Hebrew word ‘yeǎn·ně’,[2] based on context has several potential translations, here it is referring to being oppressed and humiliated). Regardless of what he may have said or wanted to do afterwards, that does not justify or render any level of excuse for his behavior. Then we read that he had the audacity to ask his father to “get me this girl for my wife!” We later find out that Dinah remained in Shechem’s home until she was rescued (see verse 26).
34:5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done. 8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. 9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.”
Somehow Jacob heard about what happened to his daughter. Since it appears that Dinah was still in Shechem’s home, the news may have been conveyed through one of the servants or perhaps a friend. It seems odd that Jacob wanted to wait for his sons to return. Some believe he wanted to confer with them before proceeding, while others believe that Jacob knew Shechem’s family well enough to know he would be needing some additional assistance to enforce any morality. While he was waiting, Shechem’s father was already approaching with a marriage proposal.
Dinah, being potentially the only sister among many brothers undoubtedly received a great deal of unsolicited protection. When her brothers heard about what had happened, they immediately came in from the fields and joined the conversation between Hamor and their father. As one would expect, they were indignant (Hebrew word ‘yi·ṯe’ǎṣ·ṣeḇǔ’,[3] meaning to hurt physically or emotionally) and very angry. Then they heard something that probably made them even more upset, Hamor was proposing more than one marriage, he suggested that they “Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.” (Verse 9, CSB) Jacob’s sons knew about God raising a holy nation through their family and the need for purity, as the text states the reason for their anger, “because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter.” This is the first use of the term “Israel” as a reference to the whole family, not just an individual. Which means they recognized that this action could prevent them from being separate from the world (the definition of being holy).
34:11 Shechem 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. 12 Ask me for as great a bride-price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.” 13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They 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. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then 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. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.”
Shechem now joins the conversation, some wonder if he just now showed up or was he with his father all this time and just remained silent. Many have asked if he was with Hamor all this time why wasn’t he mentioned and perhaps more to the point, why didn’t any of Dinah’s brothers say something, or worse, seek some form of vengeance before this time? Shechem says he is willing to pay and give anything Jacob may desire as a dowry for Dinah. However, their business-like attitude regarding the proposal, combined with their total disregard of the serious nature of Shechem’s sexual assault on Dinah is not winning them over. Perhaps not willing to discuss these issues any further, Jacob allows his sons to take over the conversation. It was at this time that the sons devise a plan for vengeance. They begin by referencing the need for circumcision, and that without this procedure there could never be any marriage. They fraudulently suggest that if every male in town agrees to be circumcised, then they would give approval for any future marriages, otherwise they will leave town, and nobody will be married.
34:18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house. 20 So 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 at peace 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 as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
Jacob’s sons convince Hamor and Shechem that the only problem in any marriage between their two families is the issue of circumcision. This otherwise holy “sign of the covenant” (see Genesis 17:11) was being exploited by them to exact revenge. While agreeing to circumcision was probably not something Hamor and Shechem had in mind, it was at least not a “no,” so they proceeded to the gate of the city (location where members of city leadership could often be found, see commentary under Genesis 19:1-3) to make a proposal to the other Shechemites. They make a passionate plea for them to accept Jacob’s family and to accept the terms of each male to undergo the surgery of circumcision. Perhaps as a final “selling point,” they mention that Jacob’s possessions will become theirs. Regardless of what convinced them, they agree, and the procedure is performed on all of the male adults.
This raises a couple of questions, where did Jacob go and what did he think about this plan? It is highly doubtful that he would have agreed on the bringing of the two groups together, since God had called them to be separate. The Bible does not provide any answers other than he later is extremely upset over what Simeon and Levi had planned and carried through. Leading into another curious question, if Jacob did in fact leave, why didn’t Rueben being the older son, continue the conversation in Jacob’s absence? It seems that some personality traits are starting to emerge for Jacob’s three oldest sons.
34:25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.
Simeon and Levi waited until the third day, some believe the pain level would have been higher on the third day and that is why they chose to wait. Then they meticulously go from home-to-home slaughtering every male adult. When they got to Shechem’s house they killed him and freed Dinah. After all the men of the town were dead, the text says that the “sons of Jacob” came and plundered the city, taking all the women and children captive, perhaps making them slaves, and removed all their possessions.
Why? The only explanation given is, “because they had defiled their sister.” Did Simeon and Levi have a heightened sense of morality? Did they think God’s promise of them being a nation was at risk and therefore required them to fix the problem? If they thought that they needed to kill Shechem, they may have been guilty of what might be called “cascading illogic!” Meaning, if they thought that Shechem needed to be executed for his actions, they would have recognized that his father would avenge his death. So, he would have to be killed too and then the men of the city would undoubtedly not allow Hamor’s death to go unpunished. So, the only solution they came up with involved incapacitating all the men of the town and executing them all. Here again is a scenario where people try to solve a problem, in this case a problem involving one of God’s promises, without God.
34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink 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.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
Jacob reappears and chastises Simeon and Levi. The text does not offer many answers. There is no mention about the status of the city, the disposition of the townspeople, the problem of misrepresenting God, nor is there any mention of any punishment for any of them. Jacob seems only concerned that he and his household are now at risk of being victims of retaliation from other Canaanites, referring to himself as a stench (first time the Hebrew word ‘hǎḇ·’î·šē’[4] appears in Scripture, meaning to stink, to be offensive or to be repulsive). Apparently, Simeon and Levi stopped any further discussion by asking the question, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” At which point, even though not stated, many believe that Jacob quietly retreated to the altar he built and sought God’s forgiveness and instruction.
⇐Previous Chapter (Introduction/Index) Next Chapter⇒
[1] See commentary below Genesis 2:1-3 regarding the word ‘holy’.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 6031.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 6087.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 887.