Vengeance
With Questions and Proposed Answers Supplied
Background and Printed Text: Genesis 34
Genesis 34:1 And Her-Adjudicator (Dinah), the daughter of Weary (Leah) that she bore unto He-Will-Heel (Jacob), went out to see with the daughters of the land. 2And Shoulder (Shechem) the son of Ass (Hamor) the Hivite the prince of the land saw her. And he took her. And he lay with her. And he humiliated her. 3And his being clung unto Her-Adjudicator (Dinah) the daughter of He-Will-Heel (Jacob). And he loved the youth [masc.]. And he spoke upon the heart of the youth [masc.].
4And Shoulder (Shechem) spoke unto his father Ass (Hamor) to say, “Take this child to me for a woman.” 5And He-Will-Heel (Jacob) heard that he had made Her-Adjudicator (Dinah) his daughter unclean. And his sons were with his cattle in the field. And He-Will-Heel (Jacob) made himself silent until their coming.
6And Ass (Hamor) the father of Shoulder (Shechem) went out unto He-Will-Heel (Jacob) to speak with him. 7And the sons of He-Will-Heel (Jacob) came out of the field when they heard. And the men were labour-pained. And they were very hot because he had wrought folly against Israel to lie with the daughter of He-Will-Heel (Jacob). And established, he shall not be done!
8And Ass (Hamor) spoke with them, saying, “My son Shoulder (Shechem)—his being cleaves into your daughter. Give-ye, na, her to him for a woman. 9And make ye marriages with us. Give your daughters to us and take our daughters to you. 10And ye shall dwell with us. And the land shall be before you. Dwell. And trade ye her, and possess ye in her.”
11And Shoulder (Shechem) said unto her father and unto her brethren, “I will find favour in your eyes. And I will give what ye shall say unto me. 12Multiply upon me very much a dowry and a gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me. And give the youth to me for a woman.”
13And the sons of He-Will-Heel (Jacob) deceitfully answered Shoulder (Shechem) and Ass (Hamor) his father. And they spoke—Who had made Her-Adjudicator (Dinah) their sister unclean? 14And they said unto them, “We cannot do this thing—to give our sister to one who has a foreskin, for it is a reproach to us. 15But we will consent unto you via this: If ye will be like us to be circumcised for yourselves—every male. 16And we will give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us. And we will dwell with you. And we will become one people. 17And if ye will not hearken unto us to be circumcised— And will we take our daughter, and we will go.” 18And their words were good in the eyes of Ass (Hamor) and in the eyes of Shoulder (Shechem) Ass’s (Hamor’s) son. 19And the young man did not procrastinate to do the thing. For he delighted in He-Will-Heel’s (Jacob’s) daughter. And he is more important than all the house of his father.
20And Ass (Hamor) came, and Shoulder (Shechem) his son, unto the gate of their city. And they spoke with the men of their city to say, 21“These men—they are peaceable with us. They have dwelt in the land and have traded her. For the land—behold—is large enough before them. We shall take their daughters to us for women, and we shall give them our daughters. 22The men will only consent to us to dwell with us to be one people via this: by our being circumcised—every male—as they are circumcised. 23Their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs, are they not ours? Only we shall consent unto them. And they will dwell with us.” 24And they hearkened unto Ass (Hamor) and unto Shoulder (Shechem)—all going out of the gate of his city. And every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
25And he was in the third day, via their being pained-[ones]. And two of the sons of He-Will-Heel (Jacob), Hearkener (Shimon) and My-Near-One (Levi), Her-Adjudicator’s (Dinah’s) brethren, took each man his sword. And they confidently came upon the city. And they slew every male! 26And they slew Ass (Hamor) and Shoulder (Shechem) his son with the edge of the sword. And they took Her-Adjudicator (Dinah) out of Shoulder’s (Shechem’s) house. And they went out. 27The sons of He-Will-Heel (Jacob) came upon the slain. And they spoiled the city because they had defiled their sister. 28They took their sheep and their oxen and their asses and that which is in the city and that which is in the field. 29And they took captive all their wealth and all their little ones and their women. And they spoiled, and all that is in the house.
30And He-Will-Heel (Jacob) said unto Hearkener (Shimon) and unto My-Near-One (Levi), “Ye have troubled me to make me stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and among the Perizzites. And I am dead-[ones] of a number. And they shall gather themselves upon me. And they shall slay me. And I shall be destroyed—I and my house!” 31And they said, “Will he make our sister a whore?”
I. The Rape-like Event (verses 1-3)
Dinah (pronounced DEE NUH) was a young girl, probably a middle teenager. She wanted to go out to see the daughters of the land—girls her own age.
While Dinah was going around with her girlfriends, the prince of the land (Shechem, pronounced Shkhem in Hebrew) was watching. He took her and he had sexual intercourse with her.
Shechem’s entire being, his body, his soul and his spirit, clung to Dinah. He loved the youth. And he spoke “upon the heart of the youth,” which means that he spoke to her about what had happened, and what was on her mind. It was an intimate conversation.
Questions
1. Did Dinah do wrong by going out to see with the daughters of the land? She did not do wrong. What she did was risky, but it was not wrong. Her being friends with idolatrous girlfriends was not wrong. It is risky; but then, friendships are risky. She did put herself in danger, however.
2. What did they go out to see? They went to walk together, to explore the area and the various inhabitants; they went to see what life was like for each other.
3. Was Shechem’s actions in seeing her wrong? This also wasn’t wrong. What he next did was wrong, but seeing her and being attracted to her was not wrong.
4. What was involved in the statement, “He took her”? He physically took her from her companions, and he took her to another place where he had sexual intercourse with her. The text does not automatically imply force, but it does indicate some type of strong action. The text did not say, “She went with him.”
5. Did Shechem rape her? I have not been able to tell if she was raped. I suspect that it was a form of rape, but not of the most violent types. She may have been willing, or more likely, she may have been taken by such surprise, that she didn’t know how to react.
The text does not indicate how long and how many times she went with the daughters of the land. This action may have been after weeks of seeing her.
6. Did Shechem do wrong? He took advantage of her; that was wrong and selfish according to the culture of Jacob (and therefore Dinah). A man taking a woman to be his wife is not Biblically wrong; it can be quite right to do. One must consider the culture and the relationship before doing this. Shechem did not consider what would happen to her. What he did may have been proper in his culture! Again, there are cultures where men literally take women. In other cultures, however, families will meet, arrangements will be made, and delays will occur. Every culture is different.
7. What does “he lay with her” mean, and why is this wording used? The idea of of laying with someone is because a bed or bed-like area is normally used when sexual intercourse occurs. This expression is not used for sleep; it is used to describe sexual intercourse.
8. The next sentence states, “And he humiliated her.” Did he mistreat her? What does this mean? In the Hebrew language, humbling and humiliating are the same word with the same meaning! A person who is humiliated is forced into being humble: that is, being humbled. What Shechem did was put Dinah in a humiliated position. She now had had sexual intercourse before and outside of marriage. Her responsibilities and her position in society changed—it became greatly lowered. While she was a youth and a virgin, she was viewed not as an adult with adult responsibilities, but as one who should be protected and treated very well until she could take on adult responsibilities. Had she married, her status might have gone up. Being unmarried and having had sexual intercourse greatly lowered her position in society so that some would pity her and others would view her in ways that were not as good as they had been. She, also, did not know what to do, now. Thus, Shechem had humiliated her; he life was now totally changed.
The text doesn’t state that he mistreated her; yet what he did is either rape, or so close to rape, that we can’t tell; these actions are a form of mistreatment even if she had consented. He had no business dealing with her in that way. She was a guest in his neighbourhood.
9. What does “his being clung unto Dinah” mean? Shechem was ‘stuck on her!’ He greatly desired her to become his woman. This involved every part of him—not the physical part.
10. Did Shechem love her? Yes, he did. He greatly loved her.
11. Why is the word youth masculine when describing Dinah? When the Bible refers to any person generically, that is, in a way that is not specific, but a description as if the person (male or female) is a being from Adam, the masculine form is used.
12. What is love? It is seeking the highest, best interest of and for another without regard to self. It is also greatly desiring another even to the point of being addicted to another to serve that other person without regard to self. Love is usually good; it can also be twisted into something bad.
13. Was Shechem’s love for Dinah good, or was it bad? His love was good, but it had expressed itself as something else. He hadn’t shown her highest been interested without regard to himself by doing something that either was rape or that close to rape. It started out as lust with a selfish thrust.
14. What does speaking upon the heart of someone mean? This means to discuss whatever is on the heart (mind) of a person with that person. It is a conversation that involves fears, desires, disappointments, hopes, etc.
15. What did he discuss with her as he spoke upon her heart? She now needed to know what she should do. She knew the trouble that this would bring to her father, and she may have realized that her brothers would also be very angry. I propose that Shechem and she would have discussed their futures together, and what he would do next.
16. Will Shechem make a good husband? This is difficult to predict. If he is always willing to speak with his woman regarding those things on her heart, he will probably make a good husband. The issues of culture and gods don’t have to interfere in a good relationship. On the other hand, the violence done in that part of the world could make being a good husband much more difficult.
II. The Two Fathers (verses 4-5)
Shechem gave his father a request: “Take this child to me for a woman.” Shechem called the girl a child. He wanted the child bride.
Jacob heard that Shechem had made his daughter unclean. Jacob’s sons were in the field. Jacob made himself silent until they came from the field and from the cattle.
Questions
1. Is taking a child for a woman (wife) wrong? One must know how old the child is. Arranged marriages often include child brides, but they normally are protected from sexual intercourse until they are physically ready and mature enough to not be endangered. Again, what Shechem requested wasn’t wrong.
2. Was the way that Shechem requested this wrong? Wasn’t he being demanding with, “Take this child to me for a woman”? This would be very demanding according to many of our cultures. It was not demanding in Shechem’s culture. It was a request that was given with respect.
3. How did Jacob hear that Shechem had made his daughter unclean? The text never states how he knew. His sons didn’t know. I propose that Jacob’s source was the Spirit of Yehovah; if this is true, Yehovah told him that in order for him to keep composure when they came to tell him.
If, instead, Jacob heard by word of mouth, the text does not tell us this means, or why Jacob would know, and his sons did not yet know.
4. What is involved with being made unclean in the Bible? Anyone becomes unclean in the Bible by eating unclean creatures (including some animals, like dogs, pigs, rabbits, squirrels, shark, etc.), by having an oozing sore that won’t heal, by touching a dead person or an animal that was killed by animals, by disease or by accident, or by touching another person who is unclean.
Semen (sperm from a male) renders a person who touches it unclean once it comes out of the body. It is as if Yehovah is teaching that humans are unclean from conception, since sperm are needed to fertilize a woman’s egg in order to produce pregnancy.
5. What does their being in the field tell the reader? It tells the reader that they probably had not heard of what happened to their sister; otherwise, they would have come together with their father to see what they needed to do.
6. What does “Jacob made himself silent” mean? This means that Jacob intentionally didn’t say anything about this (or anything else) to anyone.
7. Was Jacob’s making himself silent wise? It was very wise! Saying anything about this gives others reasons to talk, to twist things, to make gossip, to get riled up and angry, and to do very stupid things. Jacob knew not to do that.
8. Whose coming did Jacob await? He awaited the coming of his sons.
III. The Rage (verses 6-7)
Hamor came to speak with Jacob. In the meantime, Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, and they came from the field. They were “labour-pained,” meaning that they suffered terribly like a woman giving birth.
They were very furious because Shechem had wrought (worked) folly (foolishness of a terrible nature) against their father, Israel, by lying with Jacob’s daughter. They determined that this kind of behaviour will not be done!
Questions
1. Was Hamor coming in a friendly way? Yes; he was not coming as an enemy. He hoped to make peace from this situation.
2. How did the sons of Jacob hear? The text does not say how they heard. They all lived in tents; anyone near a tent could hear conversations within the tent.
3. Why were the sons of Jacob so pained? The text doesn’t say why. I suspect that they loved their sister.
4. Did they have the right to be hot against Shechem? They did nothing wrong by being angry. They would have been doing wrong if they hadn’t cared! Being angry is fine. What one does with anger is another issue!
5. What is folly in the Bible? lbn, nabal means foolish, senseless, coming from the root meaning to be senseless, be foolish; to sink or drop down, languish, wither and fall, fade; to droop. Yehovah uses this word for a carcass, a corpse of humans, as well as idols, animals. Thus, fools of this type show the same amount of sense as a corpse. This isn’t an innocent type of foolishness; it easily leads to death!
6. Why didn’t they call it rape? They didn’t know whether it was rape. As far as the brothers knew, Dinah may had consented. That didn’t stop them from being furious at Shechem (rather than at Dinah), since the event took place in Shechem’s culture and village.
7. Why did the brothers state that the folly was wrought (worked) against Israel, and not against Dinah? Dinah was still under Jacob’s care. Anything done against Dinah was an attack on Jacob.
Some folks read texts like this, and then they conclude that women were worth less than men in Israel. This is not the case.
8. When they said, “established, he shall not be done,” what did they intend to do about it? The main way to keep this type of occurrence from again happening is to put fear into others who might try the same thing.
IV. The Offer (verses 8-10)
Hamor explained that his son’s being clung into their daughter. He requested that they would give their daughter to his son for a woman. (The expression for a woman means to deal with as a wife, including having children with her, and including taking full responsibility for her safety and health.)
Hamor offered even more: “make ye marriages with us. Give your daughters to us and take our daughters to you.” (Notice how he worded it to not be demanding.)
He also proposed, “Ye shall dwell with us. And the land shall be before you. Dwell. And trade ye her, and possess ye in her.”
Questions
1. What is having one’s being cleaving (clinging) into another like? That person desires to be with the other person all the time, taking a very strong interest in everything about that person and wanting to please that person. This also happens when someone ‘has a crush’ on someone else. While ‘being clinging’ can be love, it might not be long-lasting.
2. Why did Hamor say, “his being cleaves into your daughter”? Hamor recognized the mother and the father, but also that Dinah was the daughter of her people! This is the proper way to view any member of one’s cultural group. The group is always responsible for each of its members.
3. When Hamor said, “Give-ye, na, her to him for a woman,” was he being demanding? No. See the Hebrew word, na? It is a softener in Hebrew, telling those who hear or read that the words were not demanding.
4. Was the offer, “make ye marriages with us,” a kind offer? It was a kind offer.
5. Why wasn’t Jacob eager to make this alliance with Hamor and his son, Shechem? Jacob had been taught how his grandfather (Avraham) and his father (Isaac) specifically sent to Syria for wives. Yehovah had taught them to not obtain wives from the races that are in the land that would much later become the land of Israel. These men knew that Yehovah would eventually destroy these races. Jacob was not eager for his daughter to be the wife of one of these races, and he was certainly not eager for an alliance that would make void what Yehovah had taught.
These folks were willing to make peace, but they were also producing one of the very sinful and evil races. This decision to make peace with them by marriage alliances (agreements) would have destroyed the people of Israel.
6. Is dwelling with Hamor’s people bad? It isn’t bad, but intermarrying with a group that Yehovah will later destroy isn’t too smart.
7. Was this offer of the land being before Jacob so that he could dwell and trader her (the land) and possess in her a bad offer? It wasn’t a bad offer, but was like another offer in another part of the Bible:
Matthew 4:8 The devil takes [Yeshua] up into an exceedingly high mountain. And he shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9And he says to him, “I will give thee all these things if thou wilt fall down and worship me!” 10Then Yeshua says to him, “Get thee hence, Satan! For it is written, ‘Thou shalt worship Yehovah thy God, and thou shalt serve only Him.’”
Both this text and the text we are considering make offers to give land or lands for compromise. These are tempting. Both Jacob and Yeshua determined to not compromise in order to gain something prematurely.
V. Shechem Speaks (verses 11-12)
Shechem desired to find favour in the eyes of the family of Dinah. He wanted to turn what had occurred into something beneficial. He was willing to pay a very high price for the child bride. Whatever it was, he wanted Dinah for his woman.
Questions
1. Why didn’t Shechem confess that he had done wrong, and apologize for it? He knew that would do little good, and would focus on loss. He determined to focus on what could be gained by the relationship.
2. Why did Shechem offer to give whatever they put upon him to acquire Dinah? He loved the girl.
3. Did Jacob have a similar experience? Jacob loved Raquel. He understood about being willing to work hard for a woman.
VI. The Feigned Deal (verses 13-19)
Jacob’s sons deceitfully answered Shechem and Hamor. They wanted to know: who had made Dinah their sister unclean?
They then became religious. “We cannot do this thing—to give our sister to one who has a foreskin, for it is a reproach to us.” They then agreed that there was one condition that would solve the problem: “If ye will be like us to be circumcised for yourselves——every male.” The brothers promised, “we will give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us. And we will dwell with you. And we will become one people.” If they will not do this, Jacob’s sons will take Dinah, and Jacob and his family will go.
Hamor and Shechem liked this plan. Shechem quickly got to work convincing his group of the benefits, because he delighted in Dinah.
Shechem was more important in his village than all the house of his father.
Questions
1. Why did Jacob’s sons deceitfully answer Shechem and Hamor? They had made plans. Their plans required them to deceive these men and to effectively disarm them.
2. Why did they ask, “Who had made Dinah their sister unclean?” I propose that they desired an admission from Shechem, and they desired to weaken Shechem’s and Hamor’s position in the bargain. They also desired to cause Shechem to really feel guilty in order for the deception of their very kind and good offer to take hold.
3. What is a foreskin? It is a small covering of skin over the head of the penis. Removal of the foreskin is painful in an adult male and an older youth, but it involves very little pain for a child who is eight days old. The foreskin isn’t necessary for any function.
4. What does circumcise mean? The word circumcise means to cut around. It refers to cutting off the foreskin.
5. Dinah’s brothers said, “We cannot do this thing—to give our sister to one who has a foreskin, for it is a reproach to us.” Was this true? This was not true. I have seen no text indicating that non-Israeli males who take Israeli women for wives must be circumcised. If they will join the Israelis, well, they must be circumcised. But if they will not join and do not desire to be part of the culture of their wives, I have found no command that they must be circumcised. I propose that Dinah’s brothers were making this up.
6. They then said, “But we will consent unto you via this: If ye will be like us to be circumcised for yourselves—every male.” Were they speaking the truth? The text will indicate whether they spoke the truth shortly. They didn’t speak the truth.
7. Were Dinah’s brothers Godly men who were interested and invested in Spiritual things of Yehovah the God of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob? They were not Godly men. They are the same brothers who will plot to murder Joseph, and who lie to their father about his supposed death. They learned to lie with much practice.
8. The brothers also said, “And we will give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us. And we will dwell with you. And we will become one people.” Was this offer a gracious and kind offer? Was it a good offer? It was not a gracious and kind offer since it was a lie. It also wasn’t a good offer, since Jacob and his sons had no business becoming one people with a group that Yehovah would later command to be annihilated.
9. What was so wrong about these Hivites (that included Shechem and Hamor), that Yehovah would later (that is, in 400 years) command the Israelis to totally annihilate them, including their babies and their cattle and sheep? It wasn’t their idolatry, since the sons of Israel also kept secret idols. They became so sinful in their vile sexual practices and in their human sacrifices and delight in seeing the blood of others, that Yehovah finally determined that they must be killed.
If the Israelis became one people with them, they would quickly learn to do the very same things, except worse.
10. The brothers also said, “And if ye will not hearken unto us to be circumcised— And will we take our daughter, and we will go.” Where would they go? They would travel to other pastures, and take Dinah with them. The grass was not so thick that one could keep cattle and sheep in one area; they had to travel because the grass was sparse (that is, not many plants in any location).
11. Why did the brothers call Dinah “our daughter”? Their use of our was not only referring to them, the brothers of Dinah, but also to Jacob, his wives, his concubines, all the slaves—everyone who was part of the people of Jacob. Thus, the brothers were speaking for Jacob, in the place of Jacob (as if Jacob had nothing to say).
12. Why didn’t Jacob speak up when he heard his sons speaking what isn’t true to these Hivites? Jacob recognized his sons as men, not as children. He demonstrated respect for them by not arguing with them in front of others, especially in front of others who might become hostile. He therefore said nothing.
13. What does delighted in mean in, “For he delighted in Jacob’s daughter”? This means to greatly desire, have pleasure in, long for, greatly enjoy the company of. He liked everything about her.
14. What does “he is more important than all the house of his father” mean? This means that he has greater status (and perhaps wealth) than all the rest of his immediate family put together. He is a community leader.
VII. The Agreement (verses 20-24)
Hamor came with Shechem to the gate of their city to present the offer to their people. They started by declaring that Jacob and his group are peaceful toward them. They have dwelt in the land, and have traded her. There is plenty of land for them.
They then explained that the Hivites can take Jacob’s daughters to them for women, and the Hivites will give Jacob’s people their daughters.
They do require one action that the Hivites must do in order to dwell with the Hivites and to become one people with them: every male must be circumcised as they are circumcised.
These two then said, “Their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs, are they not ours?” They then urged the men to consent to Jacob’s men’s requirements. “And they will dwell with us.”
The Hivites, all going out of the gate of his city, hearkened unto Hamor and Shechem. Every male was circumcised—every male that went out of the gate of his city.
Questions
1. Who is her in “They have dwelt in the land and have traded her”? She is the land. The word for land is feminine in gender in Hebrew.
2. What did they trade, according to the text, and was this true? They traded land, indicating that the bought and sold land. They had bought land for a grave site, but I don’t know a text that declares that they had sold land.
3. The text says, “For the land—behold—is large enough before them.” For what was the land large enough? It was large enough for Jacob and his group to live, and large enough for their cattle and sheep to have good pasture without interfering with the Hivites.
4. They also said, “We shall take their daughters to us for women, and we shall give them our daughters.” How many daughters were there to be taken? I only know of one at this time: Dinah. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t other daughters, including daughters of slaves, etc. in Jacob’s household.
5. Did Jacob’s sons agree to be one people with the Hivites as Hamor and Shechemstated? Yes, they did in verse 16.
6. What did they mean by, “Their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs, are they not ours?” If Jacob and his sons become one people with the Hivites, all Jacob’s cattle, substance and animals will become almost as common property through working arrangements, property purchases, and other dealings. The Hivites wanted to obtain what Jacob had; they all could become wealthy.
7. What does “all going out of the gate of his city” tell readers? Those who could hearken were old enough to go outside of the gates of their cities. The very young children didn’t hearken; they were circumcized by their parents. Those going outside the gates went to work in the fields or to trade with traveling merchants.
This also tells the reader that all the males participated in this very painful operation—painful to adults. (It doesn’t hurt children who are about eight days old.)
VIII. The Attack (verses 25-29)
On the third day, the men who had been circumcised were very sore and in much pain. Shimon and Levi, two of the sons of Jacob who were Dinah’s full brothers, having the same mother (Leah), took their swords. They confidently came upon the city, determined to attack it. They slew every male! That included Hamor and Shechem. They then took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and they left.
The sons of Jacob came upon the slain. They spoiled the city (they took all its valuables) because they had defiled their sister. Among the spoils, they took their sheep, their oxen and their asses. They also took all the valuables from the field. They took all their wealth captive, all their little ones, and their women. They stripped the place.
Questions
1. Why did Shimon and Levi wait until the third day to make an attack? That was when the men would be the most sore. A man who is sore after circumcision will not be able to do battle or even defend well; the pain is too great and too distracting to put up resistance.
2. Was killing every male right? No, it was not right. Had Shechem murdered Dinah, killing Shechem would have been right. Had Shechem murdered Dinah, and had the entire city protected Shechem, killing the males of the city would have been right; all protecting a murderer are likewise murderers. Shechem didn’t kill Dinah; he loved her. Shechem did wrong; what he did is not a capital punishment (death penalty) offense. Thus, Shimon and Levi committed murder!
3. How did Dinah feel about what her two brothers had done? The Bible is very silent on this issue. I cannot tell whether she loved Shechem, or whether she felt humiliated and raped.
In cases that happen that are like this, where brothers do violence for the sake of their sisters, the sisters sometimes feel very responsible and guilty for what their brothers did and for the harm done to others. Jacob intended to wait to hear an explanation before he did anything. Foolish men quickly decide to commit violence and vengeance for a relative who has been mistreated, and they usually do something worse because they are so angry. They don’t consider the desires of the original victims, their sisters.
4. What is vengeance, and is it right? Vengeance is intentionally doing harm to another as payment for a crime (or a supposed crime).
- Vengeance is right if it is done by Yehovah.
- Vengeance is right if Yehovah has given someone the responsibility of taking vengeance. He did this in several places in the Bible. One example is the following:
Numbers 31:1 And Yehovah spoke unto Moshe saying, 2 “Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites. Afterward, thou shalt be gathered unto thy people.”
- If Yehovah hasn’t given the responsibility of vengeance, taking it is wrong.
- Yehovah has given the responsibility of vegeance to high-ranking leaders around the world.
Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. 4For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do what is evil, be afraid! For he doesn’t bear the sword in vain! For he is the minister of God, a revenger to wrath upon him who does evil.
- Personal vengeance (your doing something bad to another person or group for what the person or group did to you) is usually wrong. Self-defense is usually right. The problem with personal vengeance is that the one taking vengeance usually does more harm than what was done in the first place, and can harm or kill others who were not involved. It also can cause a cycle of violence (meaning that the person takes vengeance, then others take vengeance on that person, then others take vengeance on that person…). Yehovah commanded the Israelis to not take personal vengeance. He did command the Israelis to have judges who would command vengeance for certain crimes.
- If the Israelis live under the full rule of the Torah (Teaching) of Yehovah, and if someone kills an Israeli, anyone who is near kin to the killed Israeli who knows (with proof) who killed the Israeli may chase the killer to kill the killer unless the killer goes to a city of refuge (a city in Israel where judges are located, and where this type of vengeance cannot be done without the judges commanding it). If the killer arrives in the city of refuge, the killer is tried. If the killer is found guilty, he or she is taken to the border of the city and is turned over to the near kin person to kill. If the killer accidentally killed, the accidental killer (‘manslayer’) must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the Israeli High Priest. If the accidental killer leaves the city before the death of the High Priest, the near kin can kill him/her without doing wrong. The Israelis are not living under the rule of the Torah at this time.
- Taking vengeance where there are laws and authorities who will deal properly with the crime is wrong. If the laws and authorities are corrupt, and violence occurs against the innocent without anyone being permitted to do anything about it, folks begin taking vengeance, which will often lead to more and more violence, and finally to a civil war and much slaughter. Many countries are torn apart by violence and acts of vengeance that follow.
- Taking vengeance during war is sometimes right. (Ask your instructress about when vengeance is and is not right by giving cases. See if you can determine when it is justified and when it is wrong.)
- These sons of Jacob had no right taking vengeance.
5. The text says, “The sons of Jacob came upon the slain.” What does this tell readers? It told me that the other sons of Jacob who didn’t take part in the slaughter came a little later, and found the dead men.
6. What does spoil mean in this text? It means to take all the valuables. It isn’t the same as robbing a place, since spoiling is usually done during war or a war action.
7. Why did they spoil the city? They used the excuse that they (the now dead men) had defiled their sister. In their minds, all of the men of the city had participated in the action. This is the type of thinking that is used in the violence of racism. Folks refer to them and they, as if they are all alike. If one person in that group does what is viewed as wrong, they did it. This type of thinking is evil.
8. Why did they take captive all their little ones and their women? Jacob’s sons saw what they were doing as an act of war. Capturing slaves during war is right (in the Bible, and in many cultures).
9. In what condition would these women and children who were captured be? They were in shock and mourning over the slaughters of their fathers, husbands, brothers, cousins, uncles, grandfathers, great grandfathers, etc. This was a terrible and very unexpected act of violence.
10. Did the women and children who were captured know why this violence occurred? All likely heard what happened to Dinah. All were certainly aware of the circumcision plan. That doesn’t mean that they knew why this happened.
11. Was taking the women and children and all their stuff right? Had this been war, it would have been right. Instead, it was kidnapping after murder.
IX. Jacob’s Frustration (verses 30-31)
Jacob stated, “Ye have troubled me to make me stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and among the Perizzites.” His concern also was because of the smallness of his group’s number. “They shall gather themselves upon me. And they shall slay me. And I shall be destroyed—I and my house!”
His two sons responded, “Will he make our sister a whore?”
Questions
1. Why wasn’t Jacob’s first concern for the slaughtered men, the women who now had no husbands, and the children who now had no fathers? His first concern was for the terrible violence that this would bring on his group. He could do nothing about the slaughter that they did, but he had to be concerned for the existence of his family.
2. What does “ye have troubled me to make me stink” mean? The actions of persons and groups produce a social ‘smell.’ If persons do well, the smell is good; if persons don’t do well, the smell is a stink. The same is true of groups. Some groups think that they do very well when they don’t; they stink as far as others are concerned. Groups that do violence against the innocent stink as far as families of the victims, friends of the victims, and individuals who are pleased with justice are concerned.
3. Why does the Hebrew language of the Bible use dead ones of a number to describe a group that is small? When a group has a very small number, members of that group can become part of other groups so that the name of that group is lost; it becomes dead. A small group can also easily be killed by an attacking larger group, and thus can become dead. Any group of persons (or animals) that becomes small can also become extinct, having no living members.
4. Jacob said, “And they shall gather themselves upon me.” Was he right? He was right. Yehovah will command Jacob to travel in the next chapter.
5. He also said, “And they shall slay me.” Was this also true? They probably would have tried. Yehovah made the Covenant with Avraham. I suspect that Yehovah would have protected him.
6. Jacob then expressed, “And I shall be destroyed—I and my house!” What type of reaction is this? Jacob was quite afraid. He was also very angry. His sons had brought a terrible reputation on his entire household. Jacob did not assume that death and much harm would not come upon him. He believed Yehovah and His promises in the Covenant made with Avraham, but he knew better than to assume that life would be without sorrow and great danger.
7. The two sons responded, “Will he make our sister a whore?” What were they saying about what happened, and why did they word it this way? They were claiming that Shechem was turning their sister into a whore—into a woman who earns money or benefits from various male clients by sexual means. Thus, they were almost accusing Shechem of pimping her.
- I propose that they worded it this way so that Jacob would become outraged and furious toward Shechem instead of being fearful of the other groups.
- They were justifying the slaughter they did by showing how evil Shechem was.
- They were asking Jacob a rhetorical question (a question that already has an obvious answer, and that is used to make a point). Their question, “Will he make our sister a whore?” carries the obvious answer, “No way!” They desired Jacob to be indignant (furious and insulted) over what was done to their sister.
- They also asked the question so that they could present it to any Canaanites and Perizzites who might ask why they did what they did. I propose that they figured that the Canaanites and Perizzites would also be outraged at what happened to Dinah, and would see their reasons for the slaughter.
8. Jacob’s sons got away with the slaughter. Why did Yehovah allow them to get away with this murderous act? If the Bible is true, no one gets away with anything for long. Justice is often not done during the lifetimes of those who did the injustice, but life is very short. Folks who have done murder will everlastingly pay for it (or Messiah will pay for it).
Later in Genesis 49, the Spirit of Yehovah will give Jacob prophecies over the tribes that come from these two sons. These two tribes will be forever affected because of what these two sons did:
Genesis 49:5 Shimon and Levi are brothers. Utensils of violence are their cutters! 6Come thou not via their secret, my being! Join not in their assembly, my glory! For they slew a man in their nose [anger] and they houghed [ripped up] an ox in their will! 7Cursed is their nose [anger] because-of strength, and their crossing-over because-of hardness! I will divide them in Jacob, and I have dispersed them in Israel!
The last part states, “I will divide them in Jacob, and I have dispersed them in Israel.” This has already occurred with Levi. The Levites became the tribe that had the priests and those who taught the Scriptures in Israel. They didn’t have their own lands, but instead lived scattered throughout Israel to teach Israel. Shimon has not experienced this yet. Both tribes will perfectly prove the prophecy at a future time, and Yehovah will turn that prophecy to benefit for all Israel and all the other races. How strange it is for the tribe of Levi to become the very priests and ministers of Israel!
In the meantime, Shimon and Levi will be judged for what they did. I have found no evidence that they turned to Truth and turned to Yehovah.