The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 34
Chapter XXXIV · Vol. I, pp. 268–270
1 Dinah is ravished by Shechem. 4 He sueth to marry her. 13 The sons of Jacob offer the condition of circumcision to the Shechemites. 20 Hamor and Shechem persuade them to accept it. 25 The sons of Jacob, taking advantage thereof, slay them, and spoil their city. 30 Jacob reproveth Simeon and Levi.
1 And aDinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, bwent out to see the daughters of the land.
2 And when cShechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, dsaw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.4
3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob; and he loved the damsel, and spake kindlye unto the damsel.
4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, fGet me this damsel to wife.
f ch. 21.21. Ju. 14.2.
5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field; and Jacob held his peace until they were come.5
5 The habitual wisdom of Jacob appears in making no decision till he had consulted his sons.—Note, Parental government is undoubtedly a monarchy; yet in monarchy the most absolute, 'in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.' The sooner parents prudently begin to treat their children as their companions and their counsellors, the sooner will they be prepared to act their part wisely in private and public life.—C.
6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob, to commune with him.
7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought gfolly in hIsrael,6 in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing iought not to be done.
g De. 21.21. Jos. 7.15. Ju. 19.23; 20.6. 2 Sa. 13. 12,13. Pr. 7.7.
h Where purity and honour ought to flourish, Ps. 93.5. Ex. 19.5,6. 1 Pe. 2.9.
6 The idea of folly in Israel, seems from the narrative to have been that of the sons of Jacob, though the manner of expressing it was that of the historian, as usual in his time; folly or wickedness in Israel, where God ought to be reverenced and obeyed.—I.
i De. 23. 17. Ep. 5.3. Col. 3.5. 1 Co. 6.18; 10.8. He. 13.4.
8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.
9 And kmake ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you:
k ch. 6.2; 26.34,35; 27. 46. De. 7.3.
10 And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be lbefore you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.7
l ch. 13.9; 20.15.
7 Hamor seems at first to have spoken to Jacob alone; and the proposal seems sincere, and is plausible, though the act of detaining Dinah does not accord with it.—I.
11 And Shechem said unto her father, and unto her brethren, mLet me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.
m ch. 33.15; 18 3.
12 Askn me never so much dowery and 8gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me; but give me the damsel to wife.
A.M. 2272. B.C. 1732.
n ch. 29.18; 31.41; 24. 53. Ex. 22.16,17. De. 22. 28,29. 1 Sa. 18.25.
8 Among barbarous people, and in the early history of every nation which afterwards became civilized, the father of a girl, in relinquishing her to a husband, conceives he has a right to receive a compensation for losing the benefit of her services, as well as for the trouble and expense of bringing her up and providing for her wants. The antiquity of this usage will appear from many passages in the book of Genesis, although the only instance in which a provision for the female is overlooked is that of Jacob's engagement with Laban.
13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father odeceitfully, and said, (because he had defiled Dinah their sister,)
o Never intending to give him Dinah to wife, Ps. 12.2. Pr. 12.13, 19. Job 13.4,7. Is. 59.13. Mi. 7.2.
14 And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is puncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:
p Ge. 17. 11. 2 Sa. 1. 20. Jos. 5.9. Thus religion is pretended to promote wickedness, as 2 Sa. 15.7. 1 Ki. 21.9. Mat. 2.8,13; xxiii.
15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;
16 Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.
19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was qmore honourable than all the house of his father.
q And so the more easily persuaded the people, Ge. 41. 40. 2 Ki. 5.1.
20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto rthe gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
21 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them: let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.
23 Shalls not their cattle, and their substance, and every beast of theirs, be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with 9us.
s 1 Ti. 6.9,10. Mat. 8. 19,20; 19.21,22. Jn. 6.26. Pr. 23.4,5; 28.20.
9 The Shechemites submit to the rite of circumcision from mere selfish considerations, making a religious profession which was insincere, the nature of which they probably did not understand, though the profanation on their part was not so great as in the sons of Jacob, who knew its divine origin and intention.—I.
24 And unto Hamor, and unto Shechem his son, hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city: and every male twas circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were usore, that two of the sons of Jacob, xSimeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and yslew all the males.
u Jos. 5. 8. (The third day, as physicians take notice, was the time when fevers generally attend circumcision, occasioned by the inflammation of the wound, which was more painful then, as the Hebrews observe, than at any time else; and for this reason the sons of Jacob took the opportunity of falling upon the Shechemites, when they were least of all in a condition to defend themselves.)
A.M. 2272. B.C. 1732.
x Reuben being milder, ch. 37. 22, 26, 29.—(Simeon and Levi were full brothers to Dinah, and probably conceived themselves to be more concerned in revenging the injury done to her honour. They were the chief contrivers and conductors of the massacre; but it is to be presumed their domestics likewise were engaged in the execution of it.—Stackhouse.)
y ch. 49.5-7. Pr. 4.16; 6 34.35.
26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge7 of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house,8 and went out.
7 Heb. mouth.
8 Where she had been detained.
27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and zspoiled the city, because athey had defiled their sister.
z Es. 9.10. 1 Ti. 6.10.
a Ex. 2.14, with Jos. 7.1,11; 22.20.
28 Theyb took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,
b Nu. 31.17. De. 8.17, 18. Job 1.15,16; 20.5.
29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was9 in the house.
9 Chiefly Shechem's.
30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, cYe have troubled me, to make me to stink damong the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
c Ge. 49. 5-7. Jos. 7. 25. Pr. 11.17,29; 15.27.
d Ex. 5.21. 1 Sa. 13.4; 27. 12. 1 Ch. 19. 6. Ye have discomposed my spirit, entangled my affairs, exposed me to danger, and rendered me odious.
Notes
[Ver. 7. Were very wroth. A sensitive regard to family honour, when conjoined with personal purity of principle and conduct in all its members, is one of the most important public feelings, and one of the surest indexes of public morals. That this noble sentiment may, when dissevered from religion, produce deceit and violence, as in the case of Jacob's sons, ver. 13, 25, is no charge against the sentiment itself, but rather an admonition to cherish it, in conjunction with that fear of God without which every human principle of morals is either too weak to insure its observance, or speedily degenerates into some specious vice. C.]
Reflections.—Into what scenes of guilt and misery do the pride, the vanity, and lust of young persons often plunge themselves and their relations! One sin naturally makes way for another: and young women who are given to gadding abroad, rarely maintain their chastity. Yet it is but just that such as have defiled young women should espouse them in marriage, and repair their outward injury, though they cannot lessen their guilt before God. How readily the affairs of a family run wrong when parents' authority is so low that they must stand in awe of their children! How often heathens show more respect to parents, in point of their marriage, than many professed Christians! Men's rage at one sin frequently issues in their doing what is still worse—in making religious pretences the mean of accomplishing the most devilish villanies; or in pretending public welfare in order to obtain private ends. The hopes of gain will carry some men a great way in religion; and yet, after all, they lose their aim; for the profane reception of the seals of God's covenant issues most surely in just and inevitable ruin. Nothing is so treacherous or cruel that indulged malice will not attempt. But it is still worse when children, after plunging their parents into disgrace and danger, add to their grief by an insolent justification of their conduct. Let parents restrain their children from idle visits and foolish amusements; let them retain their proper authority; let them transact marriages with candour and self-denial—if they wish to be happy.