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Genesis 34 ... page 36
12 “Well,” Esau said, “let’s be going. I will lead
the way.”
13But Jacob replied, “You can see, my lord, that
some of the children are very young, and the
flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are
driven too hard, even for one day, all the animals
could die. 14Please, my lord, go ahead of your servant. We will follow slowly, at a pace that is comfortable for the livestock and the children. I will
meet you at Seir.”
15“All right,” Esau said, “but at least let me assign some of my men to guide and protect you.”
Jacob responded, “That’s not necessary. It’s
enough that you’ve received me warmly, my lord!”
16So Esau turned around and started back to
Seir that same day. 17Jacob, on the other hand,
traveled on to Succoth. There he built himself a
house and made shelters for his livestock. That is
why the place was named Succoth (which means
“shelters”).
18 Later, having traveled all the way from
Paddan-aram, Jacob arrived safely at the town of
Shechem, in the land of Canaan. There he set up
camp outside the town. 19Jacob bought the plot
of land where he camped from the family of
Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of
silver. 20And there he built an altar and named it
El-Elohe-Israel.
CHAPTER
34
Revenge against Shechem
One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah,
went to visit some of the young women who lived
in the area. 2But when the local prince, Shechem
son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he seized
her and raped her. 3But then he fell in love with
her, and he tried to win her affection with tender
words. 4He said to his father, Hamor, “Get me this
young girl. I want to marry her.”
5 Soon Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled
his daughter, Dinah. But since his sons were out
in the fields herding his livestock, he said nothing until they returned. 6Hamor, Shechem’s
father, came to discuss the matter with Jacob.
7Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the
field as soon as they heard what had happened.
They were shocked and furious that their sister
had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob’s family, something that
should never be done.
8Hamor tried to speak with Jacob and his
sons. “My son Shechem is truly in love with your
daughter,” he said. “Please let him marry her. 9 In
fact, let’s arrange other marriages, too. You give
us your daughters for our sons, and we will give
you our daughters for your sons. 10And you may
live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here
and trade with us. And feel free to buy property
in the area.”
11 Then Shechem himself spoke to Dinah’s
father and brothers. “Please be kind to me, and
let me marry her,” he begged. “I will give you
whatever you ask. 12No matter what dowry or
gift you demand, I will gladly pay it—just give me
the girl as my wife.”
13But since Shechem had defiled their sister,
Dinah, Jacob’s sons responded deceitfully to
Shechem and his father, Hamor. 14 They said to
them, “We couldn’t possibly allow this, because
you’re not circumcised. It would be a disgrace for
our sister to marry a man like you! 15But here is a
solution. If every man among you will be circumcised like we are, 16then we will give you our
daughters, and we’ll take your daughters for ourselves. We will live among you and become one
people. 17But if you don’t agree to be circumcised, we will take her and be on our way.”
18Hamor and his son Shechem agreed to their
proposal. 19Shechem wasted no time in acting
on this request, for he wanted Jacob’s daughter
desperately. Shechem was a highly respected
member of his family, 20and he went with his father, Hamor, to present this proposal to the leaders at the town gate.
21 “These men are our friends,” they said.
“Let’s invite them to live here among us and trade
freely. Look, the land is large enough to hold
them. We can take their daughters as wives and
let them marry ours. 22But they will consider
staying here and becoming one people with us
only if all of our men are circumcised, just as they
are. 23But if we do this, all their livestock and
possessions will eventually be ours. Come, let’s
agree to their terms and let them settle here
among us.”
24So all the men in the town council agreed
with Hamor and Shechem, and every male in the
town was circumcised. 25 But three days later,
when their wounds were still sore, two of Jacob’s
sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s full
brothers, took their swords and entered the
town without opposition. Then they slaughtered
every male there, 26including Hamor and his son
Shechem. They killed them with their swords,
then took Dinah from Shechem’s house and returned to their camp.
27Meanwhile, the rest of Jacob’s sons arrived.
Finding the men slaughtered, they plundered
the town because their sister had been defiled
there. 28They seized all the flocks and herds
