Genesis 34:20-31

34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate ¹  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 ²  for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. ³  34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand ⁴  that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, ⁵  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 ⁶  agreed with ⁷  Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate ⁸  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 ⁹  and went to the unsuspecting city ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  and looted the city because their sister had been violated. ¹²  34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. ¹³  34:29 They captured as plunder ¹⁴  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 ¹⁵  on me by making me a foul odor ¹⁶  among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I ¹⁷  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, ¹⁸  “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”

[34:20]  ¹ sn The gate. In an ancient Near Eastern city the gate complex was the location for conducting important public business.

[34:21]  ² tn Heb “wide on both hands,” that is, in both directions.

[34:21]  ³ tn The words “to marry” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “when every one of our males is circumcised.”

[34:23]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”

[34:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “listened to.”

[34:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “all those going out the gate of his city.”

[34:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “a man his sword.”

[34:25]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.”

[34:29]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they took captive and they plundered,” that is, “they captured as plunder.”

[34:30]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Jacob speaks in the first person as the head and representative of the entire family.

[34:31]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “but they said.” The referent of “they” (Simeon and Levi) have been specified in the translation for clarity.