Genesis 34

Living Bible

34 One day Dinah, Leah’s daughter, went out to visit some of the neighborhood girls, ² but when Shechem, son of King Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her. ³ He fell deeply in love with her, and tried to win her affection.

⁴ Then he spoke to his father about it. “Get this girl for me,” he demanded. “I want to marry her.”

⁵ Word soon reached Jacob of what had happened, but his sons were out in the fields herding cattle, so he did nothing until their return. ^6-7 Meanwhile King Hamor, Shechem’s father, went to talk with Jacob, arriving just as Jacob’s sons came in from the fields, too shocked and angry to overlook the insult, for it was an outrage against all of them.

⁸ Hamor told Jacob, “My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter, and longs for her to be his wife. Please let him marry her. ^9-10 Moreover, we invite you folks to live here among us and to let your daughters marry our sons, and we will give our daughters as wives for your young men. And you shall live among us wherever you wish and carry on your business among us and become rich!”

¹¹ Then Shechem addressed Dinah’s father and brothers. “Please be kind to me and let me have her as my wife,” he begged. “I will give whatever you require. ¹² No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will pay it—only give me the girl as my wife.”

¹³ Her brothers then lied to Shechem and Hamor, acting dishonorably because of what Shechem had done to their sister. ¹⁴ They said, “We couldn’t possibly. For you are not circumcised. It would be a disgrace for her to marry such a man. ¹⁵ I’ll tell you what we’ll do—if every man of you will be circumcised, ¹⁶ then we will intermarry with you and live here and unite with you to become one people. ¹⁷ Otherwise we will take her and be on our way.”

^18-19 Hamor and Shechem gladly agreed, and lost no time in acting upon this request, for Shechem was very much in love with Dinah, and could, he felt sure, sell the idea to the other men of the city—for he was highly respected and very popular. ²⁰ So Hamor and Shechem appeared before the city council^[a] and presented their request.

²¹ “Those men are our friends,” they said. “Let’s invite them to live here among us and ply their trade. For the land is large enough to hold them, and we can intermarry with them. ²² But they will only consider staying here on one condition—that every one of us men be circumcised, the same as they are. ²³ But if we do this, then all they have will become ours and the land will be enriched. Come on, let’s agree to this so that they will settle here among us.”

²⁴ So all the men agreed, and all were circumcised. ²⁵ But three days later, when their wounds were sore and sensitive to every move they made, two of Dinah’s brothers, Simeon and Levi, took their swords, entered the city without opposition, and slaughtered every man there, ²⁶ including Hamor and Shechem. They rescued Dinah from Shechem’s house and returned to their camp again. ²⁷ Then all of Jacob’s sons went over and plundered the city because their sister had been dishonored there. ²⁸ They confiscated all the flocks and herds and donkeys—everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the city and outside in the fields, ²⁹ and took all the women and children, and wealth of every kind.

³⁰ Then Jacob said to Levi and Simeon, “You have made me stink among all the people of this land—all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will come and crush us, and we will all be killed.”

³¹ “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” they retorted.