Genesis 34:31 | 67 with Ja cob. 7 Mean while, Ja cob’ s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had hap pened. They were shocked and fu ri ous, because She chem had done an out ra geous thing in a Is ra el by sleep ing with Ja cob’ s daugh ter— a thing that should not be done.
8
But Ha mor said to them,“ My son She chem has his heart set on your daugh ter. Please give her to him as his wife. 9 In ter mar ry with us; give us your daugh ters and take our daugh ters for your selves.
10
You can set tle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade b in it, and ac quire prop er ty in it.”
11
Then She chem said to Di nah’ s fa ther and broth ers,“ Let me find fa vor in your eyes, and I will give you what ev er you ask. 12 Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ ll pay what ev er you ask me. Only give me the young wom an as my wife.”
13
Be cause their sis ter Di nah had been de filed, Ja cob’ s sons re plied de ceit ful ly as they spoke to She chem and his fa ther Ha mor. 14 They said to them,“ We can’ t do such a thing; we can’ t give our sis ter to a man who is not cir cum cised. That would be a dis grace to us. 15 We will en ter into an agree ment with you on one con di tion only: that you be come like us by cir cum cis ing all your males.
16
Then we will give you our daugh ters and take your daugh ters for our selves. We’ ll set tle among you and be come one peo ple with you. 17 But if you will not agree to be cir cum cised, we’ ll take our sis ter and go.”
18
Their pro pos al seemed good to Ha mor and his son She chem. 19 The young man, who was the most hon ored of all his fa ther’ s fam i ly, lost no time in do ing what they said, be cause he was de light ed with Ja cob’ s daugh ter. 20 So Ha mor and his son She chem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city. 21“ These men are friend ly to ward us,” they said.“ Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plen ty of room for them. We can mar ry their daugh ters and they can mar ry ours. 22 But the men will agree to live with us as one peo ple only on the con di tion that our males be cir cum cised, as they them selves are.
23
Won’ t their live stock, their prop er ty and all their oth er an i mals be come ours? So let us agree to their terms, and they will set tle among us.”
24
All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Ha mor and his son She chem, and ev ery male in the city was cir cum cised.
25
Three days lat er, while all of them were still in pain, two of Ja cob’ s sons, Sim e on and Levi, Dinah’ s broth ers, took their swords and at tacked the un sus pect ing city, kill ing ev ery male. 26 They put Ha mor and his son She chem to the sword and took Di nah from She chem’ s house and left.
27
The sons of Ja cob came upon the dead bod ies and loot ed the city where c their sis ter had been de filed. 28 They seized their flocks and herds and don keys and ev ery thing else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. 29 They car ried off all their wealth and all their wom en and chil dren, tak ing as plun der ev ery thing in the hous es.
30
Then Ja cob said to Sim e on and Levi,“ You have brought trou ble on me by mak ing me ob nox ious to the Ca naan ites and Per iz zites, the peo ple liv ing in this land. We are few in num ber, and if they join forc es against me and at tack me, I and my house hold will be de stroyed.”
31
But they re plied,“ Should he have treat ed our sis ter like a pros ti tute?”
a
7 Or against b
10 Or move about freely; also in verse 21 c
27 Or because
34:12 price for the bride The Hebrew term used here, mohar, does not refer to purchase money, but compensation for the loss of a daughter whose labor contributed to the tribe— such an action was expected in the ancient Near East in any marriage( see note on Ex 22:16; compare Ge 29:18). It is unclear whether Shechem’ s offer also included compensation for the loss of an unbetrothed virgin— which would have been expected( compare Dt 22:28 – 29). Like his father moments earlier, Shechem never actually mentions the crime— there is no apology. Since Dinah was being kept inside the city( Ge 34:17,26), the payment may also have acted as a personal bribe for Jacob to forget the incident and avoid further escalation. 34:15 by circumcising God instructed Abraham to circumcise all males born to him or within his household as a sign of the covenant( see 17:10 and note).
34:18 – 24 Hamor and Shechem take the terms of the proposal to the citizenry for approval. With the terms agreed to, all the men of the city are circumcised. However, in the conversation with the men of the city Hamor and Shechem are not completely honest. They deliberately omitted the issue that, for many men in the city, would represent an enduring threat to their posterity: the promise of property rights for the outsiders( 34:10).
34:23 become ours It is unclear whether Hamor and Shechem plan to take the livestock of Jacob’ s family. Most likely they are presenting their scheme in the best possible light to convince the men of their city. 34:25 Three days later By waiting until all the males are circumcised, Simeon and Levi ensure that they are all incapacitated. 34:27 came upon the dead bodies The wording distinguishes the rest of Jacob’ s sons from Simeon and Levi, indicating that only Simeon and Levi did the killing. The other sons came into the city and, seeing the slain men, plundered it( vv. 28 – 29). Jacob later singles out and pairs Simeon and Levi in his deathbed reprimand, recalling the treachery( 49:5 – 7). 34:30 brought trouble on me After remaining silent throughout the narrative, Jacob finally speaks. His chief concern is not the welfare of his daughter or even his sons’ slaughter of innocent people. Instead, Jacob is concerned that their actions may bring trouble against him. Perizzites See note on 13:7. people living in this land Jacob’ s comment may reflect that Shechem was a city formed on the basis of tribal confederacy, meaning that the people of the town could have had extended family throughout Canaan.