Genesis

Chapter Thirty-four

Preface

In this chapter there is more heartache for Jacob (Israel) resulting from the actions of two of his son, which in turn is a product from his multiple marriages—a practice of the day that was never approved by God.  The difficulties for Jacob in this chapter also stems from Jacob’s decision to settle at Shalem rather then to proceed to Bethel, which is rectified in chapter 35 when Jacob follows God’s direction.

Even though his recent experience with God (32:22-32) made Jacob a changed man, his spiritual growth is slow.  J. Vernon McGee in his Thru the Bible commentary has this to say about the matter:

This should be a lesson to us today:  Don’t expect that, as a Christian, you are going to become full grown overnight.  God adopts us as full-grown sons into the family where we are able to understand divine truth because the Holy Spirit is our Teacher.  But our spiritual growth and our progress are very slow.  We may learn truths in the Bible, but we will find that in our lives we are very much like Simon Peter, stumbling here and falling down there.  Thank God that Simon Peter kept getting up and brushing himself off, and there came a day when he had a very close walk with the Lord.  In fact, he walked to a cross even as our Lord did.  You and I need to recognize that in our own lives the growth is slow, and therefore the growth in others will also be slow.  Sometimes parents of converted children expect too much of them.  Let’s not expect too much of other folk, but let’s also expect a great deal of ourselves.

J. Vernon McGee, in connection to this chapter in Genesis, goes on to say:

There are three chapters in the Book of Genesis that are not pretty at all, and they all concern the children of Leah, the elder daughter of Laban who was given to Jacob.  I believe that this gives evidence of the fact that God does not approve plurality of marriages.  The very fact that it was forced on Jacob to a certain extent did not make it right, by any means—Jacob at least went along with it.  We find in this section that the children of Leah are all involved in sin.  She had four boys.  In this chapter it is Simeon and Levi.  In chapter 35 we come to another of the sons, Reuben, the first born.  In chapter 38 it will be Judah.  Every one of Leah’s sons turned out rather badly, and there was flagrant sin in their lives.

Although this chapter reflects a level of family honor and concern for a ravished daughter/sister, its spiritual and overriding meaning is that God works through and often in spite of the limited and self-serving plans of human beings.  This is particularly seen in verse 9 where Satan once again attempts to pollute the godly line that will eventually lead to the promised Messiah, but which is thwarted by the actions of Jacob’s sons.

Genesis 34:1-4

Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.  And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her.  His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman.  So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”

The Hivites were early inhabitants of Syria and Palestine.  They were descendants of Canaan, one of Ham’s sons (10:17; 1 Chronicles 1:15).  Eventually they settled in the hills of Lebanon, where later they were conscripted as laborers for Solomon’s building projects (1 Kings 9:20; 2 Chronicles 8:7).

There is no question in the mind of this writer and most other commentators that Dinah was raped by Shechem.  His words of kindness either came before or after the dastardly deed; most likely prior as a means of entrapment.  In either case he had a strong sexual attraction to her.  The Hebrew word for “loved” in this context is ahab, which literally means “to have affection for (sexually or otherwise).”  Because of this Shechem appealed to his father Hamor to ask Jacob to allow Dinah to become his wife.

It was common in the culture of the ancient Middle East for marriages to be arranged.  This was especially true for sons and daughters of different peoples or nations in which the political ramifications of such unions were great.  In this case, for Shechem to have personally proposed in person, Dinah most likely would have refuse, having been raped by him.  But had the marriage been approved by her father, she would have been required to marry him.

The Bible has much to say about the abuse of sex outside the God-established and God-honored matrimony relationship (Proverbs 18:22; 1 Timothy 3:12; 5:14; Hebrews 13:4).  Anyone wishing to know God’s thoughts regarding this subject may find a wealth of scriptural passages by looking up such words as fornication, adultery, and lasciviousness in a concordance.  But it is fact that such sex is not only sin, but that it leads to further sin.  The Bible is replete with demonstrable evidence of this fact.  For the Christian, the following should provide stern warning that such sins of the flesh will not go unpunished.

But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints. (Ephesians 5:3)

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:5)

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6)

Needless to say, the sexual drive is one of the strongest within both men and women.  It is therefore one of Satan’s primary tools for derailing a believer’s spiritual progress throughout his life.  In this case, in this chapter, with Shechem and Dinah, it was used for the purpose of disrupting and polluting the line of descendants from Abraham to Jesus Christ.

Genesis 34:5-12

And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came.  Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.  And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.  But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.  And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves.  So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.”  Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.  Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”

Jacob was curiously silent regarding the rape of his daughter Dinah.  It is possible that he was here again thinking about his own reputation, similar to his reaction reflected in his remarks to his sons in verse 30 of the chapter.  In any case, when his sons returned from the field, they were enraged over the incident.

Both Hamor and Shechem discussed the matter with Jacob and his sons.  They in fact promised to them literally the “whole store,” if they would simply overlook the matter and allow Dinah to marry Shechem.  They promises the Israelites (Jacob and his household) the free run of the land—full citizenship and trading rights.

But the underlying plan of Satan in this arrangement was to encourage an unequal yoke between the children of Israel and the Canaanites, which would contaminate the line of descendants from Abraham to Christ.  Not only would this line of ascendancy be dislodged, but it would result in much greater difficulties for the Israelites in the following of God’s holy will and established laws.  The following scriptures clearly show that marriage between the Israelites and the heathen (unbelievers) was strictly forbidden:  Genesis 24:3; 28:1; Deuteronomy 7:3; Joshua 23:12, 13; Ezra 9:12; Nehemiah 13:25.

The same is true regarding the intermarriage of believers and unbelievers today.  It is a practice that is discouraged in the New Testament, because the end-result is almost always in favor of Satan and his purposes for both parties.

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?  And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?  And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”  Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.  I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.”

(2 Corinthians 6:14-18; see also 1 Corinthians 7:39)

Genesis 34:13-24

But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.  And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us.  But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.  But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.” And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son.  So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father.  So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father.  And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying:  "These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters.  Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised.  Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us."  And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

It is safe to say that Jacob was unaware of the deal being made between his two sons and Hamor and Shechem.  Nevertheless, Hamor and Shechem were impressed.  They immediately went to the “gate of the city,” the center of public and business activity (cf. 19:1), and lauded the deal while unbeknownst to the deceit fostered upon them.

In regards to this deceitful strategy planned and executed by Jacob’s sons, the following commentary from the NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishing House, 1994, is appropriate.

That Simeon and Levi had a plan of deception to repay the offense is suggested in the report of their anger at hearing the news of Dinah.  The bitterness of their anger shows that they would not let such an act go unpunished.  In ch. 17 the rite of circumcision was to be a sign (v. 11) of the unity of the covenant people and their separation from the rest of the nations.  Circumcision was not limited to Abraham’s descendants but was rather given as a sign of one’s joining in the hope of God’s promises to Abraham.  It was, in fact, a sign given of the covenant promise that Abraham would become the father of “many nations” (17:5).  But in the way the sons of Jacob carried out the request that these Canaanites be circumcised, it offers a curious reversal of God’s intention.  They offered circumcision as means for the two families to become “one people.”  The Canaanites were not joining the offspring of Abraham; rather, the descendants of Abraham were joining with the Canaanites.  This point is stressed in Hamor and Shechem’s report to their countrymen: “Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours?”

Genesis 34:25-31

Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males.  And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem's house, and went out.  The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled.  They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses.  Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”  But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”

Three days later, at the height of incapacitation due to their surgery, all the men of the city of Shechem were slain by Simeon and Levi.  In addition they took as spoil the women and wealth of the city.  They killed both Hamor and Shechem while rescuing their sister Dinah.

One may ask why all the men of the city were slain.  Due to human reason of the day if Jacob’s sons had killed only Shechem, the men of the city would have come after them for revenge.  During that time and in that civilization, entire communities might be held responsible for one person’s wrongdoing, especially if the offense was not condemned by the guilty party’s leader.  This was the case with Hamor, rather than offering amends; he made no judgment of his son, but rather looked to take advantage of Israel.

Because of Simeon’s and Levi’s ruthlessness their descendants would one day be scattered throughout Israel.  This is seen in Genesis 49:5-7, when at his death bed he made this destiny known to them.  The following commentary from the Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition, Moody Press, Chicago, 1994, is appropriate regarding these verses.

Simeon and Levi are condemned for their cruelty and hot-tempered anger in the slaying of the Shechemites (34:25).  In 49:6, Jacob disassociates himself from their motives and actions, “hamstrung oxen,” i.e., cut the leg tendons, a wanton act of destruction.  “I will scatter . . . and disperse.”  Simeon was given an inheritance within the inheritance of Judah (Josh. 19:1; see also 1 Chron. 4:39-43).  The Levites had no inheritance of their own, only cities scattered throughout the land (Josh. 21:1-3).  The Levites redeemed themselves by opposing the idolatry connected with the golden calf (EX. 32:26), and they became the priestly tribe.

Along with plundering the town, Jacob’s sons likely made slaves of the children and concubines (social and sexual subservient mistress) of the women.  Enslaving these people was certain to stir up the anger of neighboring Canaanites and Perizzites.  Because of this risk, Jacob scolded his sons.

When Jacob rebuked his sons, they answered with a question that implied they were doing that which was right because their sister had been treated as a prostitute.  Actually, Jacob appeared to be more concerned about his own welfare than the horrible injustice that been done to the men of Shechem—notice the frequent use of the first-person pronoun in verse 30.

What the sons did in venting their revenge was clearly in the wrong.  It would have been one thing to hold Shechem accountable for his disreputable act against Dinah, but to have wantonly murdered all the men of the city, not to mention the stealing of their women and their wealth, was an act beyond holy reason and justice.  With the Christian today, the standard for justice is found in Romans 12:19-21.

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.  Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

It should be noted that this verse does not validate pacification, i.e., to be a pacifist.  Every Christian has the right and responsibility to protect his life and his property, even with deadly force when necessary.  And every Christian has the responsibility to the State in its military self-defense.  But once a Christian has been personally wronged, he is to by faith allow God to even the score.