Vengeance
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?
2. What did they go out to see?
3. Was Shechem’s actions in seeing her wrong?
4. What was involved in the statement, “He took her”?
5. Did Shechem rape her?
6. Did Shechem do wrong?
7. What does “he lay with her” mean, and why is this wording used?
8. The next sentence states, “And he humiliated her.” Did he mistreat her? What does this mean?
9. What does “his being clung unto Dinah” mean?
10. Did Shechem love her?
11. Why is the word youth masculine when describing Dinah?
12. What is love?
13. Was Shechem’s love for Dinah good, or was it bad?
14. What does speaking upon the heart of someone mean?
15. What did he discuss with her as he spoke upon her heart?
16. Will Shechem make a good husband?
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?
2. Was the way that Shechem requested this wrong? Wasn’t he being demanding with, “Take this child to me for a woman”?
3. How did Jacob hear that Shechem had made his daughter unclean?
4. What is involved with being made unclean in the Bible?
5. What does their being in the field tell the reader?
6. What does “Jacob made himself silent” mean?
7. Was Jacob’s making himself silent wise?
8. Whose coming did Jacob await?
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?
2. How did the sons of Jacob hear?
3. Why were the sons of Jacob so pained?
4. Did they have the right to be hot against Shechem?
5. What is folly in the Bible?
6. Why didn’t they call it rape?
7. Why did the brothers state that the folly was wrought (worked) against Israel, and not against Dinah?
8. When they said, “established, he shall not be done,” what did they intend to do about it?
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?
2. Why did Hamor say, “his being cleaves into your daughter”?
3. When Hamor said, “Give-ye, na, her to him for a woman,” was he being demanding?
4. Was the offer, “make ye marriages with us,” a kind offer?
5. Why wasn’t Jacob eager to make this alliance with Hamor and his son, Shechem?
6. Is dwelling with Hamor’s people bad?
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?
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?
2. Why did Shechem offer to give whatever they put upon him to acquire Dinah?
3. Did Jacob have a similar experience?
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?
2. Why did they ask, “Who had made Dinah their sister unclean?”
3. What is a foreskin?
4. What does circumcise mean?
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?
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?
7. Were Dinah’s brothers Godly men who were interested and invested in Spiritual things of Yehovah the God of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob?
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?
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?
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?
11. Why did the brothers call Dinah “our daughter”?
12. Why didn’t Jacob speak up when he heard his sons speaking what isn’t true to these Hivites?
13. What does delighted in mean in, “For he delighted in Jacob’s daughter”?
14. What does “he is more important than all the house of his father” mean?
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”?
2. What did they trade, according to the text, and was this true?
3. The text says, “For the land—behold—is large enough before them.” For what was the land large enough?
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?
5. Did Jacob’s sons agree to be one people with the Hivites as Hamor and Shechemstated?
6. What did they mean by, “Their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs, are they not ours?”
7. What does “all going out of the gate of his city” tell readers?
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?
2. Was killing every male right?
3. How did Dinah feel about what her two brothers had done?
4. What is vengeance, and is it right?
5. The text says, “The sons of Jacob came upon the slain.” What does this tell readers?
6. What does spoil mean in this text?
7. Why did they spoil the city?
8. Why did they take captive all their little ones and their women?
9. In what condition would these women and children who were captured be?
10. Did the women and children who were captured know why this violence occurred?
11. Was taking the women and children and all their stuff right?
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?
2. What does “ye have troubled me to make me stink” mean?
3. Why does the Hebrew language of the Bible use dead ones of a number to describe a group that is small?
4. Jacob said, “And they shall gather themselves upon me.” Was he right?
5. He also said, “And they shall slay me.” Was this also true?
6. Jacob then expressed, “And I shall be destroyed—I and my house!” What type of reaction is this?
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?
8. Jacob’s sons got away with the slaughter. Why did Yehovah allow them to get away with this murderous act?