Genesis 34
Genesis 34 develops around the events related to Jacob’s daughter, Dinah. The text’s structure can be divided into three main parts. First (verses 1–4), an incident occurs in which Shechem sees Dinah and violates her. Second (verses 5–24), conversations arise between the two families as Shechem and his father, Hamor, propose reconciliation and marriage. Finally (verses 25–31), the process by which Jacob’s sons—especially Simeon and Levi—take revenge by attacking and looting Shechem’s city, along with Jacob’s response afterward, is described.
1verseDinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
2verseShechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.
3verseHis soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.
4verseShechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, “Get me this young lady as a wife.”
5verseNow Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came.
6verseHamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk with him.
7verseThe sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had done folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing that ought not to be done.
8verseHamor talked with them, saying, “The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.
9verseMake marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.
10verseYou shall dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it.”
11verseShechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give.
12verseAsk me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife.”
13verseThe sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit when they spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister,
14verseand said to them, “We can’t do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us.
15verseOnly on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised,
16versethen 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.
17verseBut if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our sister, and we will be gone.”
18verseTheir words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.
19verseThe young man didn’t wait to do this thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter, and he was honored above all the house of his father.
20verseHamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying,
21verse“These men are peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let’s take their daughters to us for wives, and let’s give them our daughters.
22verseOnly on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people, if every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised.
23verseWon’t their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let’s give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”
24verseAll who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
25verseOn the third day, when they were sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males.
26verseThey killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.
27verseJacob’s sons came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.
28verseThey took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field,
29verseand all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house.
30verseJacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house.”
31verseThey said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?”
The Overall Meaning of the Text
This incident can be seen as a scene of crisis faced by Jacob’s family while living in the promised land of Canaan. It highlights the dangers that may arise when boundaries with the outside world break down, the human anger and extreme revenge that follow, and the new dangers that they then face again. It also encourages us to think about the challenges encountered when the promised descendants try to blend in with the world, and the importance of discernment that must be maintained within that situation, even though there is no direct mention of God.
Reflection Points
- Between righteousness and love, between anger and restraint, we need to check for ourselves what our choices should be.
- We can also think again about the attitude and boundaries that the faith community should have when relating to the world.
Personal Application
- We look to see whether we, too, are letting our emotions run the show and responding in extreme ways, or making hasty decisions without wisdom.
- We commit ourselves to living in such a way that, in times of difficulty, we first seek God’s will and the community’s purpose, and then act accordingly.
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