Genesis - Chapter 34

¹ Dinah, who was Jacob's daughter by Leah, went out to visit some of the women of that region.

² Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, headman of the region, saw her, seized her and forced her to sleep with him.

³ He was captivated by Dinah daughter of Jacob; he fell in love with the girl and tried to win her heart.

⁴ Accordingly Shechem said to his father Hamor, 'Get me this girl; I want to marry her.'

⁵ Meanwhile, Jacob had heard how his daughter Dinah had been dishonoured, but since his sons were out in the countryside with his livestock, Jacob said nothing until they came back.

⁶ Hamor father of Shechem was visiting Jacob to discuss the matter with him,

⁷ when Jacob's sons returned from the countryside and heard the news; the men were outraged and infuriated that Shechem had insulted Israel by sleeping with Jacob's daughter -- a thing totally unacceptable.

⁸ Hamor reasoned with them as follows, 'My son Shechem's heart is set on your daughter. Please allow her to marry him.

⁹ Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.

¹⁰ We can live together, and the country will be open to you, for you to live in, and move about in, and acquire holdings.'

¹¹ Then Shechem addressed the girl's father and brothers, 'Grant me this favour, and I will give you whatever you ask.

¹² Demand as high a bride-price from me as you please, and I will pay as much as you ask. Only let me marry the girl.'

¹³ Jacob's sons gave Shechem and his father Hamor a crafty answer, speaking as they did because he had dishonoured their sister Dinah.

¹⁴ 'We cannot do this,' they said to them. 'To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace for us.

¹⁵ We can agree only on one condition: that you become like us by circumcising all your males.

¹⁶ Then we will give you our daughters, taking yours for ourselves; and we will stay with you to make one nation.

¹⁷ But if you will not agree to our terms about being circumcised, we shall take our daughter and go.'

¹⁸ Hamor and Shechem son of Hamor were pleased with what they heard.

¹⁹ The young man did not hesitate about doing this, for he was deeply in love with Jacob's daughter. Moreover he was the most respected member of his entire family.

²⁰ Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their town and spoke to their fellow-townsmen as follows,

²¹ 'These men are friendly; let them settle in the region and move about freely in it; there is plenty of room here for them; we shall marry their daughters and give our daughters to them.

²² But these men will agree to settle with us and become a single nation only on this condition: that all our males be circumcised like them.

²³ Will not the livestock they own, all their animals, become ours? Then let us give our assent to this, so that they can settle with us.'

²⁴ All the citizens of the town agreed to the proposal made by Hamor and his son Shechem, and all the males were circumcised.

²⁵ Now on the third day, when the men were still in pain, Jacob's two sons Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and advanced unopposed against the town and slaughtered all the males.

²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, removed Dinah from Shechem's house and came away.

²⁷ When Jacob's other sons came on the slain, they pillaged the town in reprisal for the dishonouring of their sister.

²⁸ They seized their flocks, cattle, donkeys, everything else in the town and in the countryside,

²⁹ and all their possessions. They took all their children and wives captive and looted everything to be found in the houses.

³⁰ Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, 'You have done me an ill turn by bringing me into bad odour with the people of the region, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I have few men, whereas they will unite against me to defeat me and destroy me and my family.'

³¹ They retorted, 'Should our sister be treated like a whore?'

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