The First Book of Moses: Genesis

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- Chapter 34 -

One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit some of the women in that area.

Shechem was one of the sons of Hamor, and he was descended from the people group of the Hivites. When he saw her, he took her and forced her to have sex with him.

He was very much attracted to her, and he became attached to her. He loved her and he spoke very tenderly to the girl.

So Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Please get this girl for me. I want her to become my wife!”

When Jacob found out that Shechem had seized his daughter Dinah and slept with her, his sons were still in the fields with his livestock, so he said nothing about this until they returned home.

In the meantime, Shechem’s father Hamor went to talk with Jacob.

Jacob’s sons came in from the field, and when they had found out what had happened, they were shocked and very angry, because Shechem had brought much shame to Israel by forcing himself on Jacob’s daughter. She was their sister! This was a terrible crime that should never be done.

But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem really likes this girl who is your daughter and your sister. Please allow him to marry her.

Let us make an agreement: You will give your daughters to our young men to be their wives, and we will give our daughters to your young men to be their wives.

You can live among us and live anywhere in our land that you wish. You can buy and sell things. If you find land that you want, then you can buy it.”

Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “If you feel good toward me and do what I am asking for, I will give you whatever you ask for.

Tell me what gifts you want and what bride price you want, and I will give you what you ask for. I just want you to give the girl to me to be my wife.”

The Revenge of Dinah’s Brothers

But because Shechem had done a shameful thing to their sister Dinah, the sons of Jacob deceived Shechem and his father Hamor.

They said to them, “No, we cannot do that. We cannot give our sister to be the wife of a man who is not circumcised, because that would be a shameful thing for us to do.

We will do that only if you do one thing: You must become like us by circumcising all the males that are among you.

Then we will give our daughters to your young men to be your wives, and we will take your daughters to be the wives of our young men. We will live among you, and we will become one people group.

But if you do not agree to be circumcised, we will take our sister and leave.”

What they said pleased Hamor and his son Shechem.

Shechem wanted very much to take Jacob’s daughter as his wife; also, since he was the most respected person in his father’s family, he quickly agreed to do what they suggested.

Shechem went with Hamor to the meeting place at the city gate, and they spoke to the city leaders. They said,

“These men are friendly toward us. We should let them live here and travel around. Certainly the land is big enough to support them and us. Our young men can marry their daughters, and their young men can marry our daughters.

But these men will agree to live among us and become one people group with us only if all our males are circumcised, as they are.

But if we do that, just think! Their cattle, their possessions, and all their animals will become ours! So we should agree to do what they suggest, and then they will live among us!”

All the men who were at the city gate agreed to what Hamor and Shechem suggested. Every male in the city was circumcised.

On the third day after that, when the men of the city were still sore because of being circumcised, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and entered the city without anyone stopping them, and killed all the men.

They even killed Hamor and his son Shechem. Then they took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and left the city.

Then the other sons of Jacob went into the city where all those dead bodies were. They looted the city to get revenge for the shameful thing that had been done to their sister.

They took away the people’s sheep and goats, their cattle, their donkeys, and everything else that they wanted from inside the city and from out in the countryside.

They took away everything that was valuable, even the children and the women. They seized and took away everything that was in the houses.

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought me big trouble! Now the Canaan people group, the Perez people group, and everyone else who lives in this land will hate me! I do not have many men to fight for us, so if they all gather together and come to me and attack us, they will destroy us and all our household!”

But they replied, “Should we have allowed Shechem to treat our sister like a prostitute?”

Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.

His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.

Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, “Get me this young lady as a wife.”

Now 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.

Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk with him.

The 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.

Hamor talked with them, saying, “The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.

Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

You shall dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it.”

Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give.

Ask 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.”

The Revenge of Dinah’s Brothers

The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit when they spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister,

and 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.

Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised,

then 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.

But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our sister,(a) and we will be gone.”

Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.

The 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.

Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying,

“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.

Only 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.

Won’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.”

All 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.

On 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.

They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.

Jacob’s sons came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field,

and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house.

Jacob 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.”

They said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?”

Footnotes

(a)34:17 Hebrew has, literally, “daughter”