Episode 17: Shechem and Dinah

(Genesis 34)

Shechem and Dinah

34 ¹ After Jacob and his clan arrived in Canaan, Dinah went out to meet the women of the land.

² While there, a man named Shechem, the son of Hamor and a prince of the country, had sex with her.

³ Shechem loved Dinah. ⁴ He told his father, Hamor, that he wanted to marry her.

⁶ When Dinah's brothers heard about it, they were angry.

^8-10 Hamor, met with Jacob and his sons, saying,

My son Shechem loves Dinah and wants to marry her. Please let them be married.

Let our daughters marry your sons and our sons marry your daughters, and we can all live in peace.

You will live and trade with us and share our land.

We can't let our sister marry an uncircumcised man.

But if every male in your city is circumcised, then we can intermarry and live in peace with you.

¹⁸ Hamor and Shechem liked the idea. ²⁰ They spoke to the men of the city, saying,

²¹ These men are peaceful. Let them live in our land and trade with us.

We will marry their daughters, and they will marry ours.

²² There's just one little thing that we have to do: All of our males must get circumcised.

²⁴ The men of the city agreed, and every male was circumcised.

²⁵ On the third day, while they were recovering from their circumcisions, two of Jacob's sons (Simeon and Levi) attacked and killed all the males.

²⁶ They killed Hamor and Shechem, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house.

²⁷ Then Jacob's sons spoiled the city, took their animals and enslaved their wives and children.

³⁰ After the slaughter, Jacob said to his sons,

You have made me stink among the inhabitants of the land.

Now the Canaanites, who are much more numerous than us, will kill me.

³¹ Jacob's sons said, "Should our sister be treated like a harlot?"