HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 403
page 33
Jacob replied, “They are a gift, my lord, to
ensure your friendship.”
9 “My brother, I have plenty,” Esau answered.
“Keep what you have for yourself.”
10 But Jacob insisted, “No, if I have found
favor with you, please accept this gift from me.
And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It
is like seeing the face of God! 11 Please take this
gift I have brought you, for God has been very
gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And
because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted
the gift.
12 “Well,” Esau said, “let’s be going. I will lead
the way.”
13 But 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. 14 Please, 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!”
16 So Esau turned around and started back to
Seir that same day. 17 Jacob, 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. 19 Jacob bought the
plot of land where he camped from the family of
Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of
silver.* 20 And there he built an altar and named
it El-Elohe-Israel.*
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. 2 But when
the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he seized her and raped her.
3 But then he fell in love with her, and he tried
to win her affection with tender words. 4 He 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. 6 Hamor, Shechem’s
father, came to discuss the matter with Jacob.
7 Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the
34
33:19 Hebrew 100 kesitahs; the value or weight of the kesitah
is no longer known. 33:20 El-Elohe-Israel means “God, the
God of Israel.” 34:7 Hebrew a disgraceful thing in Israel.
G ENESIS 34
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.
8 Hamor 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. 10 And
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. 12 No matter what dowry or
gift you demand, I will gladly pay it—just give
me the girl as my wife.”
13 But 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!
15 But here is a solution. If every man among
you will be circumcised like we are, 16 then we
will give you our daughters, and we’ll take your
daughters for ourselves. We will live among you
and become one people. 17 But if you don’t agree
to be circumcised, we will take her and be on
our way.”
18 Hamor and his son Shechem agreed to their
proposal. 19 Shechem wasted no time in acting
on this request, for he wanted Jacob’s daughter
desperately. Shechem was a highly respected
member of his family, 20 and 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. 22 But they will consider staying here and becoming one people
with us only if all of our men are circumcised,
just as they are. 23 But 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.”
24 So 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, 26 including
Hamor and his son Shechem. They killed them