← All Chapters The Book of Genesis · Chapter 34

Genesis 34: Dinah and the Vengeance at Shechem

After Shechem defiles Dinah, her brothers use a deceitful covenant to avenge her, slaughtering the city's men.

Coming soon

Genesis 34 (WEB)

1 Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

2 Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.

3 His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.

4 Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, “Get me this young lady as a wife.”

5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came.

6 Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk 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 done folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; a thing ought not to be done.

8 Hamor talked with them, saying, “The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.

9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

10 You shall dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it.”

11 Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give.

12 Ask me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife.”

13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit, and spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister,

14 and said to them, “We can’t do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us.

15 Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised;

16 then will we 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.

17 But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised, then we will take our sister, and we will be gone.”

18 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.

19 The young man didn’t wait to do this thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter, and he was honored above all the house of his father.

20 Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying,

21 “These men are peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

22 Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people, if every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised.

23 Won’t their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let us give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”

24 All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males.

26 They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.

27 Jacob’s sons came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

28 They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which 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 house.

30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled 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 strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house.”

31 They said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?”

Summary

Dinah, Jacob's daughter, goes out to visit the women of the land and is seized and defiled by Shechem, the prince. Though he loves her and seeks marriage, her brothers are filled with grief and rage at the disgrace. When Hamor proposes intermarriage and shared trade, Jacob's sons answer with deceit, demanding that every male in the city be circumcised. Hamor and Shechem persuade their townsmen, who all comply. On the third day, while the men are in pain, Simeon and Levi take their swords, fall on the unsuspecting city, kill all the males including Hamor and Shechem, and rescue Dinah. The other sons plunder the city, taking flocks, wealth, women, and children. Jacob rebukes them for endangering the family, but they retort that their sister was treated like a prostitute.

Main Characters

  • Dinah — Jacob's daughter, who goes out to see the women of the land and is violated by Shechem.
  • Shechem — The Hivite prince who defiles Dinah yet desires to marry her and agrees to circumcision.
  • Hamor — Shechem's father, who negotiates intermarriage and trade with Jacob's family on his son's behalf.
  • Simeon and Levi — Dinah's brothers who, using the covenant as a ruse, kill the men of Shechem to avenge their sister.
  • Jacob — The father who holds his peace at first and then rebukes his sons for the danger their vengeance has brought.

Key Verse

Genesis 34:7 (WEB)

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 done folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; a thing ought not to be done.

Lessons Learned

  • Sin against the vulnerable causes real grief and demands honest moral seriousness.
  • Deceit and unchecked vengeance multiply harm rather than bringing true justice.
  • Sacred signs and covenants must never be twisted into weapons for our own ends.
  • Anger, even over genuine wrong, can lead us into greater evil if it is not surrendered to God.
  • Wrongdoing against the vulnerable is grievous. Jacob's sons are 'grieved, and they were very angry, because he had done folly in Israel' (Genesis 34:7, WEB), naming the offense as a serious evil.
  • Deceit corrupts even a just cause. The sons 'answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit' (Genesis 34:13, WEB), turning a sacred sign into a trap rather than seeking honest justice.
  • Vengeance easily exceeds all bounds. Simeon and Levi 'came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males' (Genesis 34:25, WEB), answering one man's sin with mass slaughter.
  • Reckless action endangers more than ourselves. Jacob protests, 'You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land' (Genesis 34:30, WEB), seeing how their revenge imperils the whole household.
  • Real grievances still need God's justice. The brothers ask, 'Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?' (Genesis 34:31, WEB), voicing a true wrong, yet the chapter shows their self-made justice breeds disaster.
  1. How do Jacob's sons react when they hear what happened to Dinah?
  2. In what ways do Simeon and Levi misuse the covenant of circumcision?
  3. How do you weigh the brothers' anger at injustice against the way they act on it?
  4. When has righteous anger tempted you toward a response that would cause more harm?
  5. How can we pursue justice for the wronged without resorting to deceit or revenge?
  1. They come in from the field grieved and very angry, viewing the act as folly done in Israel and a thing that ought not to be done (34:7); their indignation at the violation is real and serious.
  2. They demand circumcision as a condition for marriage, framing it as becoming one people, but they intend it as a deceitful trap so that on the third day, while the men are sore, they can kill them defenseless (34:13, 25).
  3. Lead the group to hold two truths: the brothers' anger at a genuine atrocity is understandable, yet their deceit and slaughter of an entire city are condemned by the chapter's outcome and Jacob's rebuke, showing zeal turned to sin.
  4. A personal question; invite honest sharing about moments anger over real wrong tempted a harmful response, with no pressure to disclose details.
  5. A personal question; discuss pursuing justice through honesty, lawful means, and trust in God rather than deceit and vengeance, contrasting the brothers' path.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.