78 | Genesis 34:18
18 Their pro posal 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 ily , lost no time in do ing what they said , be cause he was de lighted with Ja cob ’ s daugh ter . m
20 So Ha mor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city n to speak to the men of their city . 21 “ These men are friendly to ward us ,” they said . “ Let them live in our land and trade in it ; the land has plenty of room for them . We can marry their daugh ters and they can marry 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 erty and all their other 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 o agreed with Ha mor and his son She chem , and ev ery male in the city was cir cum cised .
25 Three days later , while all of them were still in pain , two of Ja cob ’ s sons , Sim eon and Levi , Di nah ’ s broth ers , took their swords p and at tacked the un sus pect ing city , kill ing ev ery male . q
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 looted the city where a 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 women and chil dren , tak ing as plun der ev ery thing in the houses .
30 Then Ja cob said to Sim eon and Levi , “ You have brought trou ble on me by mak ing me obnoxious r to the Ca naan ites and Per iz zites , the peo ple liv ing in this land . s We are few in number , t and if they join forces against me and at tack me , I and my house hold will be destroyed .” 31 But they re plied , “ Should he have treated our sis ter like a pros ti tute ?”
34:19 m ver 3
34:20 n Ru 4:1 ; 2Sa 15:2
34:24 o Ge 23:10
34:25 p Ge 49:5 q Ge 49:7
34:30 r Ex 5:21 ; 1Sa 13:4 s Ge 13:7 t Ge 46:27 ; 1Ch 16:19 ;
Ps 105:12
35:1 u Ge 28:19 v Ge 27:43
35:2 w Ge 18:19 ; Jos 24:15 x Ge 31:19 y Ex 19:10 , 14
35:3 z Ge 32:7 a Ge 28:15 , 20-22 ;
31:3 , 42 35:4 b Jos 24:25‐26
35:5 c Ex 15:16 ; 23:27 ; Jos 2:9
35:6 d Ge 28:19 ; 48:3 35:7 e Ge 28:13
Jacob Returns to Bethel
35 Then God said to Ja cob , “ Go up to Bethel u and set tle there , and build an al tar there to
God , who ap peared to you when you were flee ing from your brother Esau .” v
2 So Ja cob said to his house hold w and to all who were with him , “ Get rid of the for eign gods x you have with you , and pu rify your selves and change your clothes . y 3 Then come , let us go up to Bethel , where I will build an al tar to God , who an swered me in the day of my dis tress z and who has been with me wher ever I have gone . a ” 4 So they gave Ja cob all the for eign gods they had and the rings in their ears , and Ja cob bur ied them un der the oak at Shechem . b
5 Then they set out , and the ter ror of God c fell on the towns all around them so that no one pur sued them .
6 Ja cob and all the peo ple with him came to Luz d ( that is , Bethel ) in the land of Ca naan . 7 There he built an al tar , and he called the place El Bethel , b be cause it was there that God re vealed him self to him e when he was flee ing from his brother .
a 27 Or because b 7 El Bethel means God of Bethel .
34:21 – 23 Duped by Jacob ’ s sons , Hamor and Shechem persuade the men of their city to be circumcised . 34:25 Simeon and Levi . Full brothers of Dinah . They slaughter the men of Shechem , who are still recovering after being circumcised . Shechem ’ s crime , while serious , did not warrant such brutal retaliation . This punishment far exceeds Shechem ’ s crime . Consequently , Jacob condemns it ( v . 30 ) and continues to hold it against Simeon and Levi until his death ( 49:5 – 7 ). Although Simeon and Levi do the killing , their brothers join them in looting the city . The whole event is a shameful episode for Abraham ’ s descendants . 34:30 brought trouble on me . As immigrants living in a hostile environment , Jacob fears for the future safety of his whole family . 34:31 The narrator gives the final word to Simeon and Levi , a possible reminder that Jacob ’ s failure to intervene at an earlier stage may have contributed to the outcome .
35:1 – 15 Jacob Returns to Bethel . The events at Shechem possibly prompt God to instruct
Jacob to relocate to Bethel . Jacob returns to where God appeared to him when he first fled from Canaan to go to Paddan Aram ( 28:10 – 22 ). 35:1 build an altar there . Jacob previously erected a pillar at Bethel ( 28:18 ). God now instructs him to return to Bethel , an event that will confirm God ’ s faithfulness to Jacob ’ s promises ( 28:20 – 22 ). 35:2 – 3 Recognizing that Bethel is the “ house of God ” ( see NIV text note on 28:19 ), Jacob prepares his family for their encounter with God . At this stage some members of the family appear to be polytheists , worshiping a number of gods . Rachel , e . g ., took her father ’ s household gods ( 31:19 ). Jacob insists that they must abandon these gods in favor of God , who has faithfully cared for him . Additionally , Jacob demands that his family get rid of any defilement caused by worshiping other deities . After washing to purify themselves , they must change their clothes , further symbolizing their transformation from polytheism to monotheism . 35:3 in the day of my distress . Not just one particular day , but every occasion when Jacob was in difficulty .
35:4 rings in their ears . Possibly the idols , rather than the people , wore these . By burying these cultic objects , a known second millennium BC practice for disposing of images , Jacob placed them beyond further use . Their burial at Shechem may be symbolically significant , implying that the violent actions of Simeon and Levi reflect the influence of polytheism . Later , also at Shechem , Joshua challenges his fellow Israelites to throw away the gods that their ancestors worshiped ( Josh 24:14,23 ). 35:5 the terror of God . An appropriate fear of God may restrain people ’ s actions . “ Fear of God ” is a significant motif in Genesis ( e . g ., 20:8,11 ); God himself is even known by the title “ the Fear of Isaac ” ( 31:42,53 ). 35:6 Luz ( that is , Bethel ). See note on 28:19 . 35:7 El Bethel . See NIV text note . The name draws attention to how God revealed himself at this location . Altars sometimes mark where God appeared to the patriarchs ( 12:7 ). They may also form a temporary sanctuary in the hope that God would make himself known at them ( 33:20 ).