Introduction

‘Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. His heart was drawn to Dinah, daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, ‘Get me this girl as my wife.’ When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home. Then Shechem’s father, Hamor, went out to talk with Jacob. Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.’ Genesis 34:1-7

DINAH AND THE SHECHEMITES

Dinah was Leah’s daughter and Jacob’s only daughter, Genesis 30:21. Later we have references to Jacob having other daughters, Genesis 37:35 / Genesis 46:7, but this is probably referring to his sons’ wives’ daughters, Jacob’s daughters-in-law. Dinah went out to visit the women of the land, Genesis 34:1.

Josephus, in his writings, says the following.

‘There was a festival in progress, so something more than a mere visit may be intended.’

Roehrs, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Dinah seems to have invited trouble. Her desire to ‘visit the women of the land’ (literally, ‘to look at with delight’) was more than innocent curiosity, dangerous as that might have been.’

Shechem, son of Hamor, sees her, takes her, and then rapes her, Genesis 34:2 / Judges 19. Some commentators suggest that Dinah was around fifteen or sixteen years of age, and some suggest that she wasn’t actually raped.

TheTorah.com website says the following concerning the word used in Genesis 34:2.

‘The word ‘Anah’ means ‘afflicted’ or ‘humbled’, Genesis 34:2. This word has a broad meaning. It can mean to bow down, oppress, humble, or violate. Because it is also used in clear accounts of sexual violence (such as the assault of Tamar in 2 Samuel 13:14), many translators render it as forced violation or rape.’

Any female who was alone was regarded as being available, and if anything happened, the person involved didn’t need to apologise. Dinah was given no choice but to submit to him.

It was Jacob’s compromise with worldly things which put them in this situation. No one deserves to be raped, but here, it seems Dinah unknowingly put herself in a situation where she mingled with pagan people who had more or less no moral standards.

Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Shechem, like any other selfish, spoiled son of a ruler, simply took what he wanted when he wanted, and by force, if necessary.’

Apparently, Shechem was really attracted to Dinah; he loved her and spoke softly to her, Genesis 34:3. If he loved her that much, why did he rape her in the first place? He’s showing signs and speaking like a true abuser of women.

Shechem asked his father, Hamor, to get Dinah for him so that he could take her as his wife, Genesis 34:4. He probably wanted to marry her in order to add her to his collection, so to speak. Shechem took advantage of the teenager, and it’s clear that he wanted Dinah, not for love but purely for sex. Jacob’s attitude wasn’t very good.

Notice that he wasn’t upset when he found out that Dinah had been raped; in fact, he didn’t do anything until the sons of the family could be brought together, Genesis 34:5.

TheTorah.com website says the following concerning the word used in Genesis 34:5.

‘The word ‘timme’ means ‘defiled’, Genesis 34:5 / Genesis 34:13, and Genesis 34:27. This verb means to make ritually unclean or impure. While usually applied to objects or improper marriages, here it signifies the stain or dishonour brought upon Dinah and her family.’

People often wonder why Jacob could be so calm and show no signs of getting angry after the rape of his only daughter. Wouldn’t any father want to lash out at Shechem for what he did?

The Scriptures don’t give us the answer to this question, but it has been suggested that Jacob’s silence demonstrates he was suffering from trauma and shock, which is common among those who experience sexual violence and those close to the victim. In this case, Jacob was in a state of helplessness, hence why he waited for his sons to return, Genesis 34:5.

Shechem’s father Hamor then goes out to speak to Jacob, Genesis 34:6, but when Jacob’s sons returned and heard what had happened, understandable that they were fuming because of what Shechem did to Dinah, Genesis 34:7. If the leaders of any household or a church don’t do anything when problems arise, then people will take the law into their own hands, Judges 21:25.

‘But Hamor said to them, ‘My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.’ Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, ‘Let me find favour in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.’ Genesis 34:8-12

Hamor tells them that Shechem has his mind made up and wants Dinah as his wife, Genesis 34:8. Hamor was arguing that Jacob and his sons would be given the privilege of intermarriage with his family, Genesis 34:9, and the bonus of trading the land and ownership of property, Genesis 34:10.

This offer, if it tells us anything, tells us that Jacob and his family were still seen as travellers in this land, even though they’ve been here for ten years.

Ross, in his commentary, says the following.

‘The law (of Moses) said that Israel was not to intermarry with the Canaanites or make treaties with them, but was to destroy them because they posed such a threat. This passage provides part of the rationale for such laws, for it describes how immoral Canaanites defiled Israel by sexual contact and attempted to marry for the purpose of swallowing up Israel.’

Shechem speaks to Jacob and Dinah’s brothers and asks them to show favour to him and he will give them whatever they ask, Genesis 34:11. He asks for the bride price and whatever the price is, he will happily pay in exchange for Dinah, Genesis 34:12 / Deuteronomy 22:29 / 1 Samuel 18:25. Notice that Dinah’s brothers were calm and collective but I’m sure underneath all of that they would be raging.

‘Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. They said to them, ‘We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.’ Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. The young man, who was the most honoured of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city. ‘These men are friendly toward 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 daughters, and they can marry ours. But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So, let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.’ All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.’ Genesis 34:13-24

Notice that Dinah’s brothers replied ‘deceitfully’ to Shechem and Hamor, Genesis 34:13, and so they made them an offer, which was circumcision, Genesis 34:14-15.

It’s clear they have evil intentions, but they cover them up with godly words. They felt justified in what they were doing because of the way their sister was treated, and they were going to use this covenant to attack the people.

Dinah’s brothers said that they would agree to the intermarriage, settle down and become one with them only if they agree to be circumcised, but if they don’t, Shechem can’t have Dinah, Genesis 34:16-17.

Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and Shechem, Genesis 33:18, and so Shechem wasted no time to do what they asked to get Dinah as his wife, Genesis 34:19.

Notice that Shechem is described as a young man who was the most honoured of all his father’s family, Genesis 34:19. We must note that this doesn’t mean he was honourable by God’s standards; he was honourable by the Shechemites standards. If he is classified as the most honourable despite raping young teenage girls like Dinah, then we can only imagine what the rest of the Shechemites were like.

Dinah’s brothers had absolutely no intention of allowing their sister to intermarry, and so they came up with a plan to have Hamor’s men in such a weak physical condition after being circumcised that they would simply strike them dead.

Hamor and Shechem go to the city gate to speak to the men of their city, Genesis 34:20, and tell the men that Jacob’s family are friendly, and they should allow them to live and trade in their land, and they can intermarry with them, Genesis 34:21.

Then they share the terms and conditions with them: they will live with them and become one with them only if the males are circumcised, as they are, Genesis 34:22.

Notice they say if they do this, then all Jacob’s livestock, property and all their other animals become theirs, and with that thought, they agreed to the terms and conditions, Genesis 34:23, and all the males in the city were circumcised, Genesis 34:24. Hamor and Shechem are clearly worldly and materialistic in their thinking.

Roehrs, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Jacob’s sons were not the only ones to hide their real intentions. Hamor and Shechem were plotting to disintegrate Jacob’s family and, in the end, gain full possession of all their property, their cattle, and their beasts. Circumcision, which they would accept, was a small price to pay for such gains.’

‘Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses. Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.’ But they replied, ‘Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?’ Genesis 34:25-31

Three days later, while the men were still in pain after the circumcision, Simeon and Levi massacred all of the men, Genesis 34:25, but this action actually disgraced this covenant.

They were following their father’s attitude, and they did it because their sister had been disgraced. They went on to kill Hamor and Shechem and removed Dinah from Shechem’s house and left, Genesis 34:26.

Simeon and Levi came upon the dead bodies and proceeded to loot the city, Genesis 34:26. They took their flocks, herds, donkeys, and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields, Genesis 34:27. They also took all their wealth and all their women and children, and plundered their homes, Genesis 34:28.

It’s clear that Jacob knew absolutely nothing about this plan and was really upset about it, and his fear now was that the other families of the Canaanites and Perizzites would get together and fight against Jacob and his family, Genesis 34:29 / Genesis 9:25-27. Simeon and Levi reply and ask whether he should have treated Dinah like a prostitute, Genesis 34:30.

I’m sure you noticed that this whole chapter doesn’t mention God. Jacob is only bothered about himself, but the truth is, he brought trouble onto himself; he taught his children to be deceptive.

Jacob and his family saw the wealth of the place instead of where God wanted them to go; this whole event could have been easily missed if only Jacob had obeyed God’s command to go to Bethel, Genesis 31:3.

Jacob puts himself and his family in a bad situation and surrounds himself with ungodly people, and as a result, he finds himself reaping the consequences of his own decisions and actions. Jacob had taken his family to a place they should never have been.

He was at Shechem for the wrong reasons; wealth, and there was a city nearby, Genesis 33:18. This was an event that Jacob won’t forget and as a result of Simeon and Levi’s actions, they will be cursed, Genesis 48:5-6 / Genesis 49:5-6.

Go To Genesis 35