< Genesis 34 >

1 Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the region.
This chapter is missing in the source text.
2 When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of the land, saw her, he grabbed her, and raped her, and humiliated her.
3 Then he became very attached to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman, and spoke kindly to the young woman.
4 Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, "Get me this young woman as my wife."
5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field. Jacob remained silent until they came.
6 Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.
7 The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had disgraced Israel by sexually assaulting Jacob's daughter; a thing that should not be done.
8 Hamor talked with them, saying, "The heart of my son Shechem is set on your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.
9 Arrange marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.
10 You may settle among us, and the land will be open to you. Live and trade in it, and acquire property in it."
11 Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you ask of me I will give.
12 Ask me for a very expensive bride price, and I will pay whatever you ask of me, but give me the young woman as a wife."
13 The sons of Jacob replied deceitfully to Shechem and his father Hamor, because he had defiled their sister Dinah.
14 And they said to them, "We can't do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that would be a disgrace to us.
15 Only on this condition will we agree with you; that you become like us by circumcising all your males;
16 then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people.
17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go away."
18 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son.
19 The young man did not delay to do this thing, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most important of anyone in his father's house.
20 Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city, and spoke to the men of their city, saying,
21 "These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them live in the land and travel in it. For look, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives for ourselves, and let us give them our daughters.
22 Only on this condition will the men agree to live with us as one people: that every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.
23 Won't their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let us agree with them, so they will settle among us."
24 All who went out of the gate of his city agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
25 It happened on the third day, when they were still in pain, that two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came into the unsuspecting city and killed all the males.
26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and left.
27 Jacob's sons entered over the dead and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.
28 They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and was in the field,
29 and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the houses.
30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and attack me, and I and my household will be destroyed."
31 But they said, "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?"

< Genesis 34 >