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 .