Genesis 34:1-31

Dinah and the Shechemites

34:1 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet ¹  the young women ²  of the land. 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, ³  and sexually assaulted her. ⁴  34:3 Then he became very attached ⁵  to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. ⁶  34:4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” ⁷  34:5 When ⁸  Jacob heard that Shechem ⁹  had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent ¹⁰  until they came in.

34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah. ¹¹  34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ¹²  They ¹³  were offended ¹⁴  and very angry because Shechem ¹⁵  had disgraced Israel ¹⁶  by sexually assaulting ¹⁷  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ¹⁸ 

34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. ¹⁹  Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us. ²⁰  Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. ²¹  34:10 You may live ²²  among us, and the land will be open to you. ²³  Live in it, travel freely in it, ²⁴  and acquire property in it.”

34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s ²⁵  father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me ²⁶  I’ll give. ²⁷  34:12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive, ²⁸  and I’ll give ²⁹  whatever you ask ³⁰  of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”

34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem ³¹  had violated their sister Dinah. 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot give ³²  our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace ³³  to us. 34:15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become ³⁴  like us by circumcising ³⁵  all your males. 34:16 Then we will give ³⁶  you our daughters to marry, ³⁷  and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you do not agree to our terms ³⁸  by being circumcised, then we will take ³⁹  our sister ⁴⁰  and depart.”

34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. ⁴¹  34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked ⁴²  because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah ⁴³  badly. (Now he was more important ⁴⁴  than anyone in his father’s household.) ⁴⁵  34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate ⁴⁶  of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough ⁴⁷  for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. ⁴⁸  34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand ⁴⁹  that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, ⁵⁰  won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”

34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate ⁵¹  agreed with ⁵²  Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate ⁵³  was circumcised. 34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword ⁵⁴  and went to the unsuspecting city ⁵⁵  and slaughtered every male. 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them ⁵⁶  and looted the city because their sister had been violated. ⁵⁷  34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. ⁵⁸  34:29 They captured as plunder ⁵⁹  all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.

34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin ⁶⁰  on me by making me a foul odor ⁶¹  among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I ⁶²  am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!” 34:31 But Simeon and Levi replied, ⁶³  “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”

Genesis 15:9-10

15:9 The Lord ⁶⁴  said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 15:10 So Abram ⁶⁵  took all these for him and then cut them in two ⁶⁶  and placed each half opposite the other, ⁶⁷  but he did not cut the birds in half.

Genesis 15:13-14

15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ⁶⁸  that your descendants will be strangers ⁶⁹  in a foreign country. ⁷⁰  They will be enslaved and oppressed ⁷¹  for four hundred years. 15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. ⁷²  Afterward they will come out with many possessions.

Genesis 17:9-10

17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep ⁷³  the covenantal requirement ⁷⁴  I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: ⁷⁵  Every male among you must be circumcised. ⁷⁶ 

Genesis 17:14

17:14 Any uncircumcised male ⁷⁷  who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off ⁷⁸  from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” ⁷⁹ 

Genesis 17:16

17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. ⁸⁰  Kings of countries ⁸¹  will come from her!”

Genesis 17:26

17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day.

Jeremiah 31:3

31:3 In a far-off land the Lord will manifest himself to them.

He will say to them, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love.

That is why I have continued to be faithful to you. ⁸² 

Romans 8:37

8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory ⁸³  through him ⁸⁴  who loved us!

Ephesians 5:25-26

5:25 Husbands, love your ⁸⁵  wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 5:26 to sanctify her by cleansing her ⁸⁶  with the washing of the water by the word,

Ephesians 5:1

Live in Love

5:1 Therefore, be ⁸⁷  imitators of God as dearly loved children

Ephesians 4:19

4:19 Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. ⁸⁸ 

Revelation 1:5

1:5 and from Jesus Christ – the faithful ⁸⁹  witness, ⁹⁰  the firstborn from among the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has set us free ⁹¹  from our sins at the cost of ⁹²  his own blood

[34:1]  ¹ tn Heb “went out to see.” The verb “to see,” followed by the preposition בְּ (bÿ), here has the idea of “look over.” The young girl wanted to meet these women and see what they were like.

[34:1]  ² tn Heb “daughters.”

[34:2]  ³ tn Heb “and he took her and lay with her.” The suffixed form following the verb appears to be the sign of the accusative instead of the preposition, but see BDB 1012 s.v. שָׁכַב.

[34:2]  ⁴ tn The verb עָנָה (’anah) in the Piel stem can have various shades of meaning, depending on the context: “to defile; to mistreat; to violate; to rape; to shame; to afflict.” Here it means that Shechem violated or humiliated Dinah by raping her.

[34:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “his soul stuck to [or “joined with”],” meaning Shechem became very attached to Dinah emotionally.

[34:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he spoke to the heart of the young woman,” which apparently refers in this context to tender, romantic speech (Hos 2:14). Another option is to translate the expression “he reassured the young woman” (see Judg 19:3, 2 Sam 19:7; cf. NEB “comforted her”).

[34:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “Take for me this young woman for a wife.”

[34:5]  ⁸ tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.

[34:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:5]  ¹⁰ sn The expected response would be anger or rage; but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.

[34:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “went out to Jacob to speak with him.” The words “about Dinah” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ¹² tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.

[34:7]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.

[34:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”

[34:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.

[34:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.

[34:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Shechem my son, his soul is attached to your daughter.” The verb means “to love” in the sense of being emotionally attached to or drawn to someone. This is a slightly different way of saying what was reported earlier (v. 3). However, there is no mention here of the offense. Even though Hamor is speaking to Dinah’s brothers, he refers to her as their daughter (see v. 17).

[34:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “form marriage alliances with us.”

[34:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.” In the translation the words “let…marry” and “as wives” are supplied for clarity.

[34:10]  ²² tn The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.

[34:10]  ²³ tn Heb “before you.”

[34:10]  ²⁴ tn The verb seems to carry the basic meaning “travel about freely,” although the substantival participial form refers to a trader (see E. A. Speiser, “The Verb sh£r in Genesis and Early Hebrew Movements,” BASOR 164 [1961]: 23-28); cf. NIV, NRSV “trade in it.”

[34:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Dinah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “whatever you say.”

[34:11]  ²⁷ tn Or “pay.”

[34:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Make very great upon me the bride price and gift.” The imperatives are used in a rhetorical manner. Shechem’s point is that he will pay the price, no matter how expensive it might be.

[34:12]  ²⁹ tn The cohortative expresses Shechem’s resolve to have Dinah as his wife.

[34:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “say.”

[34:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:14]  ³² tn Heb “we are not able to do this thing, to give.” The second infinitive is in apposition to the first, explaining what they are not able to do.

[34:14]  ³³ tn The Hebrew word translated “disgrace” usually means “ridicule; taunt; reproach.” It can also refer to the reason the condition of shame or disgrace causes ridicule or a reproach.

[34:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “if you are like us.”

[34:15]  ³⁵ tn The infinitive here explains how they would become like them.

[34:16]  ³⁶ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.

[34:16]  ³⁷ tn The words “to marry” (and the words “as wives” in the following clause) are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:17]  ³⁸ tn Heb “listen to us.”

[34:17]  ³⁹ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the apodosis of the conditional sentence.

[34:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “daughter.” Jacob’s sons call Dinah their daughter, even though she was their sister (see v. 8). This has been translated as “sister” for clarity.

[34:18]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem son of Hamor.”

[34:19]  ⁴² tn Heb “doing the thing.”

[34:19]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Jacob’s daughter.” The proper name “Dinah” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:19]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew verb כָּבֵד (kaved), translated “was…important,” has the primary meaning “to be heavy,” but here carries a secondary sense of “to be important” (that is, “heavy” in honor or respect).

[34:19]  ⁴⁵ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause explains why the community would respond to him (see vv. 20-24).

[34:20]  ⁴⁶ sn The gate. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the location for conducting important public business.

[34:21]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “wide on both hands,” that is, in both directions.

[34:21]  ⁴⁸ tn The words “to marry” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:22]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”

[34:23]  ⁵⁰ tn The words “If we do so” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[34:24]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”

[34:24]  ⁵² tn Heb “listened to.”

[34:24]  ⁵³ tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”

[34:25]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “a man his sword.”

[34:25]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and they came upon the city, [which was] secure.” In this case “secure” means the city was caught unprepared and at peace, not expecting an attack.

[34:27]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “came upon the slain.” Because of this statement the preceding phrase “Jacob’s sons” is frequently taken to mean the other sons of Jacob besides Simeon and Levi, but the text does not clearly affirm this.

[34:27]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “because they violated their sister.” The plural verb is active in form, but with no expressed subject, it may be translated passive.

[34:28]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.”

[34:29]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “they took captive and they plundered,” that is, “they captured as plunder.”

[34:30]  ⁶⁰ tn The traditional translation is “troubled me” (KJV, ASV), but the verb refers to personal or national disaster and suggests complete ruin (see Josh 7:25, Judg 11:35, Prov 11:17). The remainder of the verse describes the “trouble” Simeon and Levi had caused.

[34:30]  ⁶¹ tn In the causative stem the Hebrew verb בָּאַשׁ (ba’ash) means “to cause to stink, to have a foul smell.” In the contexts in which it is used it describes foul smells, stenches, or things that are odious. Jacob senses that the people in the land will find this act terribly repulsive. See P. R. Ackroyd, “The Hebrew Root באשׁ,” JTS 2 (1951): 31-36.

[34:30]  ⁶² tn Jacob speaks in the first person as the head and representative of the entire family.

[34:31]  ⁶³ tn Heb “but they said.” The referent of “they” (Simeon and Levi) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:9]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:10]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:10]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “in the middle.”

[15:10]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “to meet its neighbor.”

[15:13]  ⁶⁸ tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.

[15:13]  ⁶⁹ tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident aliens without rights of citizenship.

[15:13]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”

[15:13]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (’innu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ’anah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.

[15:14]  ⁷² tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.

[17:9]  ⁷³ tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.

[17:9]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.

[17:10]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”

[17:10]  ⁷⁶ sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.

[17:14]  ⁷⁷ tn The disjunctive clause calls attention to the “uncircumcised male” and what will happen to him.

[17:14]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “that person will be cut off.” The words “that person” have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:14]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “he has broken my covenant.” The noun בְּרִית (bÿrit) here refers to the obligation required by God in conjunction with the covenantal agreement. For the range of meaning of the term, see the note on the word “requirement” in v. 9.

[17:16]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “she will become nations.”

[17:16]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “peoples.”

[31:3]  ⁸² tn Or “The people of Israel who survived the onslaughts of Egypt and Amalek found favor in the wilderness as they journeyed to find rest. At that time long ago the Lord manifested himself to them. He said, ‘I have…That is why I have drawn you to myself through my unfailing kindness.’” For the basis for each of these translations see the translator’s note. There is debate whether the reference here is to God’s preservation of Israel during their wandering in the Sinai desert or his promise to protect and preserve them on their return through the Arabian desert on the way back from Assyria and Babylon (see e.g., Isa 42:14-16; 43:16-21; Jer 16:14-15; 23:7-8). The only finite verbs in vv. 2-3a before the introduction of the quote are perfects which can denote either a past act or a future act viewed as certain of fulfillment (the prophetic perfect; see GKC 312-13 §106.n and see examples in Jer 11:16; 13:17; 25:14; 28:4). The phrase at the beginning of v. 3 can either refer to temporal (cf. BDB 935 s.v. רָחוֹק 2.b and Isa 22:11) or spatial distance (cf. BDB 935 s.v. רָחוֹק 2.a[2] and Isa 5:29; 59:14). The verb in the final clause in v. 3 can refer to either the continuance of God’s love as in Ps 36:10 (cf. BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ Qal.5) or drawing someone to him in electing, caring love as in Hos 11:4 (cf. BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ Qal.1). The translation has opted for the prophetic reference to future deliverance because of the preceding context, the use of מֵרָחוֹק (merakhoq) to refer to the far off land of exile in Jer 30:10; 46:27; 51:50, and the reference to survivors from the sword being called on to remember the Lord in that far off land in 51:50.

[8:37]  ⁸³ tn BDAG 1034 s.v. ὑπερνικάω states, “as a heightened form of νικᾶν prevail completely ὑπερνικῶμεν we are winning a most glorious victory Ro 8:37.”

[8:37]  ⁸⁴ tn Here the referent could be either God or Christ, but in v. 39 it is God’s love that is mentioned.

[5:25]  ⁸⁵ tn The Greek article has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[5:26]  ⁸⁶ tn The direct object “her” is implied, but not found in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the English translation to clarify the sense of the passage.

[5:1]  ⁸⁷ tn Or “become.”

[4:19]  ⁸⁸ sn Greediness refers to an increasing desire for more and more. The point is that sinful passions and desires are never satisfied.

[1:5]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “Jesus Christ – the faithful one, the witness…” Some take ὁ πιστός (Jo pistos) as a second substantive in relation to ὁ μάρτυς (Jo martus). In the present translation, however, ὁ πιστός was taken as an adjective in attributive position to ὁ μάρτυς. The idea of martyrdom and faithfulness are intimately connected. See BDAG 820 s.v. πιστός 1.a.α: “ὁ μάρτυς μου ὁ πιστός μου Rv 2:13 (μάρτυς 3); in this ‘book of martyrs’ Christ is ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς (καὶ ὁ ἀληθινός) 1:5; 3:14; cp. 19:11 (the combination of ἀληθινός and πιστός in the last two passages is like 3 Macc 2:11). Cp. Rv 17:14.”

[1:5]  ⁹⁰ sn The Greek term translated witness can mean both “witness” and “martyr.”

[1:5]  ⁹¹ tc The reading “set free” (λύσαντι, lusanti) has better ms support (̹⁸ א A C 1611 2050 2329 2351 Ï^A sy) than its rival, λούσαντι (lousanti, “washed”; found in P 1006 1841 1854 2053 2062 Ï^K lat bo). Internally, it seems that the reading “washed” could have arisen in at least one of three ways: (1) as an error of hearing (both “released” and “washed” are pronounced similarly in Greek); (2) an error of sight (both “released” and “washed” look very similar – a difference of only one letter – which could have resulted in a simple error during the copying of a ms); (3) through scribal inability to appreciate that the Hebrew preposition ב can be used with a noun to indicate the price paid for something. Since the author of Revelation is influenced significantly by a Semitic form of Greek (e.g., 13:10), and since the Hebrew preposition “in” (ב) can indicate the price paid for something, and is often translated with the preposition “in” (ἐν, en) in the LXX, the author may have tried to communicate by the use of ἐν the idea of a price paid for something. That is, John was trying to say that Christ delivered us at the price of his own blood. This whole process, however, may have been lost on a later scribe, who being unfamiliar with Hebrew, found the expression “delivered in his blood” too difficult, and noticing the obvious similarities between λύσαντι and λούσαντι, assumed an error and then proceeded to change the text to “washed in his blood” – a thought more tolerable in his mind. Both readings, of course, are true to scripture; the current question is what the author wrote in this verse.

[1:5]  ⁹² tn The style here is somewhat Semitic, with the use of the ἐν (en) + the dative to mean “at the price of.” The addition of “own” in the English is stylistic and is an attempt to bring out the personal nature of the statement and the sacrificial aspect of Jesus’ death – a frequent refrain in the Apocalypse.