Genesis 34

Shechem Violates Dinah

1 Dinah, Leah’s daughter, decided to go out and hang with the local girls.

2 While she was out, Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, saw her. Dude grabbed her, violated her, and slept with her.

3 Afterward, Shechem got all in his feelings for Dinah. He loved her and tried to win her over with sweet talk.

4 Shechem went to his dad, Hamor, and said, ‘Listen, get me that girl as my wife.’

Jacob Hears About It

5 When Jacob heard Shechem violated Dinah, his sons were out in the fields with the livestock, so he kept quiet until they came back.

6 Hamor came to talk to Jacob about it.

7 Jacob’s sons came back from the fields and were heated when they heard what happened. This was straight disrespect, something that should not have gone down in Israel.

Hamor’s Proposal

8 Hamor said, ‘My son Shechem is really into your daughter. Let him marry her.’

9 ‘Let us make a deal: Your daughters for our sons and vice versa. We will mix our families together.’

10 ‘Live here, trade, and settle in the land. There is plenty of room for you all.’

11 Shechem chimed in, ‘I will do whatever it takes to make this right. Just let me marry Dinah.’

12 ‘Name your price, dowry or gifts, and I will pay it. Just let me have her.’

The Sons’ Deceptive Plan

13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and Hamor with deceit. They were still mad about what Shechem did to their sister.

14 They said, ‘We cannot let our sister marry an uncircumcised dude. That would be disgraceful.’

15 ‘We will agree if all your men get circumcised like us.’

16 ‘Then we will give you our daughters, take yours, and live as one people.’

17 ‘But if you all do not agree to get circumcised, we are out, and we are taking Dinah with us.’

Shechem and Hamor Agree

18 Hamor and Shechem thought this was a good idea.

19 Shechem wasted no time. He was so into Dinah he did what they asked, even though he was the most respected dude in his family.

20 Hamor and Shechem went to the city gate and talked to the men of their town.

21 They said, ‘These people are cool with us. Let us let them live here and mix with us. The land’s big enough for everyone.’

22 ‘The only thing they are asking is for all our men to get circumcised like them.’

23 ‘If we do this, we will have access to their livestock, property, and everything they own. It is a win-win!’

24 All the men in the city agreed and got circumcised.

Simeon and Levi Take Revenge

25 Three days later, while all the men were still hurting, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, grabbed their swords and rolled up on the city. They killed every dude in town.

26 They killed Hamor and Shechem too and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house.

27 Jacob’s other sons came and looted the city because of what happened to their sister.

28 They took sheep, cattle, donkeys, and everything else in the city and the fields.

29 They carried off all the women and kids and cleaned out every house.

Jacob Confronts His Sons

30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You all just made me public enemy number one with the Canaanites and Perizzites. There is only a few of us. If they gang up on us, we are done!’

31 But Simeon and Levi said, ‘Should we have let him treat our sister like some random chick?’