Genesis 34

Introduction

Genesis 34 records one of the most disturbing and morally complex episodes in the patriarchal narratives: the violation of Dinah and its aftermath. Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, goes out to visit the women of the land and is seized and violated by Shechem, the son of the local Hivite ruler Hamor. What follows is not a simple story of crime and punishment but a layered narrative involving competing claims of honor, deception, intermarriage politics, and horrific violence. Shechem, after assaulting Dinah, claims to love her and seeks her in marriage; Hamor proposes a broad alliance through intermarriage. Jacob's sons respond with a plan that uses the covenant sign of circumcision as a weapon — they agree to the marriage on the condition that every male in the city be circumcised, then slaughter the incapacitated men on the third day.

The chapter raises questions that the text itself refuses to answer neatly. Jacob's silence is conspicuous — he "kept quiet" upon hearing the news (v. 5) and only speaks at the end to rebuke Simeon and Levi for the pragmatic danger they have created, not for the moral horror of their massacre. Simeon and Levi's final question — "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?" — is left hanging without a response. The reader is caught between the justice of their outrage and the injustice of their method. This tension reverberates forward: Jacob remembers this act on his deathbed, cursing their anger (Genesis 49:5-7), and the tribes of Simeon and Levi are both scattered in Israel — Simeon absorbed into Judah, and Levi dispersed as priests without territorial inheritance.

The Violation of Dinah (vv. 1-4)

¹ Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. ² When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force. ³ And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly. ⁴ So Shechem told his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as a wife."

¹ Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. ² And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, and he took her and lay with her and humiliated her. ³ But his soul clung to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke to the young woman's heart. ⁴ So Shechem said to Hamor his father, "Get me this girl as a wife."

Notes

וַתֵּצֵא דִינָה ("Dinah went out") — Dinah is introduced by her maternal lineage: "the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob." This is significant because her full brothers — Simeon and Levi, sons of Leah — will be the ones who act on her behalf (v. 25). The verb יָצָא ("to go out") is neutral; the text does not blame Dinah, despite a long history of interpretation that faults her for going out alone. She goes "to see" (לִרְאוֹת) the women of the land — a natural social impulse, especially for the only daughter in a large family of brothers.
וַיִּקַּח אֹתָהּ וַיִּשְׁכַּב אֹתָהּ וַיְעַנֶּהָ ("he took her and lay with her and humiliated her") — Three verbs in rapid succession describe Shechem's actions. The first two — "took" and "lay with" — could in other contexts describe consensual relations, but the third verb, עָנָה (Piel: "to humble, violate, afflict"), makes the nature of the act unmistakable. This same verb is used in Deuteronomy 22:29 for the violation of an unbetrothed woman and in 2 Samuel 13:14 for Amnon's rape of Tamar. I translated it as "humiliated" rather than the BSB's "by force" because עָנָה conveys not just force but degradation — the stripping away of honor and dignity.
וַתִּדְבַּק נַפְשׁוֹ ("his soul clung to") — The verb דָּבַק ("to cling, cleave") is the same word used in Genesis 2:24 for a man "cleaving" to his wife. The narrative presents a jarring sequence: violence, then emotional attachment. Shechem "loved" Dinah and וַיְדַבֵּר עַל לֵב הַנַּעֲרָ ("spoke to the young woman's heart") — a phrase that elsewhere means to comfort or woo tenderly (cf. Ruth 2:13, Hosea 2:14). The text does not allow the reader to simply categorize Shechem as a one-dimensional villain — his feelings appear genuine — but neither does it excuse or mitigate the initial act of violence. His love does not undo the violation.
קַח לִי אֶת הַיַּלְדָּה הַזֹּאת לְאִשָּׁה ("Get me this girl as a wife") — Shechem's demand to his father uses the language of acquisition: "get" (לָקַח), the same verb used for his taking of Dinah in v. 2. The word יַלְדָּה ("girl") emphasizes Dinah's youth. Shechem treats marriage as a transaction to be arranged by his father — the powerful prince of the land assuming he can have what he wants.

Jacob's Silence and His Sons' Fury (vv. 5-7)

⁵ Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent about it until they returned. ⁶ Meanwhile, Shechem's father Hamor came to speak with Jacob. ⁷ When Jacob's sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter — a thing that should not be done.

⁵ Now Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came. ⁶ And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷ The sons of Jacob came in from the field as soon as they heard. The men were grieved and burned with anger, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter — a thing that must not be done.

Notes

וְהֶחֱרִשׁ יַעֲקֹב ("Jacob kept silent") — The verb חָרַשׁ means "to be silent, to hold one's peace." Jacob's silence is one of the most debated elements in this chapter. He hears that his daughter has been "defiled" (טִמֵּא, a term carrying ritual impurity), but he says and does nothing — neither protesting to Hamor nor comforting Dinah. The stated reason is that his sons were in the field, suggesting he waited for the family to gather. But the silence extends through the entire chapter: Jacob does not speak until v. 30, and even then his complaint is about the danger to himself, not about Dinah. Many interpreters see this as a failure of fatherly responsibility, especially in contrast to his sons' immediate and passionate response.
נְבָלָה עָשָׂה בְיִשְׂרָאֵל ("he had done an outrageous thing in Israel") — The phrase נְבָלָה בְיִשְׂרָאֵל becomes a fixed expression in later Scripture for crimes that violate the fundamental moral order of God's people (cf. Deuteronomy 22:21, Joshua 7:15, Judges 20:6, 2 Samuel 13:12). The word נְבָלָה denotes not just moral failure but sacrilege — an act so egregious that it strikes at the community's identity. Notably, the phrase uses the name "Israel" anachronistically — Jacob has just received this name (Genesis 32:28), and there is no nation of Israel yet. The narrator writes from the perspective of later Israel, making Shechem's act a paradigmatic offense against the whole people.
וְכֵן לֹא יֵעָשֶׂה ("a thing that must not be done") — This closing phrase is a categorical moral judgment. The Niphal (passive) form — literally "it shall not be done" — expresses an absolute prohibition that transcends situational ethics. It is not merely "this shouldn't have happened" but "this kind of thing is never acceptable."

Hamor and Shechem's Proposal (vv. 8-12)

⁸ But Hamor said to them, "My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. ⁹ Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ You may settle among us, and the land will be open to you. Live here, move about freely, and acquire your own property." ¹¹ Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Grant me this favor, and I will give you whatever you ask. ¹² Demand a high dowry and an expensive gift, and I will give you whatever you ask. Only give me the girl as my wife!"

⁸ But Hamor spoke with them, saying, "My son Shechem — his soul longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. ⁹ Intermarry with us: give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Settle, trade in it, and acquire property in it." ¹¹ Then Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. ¹² Set the bride-price and gift as high as you wish, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman as a wife."

Notes

חָשְׁקָה נַפְשׁוֹ ("his soul longs for") — Hamor describes Shechem's desire using the verb חָשַׁק ("to desire, long for, be attached to"), which in other contexts describes a noble or even divine attachment (God's love for Israel in Deuteronomy 7:7). Hamor frames his son's obsession in the most favorable terms, completely omitting the violence that preceded it.
Hamor's proposal (vv. 9-10) goes far beyond a single marriage — he envisions full integration: intermarriage, settlement, trade, and property ownership. From a Canaanite perspective, this is a generous offer. From the perspective of the Abrahamic covenant, it represents the very assimilation that threatens the distinctiveness of God's people. The later commands against intermarriage with the Canaanites (Deuteronomy 7:3-4) address exactly this scenario.
מֹהַר וּמַתָּן ("bride-price and gift") — The מֹהַר is the payment from the groom's family to the bride's family, compensating them for the loss of a daughter's labor and establishing the legal marriage. The מַתָּן is an additional gift. Shechem's willingness to pay any price signals both his desire and his wealth and power — he assumes everything can be purchased. The irony is that Jacob's sons will demand a "price" that Shechem could not anticipate.

The Deceptive Condition (vv. 13-17)

¹³ But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob's sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully. ¹⁴ "We cannot do such a thing," they said. "To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us. ¹⁵ We will consent to this on one condition, that you become circumcised like us — every one of your males. ¹⁶ Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We will dwell among you and become one people. ¹⁷ But if you will not agree to be circumcised, then we will take our sister and go."

¹³ The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit — they spoke this way because he had defiled Dinah their sister. ¹⁴ They said to them, "We are not able to do this thing — to give our sister to a man who has a foreskin, for that would be a disgrace to us. ¹⁵ Only on this condition will we consent to you: that you become like us, by circumcising every male among you. ¹⁶ Then we will give our daughters to you and take your daughters for ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. ¹⁷ But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, we will take our daughter and go."

Notes

בְּמִרְמָה ("with deceit") — The narrator reveals the brothers' true intent immediately: their answer is מִרְמָה ("deceit, treachery"). This is the same word used to describe Jacob's deception of Isaac in Genesis 27:35: "Your brother came with deceit and took your blessing." The sons have inherited their father's talent for deception, but they deploy it with far more violent consequences. The narrator does not hide the deception — the reader knows from the start that the circumcision proposal is a trap.
עָרְלָה ("foreskin") — The brothers frame circumcision as a matter of honor and identity: giving their sister to an uncircumcised man would be a חֶרְפָּה ("disgrace, reproach"). Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17:10-14), marking the covenant community as set apart. The brothers exploit this sacred sign for a military purpose — they turn the mark of God's covenant into a weapon. This is perhaps the deepest moral violation in the chapter: not Shechem's crime alone, but the desecration of circumcision by using it as an instrument of treachery.
Notice the shift from "our sister" (v. 14) to "our daughter" (v. 17, בִּתֵּנוּ). The brothers speak collectively, as if they are the family authority — sidelining Jacob entirely. The shift to "daughter" may also be a deliberate echo of Hamor's language ("your daughter," v. 8), matching his negotiating register.

Shechem's Eagerness and the City's Agreement (vv. 18-24)

¹⁸ Their offer seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹ The young man, who was the most respected of all his father's household, did not hesitate to fulfill this request, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. ²⁰ So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and addressed the men of their city: ²¹ "These men are at peace with us. Let them live and trade in our land; indeed, it is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage and give our daughters to them. ²² But only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us and be one people: if all our men are circumcised as they are. ²³ Will not their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell among us." ²⁴ All the men who went out of the city gate listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male of the city was circumcised.

¹⁸ Their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem, Hamor's son. ¹⁹ The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. And he was the most honored in all his father's house. ²⁰ So Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, ²¹ "These men are peaceable with us. Let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for the land is broad enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. ²² Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us and be one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. ²³ Will not their livestock, their property, and all their animals be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us." ²⁴ 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.

Notes

נִכְבָּד מִכֹּל בֵּית אָבִיו ("the most honored in all his father's house") — The word נִכְבָּד (Niphal participle of כָּבֵד, "to be heavy, honored") tells us Shechem was not some marginal figure but the most prominent member of his father's household. His eagerness to be circumcised and his influence at the city gate explain why the entire city follows his lead.
שַׁעַר עִירָם ("the gate of their city") — The city gate was the center of public life, legal proceedings, and civic decision-making in the ancient Near East. Hamor and Shechem's address at the gate is a formal civic assembly. Their pitch to the citizens is revealing: while to Jacob's sons they spoke of intermarriage and unity (vv. 9-10), to their own people they emphasize economic gain — "Will not their livestock, their property, and all their animals be ours?" (v. 23). Each side is engaged in deception: Jacob's sons deceive with their circumcision condition, and Hamor deceives his own citizens with the promise of enrichment.
הֲלוֹא מִקְנֵהֶם וְקִנְיָנָם וְכָל בְּהֶמְתָּם הֲלוֹא לָנוּ הֵם ("Will not their livestock, their property, and all their animals be ours?") — Hamor's argument to the men of Shechem is nakedly acquisitive. He frames the deal not as cultural exchange but as an absorption that will enrich them. The triple listing — livestock, property, animals — emphasizes wealth. The irony is bitter: Hamor's people will indeed lose everything, but not in the way they imagined.

The Massacre (vv. 25-29)

²⁵ Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons (Dinah's brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went away. ²⁷ Jacob's other sons came upon the slaughter and looted the city, because their sister had been defiled. ²⁸ They took their flocks and herds and donkeys, and everything else in the city or in the field. ²⁹ They carried off all their possessions and women and children, and they plundered everything in their houses.

²⁵ On the third day, when they were in pain, two of the sons of Jacob — Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers — each took his sword and came against the city while it felt secure, and they killed every male. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and they took Dinah out of Shechem's house and left. ²⁷ The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. ²⁸ They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys — what was in the city and what was in the field. ²⁹ All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives they took captive, and they plundered everything in the houses.

Notes

בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בִּהְיוֹתָם כֹּאֲבִים ("on the third day, when they were in pain") — The third day after circumcision was known to be the peak of pain and incapacitation (cf. Joshua 5:8, where the Israelites rested at Gilgal after circumcision). Simeon and Levi chose the moment of maximum vulnerability.
שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי אֲחֵי דִינָה ("Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers") — The text identifies them specifically as "Dinah's brothers" — that is, her full brothers through Leah. They are the ones who share both father and mother with Dinah and who act on her behalf. The other sons of Jacob join afterward for the looting (v. 27) but did not participate in the initial slaughter.
בֶּטַח ("while it felt secure" / "unsuspecting") — The word means "in security, confidently." The men of Shechem had no reason to expect an attack; they had entered a covenant agreement in good faith (however cynically motivated). The word underscores the treachery of the assault — this was not a battle but a massacre of defenseless men.
וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת דִּינָה מִבֵּית שְׁכֶם ("they took Dinah out of Shechem's house") — This detail reveals that Dinah had been in Shechem's house since the assault — whether held there or residing there as a presumed bride. The brothers' primary stated objective was to retrieve their sister. Everything else — the killing, the looting — extends far beyond rescue.
The narrative distinguishes between two stages of violence: first, Simeon and Levi's targeted killing of every male (vv. 25-26), and second, the broader sons of Jacob plundering the city (vv. 27-29). The plundering includes taking "their little ones and their wives" captive (v. 29) — the very women and children of the city. The scope of the violence expands from retribution against Shechem to collective punishment of the entire city, including the innocent.

Interpretations

The moral evaluation of Simeon and Levi's actions has been debated throughout Jewish and Christian interpretation:

Justified retribution view: Some interpreters argue that the brothers' response, while extreme, was proportionate to the offense. In a culture where family honor and the protection of women was a sacred obligation, Shechem's violation of Dinah demanded a forceful response. The entire city was complicit because they agreed to the arrangement and because their leader committed the crime. This view finds some support in the fact that God appears to protect Jacob's family from retaliation (Genesis 35:5).
Sinful excess view: Most interpreters hold that while Simeon and Levi's anger was justified, their response was grossly disproportionate. Killing every male in the city, enslaving women and children, and plundering property went far beyond justice for Dinah. Jacob condemns their violence on his deathbed: "Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel" (Genesis 49:5-7). The desecration of circumcision as a weapon compounds the moral failure.
Narrative ambiguity view: Some scholars argue that the text deliberately withholds moral judgment within the chapter itself. Jacob's complaint (v. 30) is pragmatic (danger to the family), not moral. The brothers' closing question (v. 31) goes unanswered. The narrator presents the facts and lets the tension stand, with the fuller theological evaluation deferred to Genesis 49:5-7.

Jacob's Rebuke and the Brothers' Reply (vv. 30-31)

³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble upon me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people of this land. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed." ³¹ But they replied, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"

³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me, making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, to the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number, and if they gather against me and attack me, I will be destroyed — I and my household." ³¹ But they said, "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?"

Notes

עֲכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי לְהַבְאִישֵׁנִי ("you have brought trouble on me, making me odious") — The verb עָכַר ("to trouble, bring disaster") is the same root as the name Achor in "the Valley of Achor" (Joshua 7:26), where Achan brought trouble on Israel through his sin. The verb הִבְאִישׁ means literally "to make stink" — Jacob fears he now "stinks" in the nostrils of the surrounding peoples. His complaint is entirely strategic: he fears military retaliation from the Canaanites and Perizzites, who vastly outnumber his family. Strikingly, Jacob says nothing about Dinah, nothing about justice, nothing about the moral dimensions of what happened. His concern is self-preservation.
מְתֵי מִסְפָּר ("few in number," literally "men of number," i.e., so few they can be counted) — Jacob's vulnerability is real. His household, however large for a single family, is a tiny clan surrounded by established peoples. The fear of collective retaliation is legitimate and is resolved only in Genesis 35:5, where "a terror from God" falls on the surrounding cities so that they do not pursue Jacob's sons.
הַכְזוֹנָה יַעֲשֶׂה אֶת אֲחוֹתֵנוּ ("Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?") — The chapter ends with this unanswered question. The word זוֹנָה ("prostitute") is pointed: Shechem treated Dinah as sexually available and disposable — like a woman with no family to protect her, no honor to defend. The brothers' question is a challenge to their father's passivity and to any reading that would simply condemn their response without acknowledging the severity of the original crime. The question hangs in the air. The narrator provides no verdict. The silence is the point — this is a story where every response is inadequate, where outrage and excess coexist, and where the reader must wrestle with the absence of a clean moral resolution.