Genesis 34:1-15

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.

[34:1]  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.