Before I zoom in to analyze Genesis 34, allow me to zoom out and give a big-picture view of the chapter. At the end of Genesis 33, Jacob and his family settle in Shechem. God commanded Jacob to go to Bethel, but for reasons the Bible does not explain to us, the patriarch stopped short and planted roots somewhere else. Now, in Shechem, a dark, unsettling chapter of the Bible is about to play out. There are many sensitive topics and events in Genesis 34. They include rape, genocide, deceit, and sacrilege: that is, the perversion of the covenantal sign of circumcision into an instrument for murder. What could the purpose of such a horrifying story be? We shall find out in what follows. The one observation worth making here is that if the Bible were lying to you, it wouldn’t include Genesis 34. If the Bible were lying to you, it wouldn’t make the people who were supposed to be the good guys look so bad.
Let us go to the text. Genesis 34:1–31 says,
Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force. He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young girl for a wife.” Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in. Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing 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 in marriage. Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. Thus you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.” Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me. Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage.”
But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”
Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father. So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, “These men are friendly 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 in marriage, and give our daughters to them. Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.” All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth. Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses. Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.” But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?”
So we must ask, “Why is this chapter in the Bible?” Are all these horrific events part of “all Scripture,” which Paul says is inspired by God and is profitable to us in 2 Timothy 3:16?
The answer is, of course. God breathes out all the words of Scripture, and therefore, they are beneficial for teaching us, reproving us, correcting us, and training us in righteousness. When the apostle Paul writes Romans, it is the first century. Therefore, when he speaks of the “earlier times,” he’s speaking of the Old Testament. As Paul writes in Romans 15:4,
For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Everything in the Scriptures is sufficient for our instruction; otherwise, God would have left it out. That said, before I begin expositing the text verse by verse, allow me to make six global observations about the depravity and barbarism in Genesis 34. First, the Bible tells you the unfiltered truth instead of sanitizing history. It does not just shine a light on the good side. It shines a light, period, and exposes everything. And thus, second, because all the so-called good guys in the Bible are flawed, our anticipation of the God–Man who is perfect grows. Man always falls short, but God never fails. Third, this chapter will help us to understand how we are to respond to evil. Fourth, God is not mentioned once in this chapter. There is no mention of His name, no prayer is said to Him, and no vow is made to Him. Keeping in mind what transpires, this is an important observation: That is to say, if you forget about God, life tends to unravel.
Fifth, this chapter gives us insight into how susceptible to temptation or backsliding we all are after a spiritual victory. Jacob wrestles with God and prevails in Genesis 32, and then in the next chapter, he wrestles with Esau and prevails. We then fast forward to Genesis 34, where Jacob is perhaps persuaded to say to himself, “I’ve arrived, and so now, I can relax.” Chaos soon follows. A similar situation happens to the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19. There, Elijah calls down fire from heaven and turns the people back toward God. Subsequently, he flees in fear after a death threat and asks God to take his life. In the prophet’s life, a great victory is immediately followed by great despair.
Sixth, this chapter gives us insight into the danger of compromise. A sense of toxic independence in the Bible plagues those who are the beneficiaries of grace and receive victory here and now. Just ask the Hebrews, who won victories over the people of Canaan. Soon after they conquered said peoples, the Hebrews began to intermingle with them. Covenantal disobedience quickly resulted. Hence, as it relates to spiritual war here on Earth, we should never feel that we have arrived or that we can settle down or retire.
Genesis 34 is timely and fitting for us because it shows us what happens when we settle for something other than what God commanded. The chapter also teaches us that God reveals our hearts to us by allowing us to suffer the consequences of our comfortable compromises. And let us all be mindful that these consequences do not stem from angry wrath but from loving discipline. You see, in such cases, rescue would only solidify our compromise. Pain persuades us to change our minds. Moreover, the great hope for all of God’s children is that only He can grow sweet fruit from bitter soil.
Consequently, Genesis 34:1 says, “Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.”
Here, we see a young woman acting without leadership. A description of Jacob’s headship over his daughter is missing from the text. This is an important point to keep in the back of your mind because Jacob’s passivity is a theme that runs through the chapter. Ironically, in Genesis 27, Jacob’s mother (Rebekah) was concerned that her son would settle down with a woman of the land. Now, in Genesis 34, Jacob’s daughter is going out to the same women. The Hebrew word for visit can also be translated as see. Thus, Genesis 34:1 can also be written as follows: “Dinah . . . went out to see the daughters of the land.” This leads us to ask, what is she looking for? What does society-at-large have to offer that she is missing? Accordingly, Psalm 1:1 gives us both a promise and a warning. The promise is that being blessed or happy is possible. The warning is that the blessed person does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the path of sinners. Consequently, a recurring theme in the Old Testament is the separation of God’s people from the world and their increasing closeness to God.
Genesis 34:2 says, “When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw [Dinah], he took her and lay with her by force.”
The text indicates that Shechem sees Dinah, takes her, and lies with her. This choice of language is no accident because the pattern of seeing and taking appears throughout Genesis. For example, in Genesis 3:6, when Eve sees that the tree is good for food, she takes from it and eats. In Genesis 6:2, the sons of God see the daughters of men and take them for wives. The basic idea is that something enters through the eye gate into one’s mind and entices one’s imagination. Then, sin is birthed.
Rape is a heinous sin, so when Shechem takes Dinah by force, he does something evil, selfish, and destructive. Yet it must be recognized that in ancient cultures, marriages were typically arranged for economic and social reasons. This is part of the reason why, for example, in Genesis 24, Abraham sent a messenger on a quest to find a bride for Isaac. A couple could get around being forced into arranged marriage by engaging in consensual intercourse or if the man committed a heinous sin so that the parents would relent.
Truly, we do not know what Shechem’s intent is; we do know that the result is sin on many levels. But does Shechem see it that way? What is his response to his actions? Genesis 34:3–4 says,
He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young girl for a wife.”
It is already evident that God’s later insistence on His people being separate from the people around them is a command based on wisdom, compassion, and care. As the text shows us, examining the character of the people of the land reveals that they do not know the One true God and have no regard for His ethics. Furthermore, the man who starts a relationship with Dinah with sin subsequently wants to marry her. That is hardly a way to start a proper marriage. Many ancient Near East codes forbid rape, but let us also consider Exodus 22:16–17:
If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and lies with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the dowry for virgins.
Moreover, let us consider Deuteronomy 22:28–29:
If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are discovered, then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days.
A person may think to themselves that the Bible is giving barbaric commands when it instructs a rapist to marry his victim. But in ancient societies, marriage was the primary instrument of safety and security for women. So the solution may not be nice and neat, but real life is messy. God, a caring Father, gives us commands regarding how we ought to behave and what to do when we fail to behave that way. He provides such instructions, recognizing the reality of sin, and thus, prescribes safeguards to protect us from our sins and others’ sins.
Furthermore, consider the alternative: In the absence of commands such as those in Exodus 22:16–17 and Deuteronomy 22:28–29, a sinned-against woman would carry a social stigma that would deter potential suitors. This means she would be sinned against and then pay a penalty for it by being cast out. The commands in Exodus and Deuteronomy can therefore be viewed as being protective for the victims. God has compassion for the afflicted and seeks to protect them when they are wronged. In contrast, in the modern American legal system, the focus is on the punishment of the offender, which is just. But punishing the offender does not restore the victim.
Speaking of social stigma, what happens next? Genesis 34:5 says, “Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in.”
Who does Jacob get the news from? The text does not say. But word is already spreading. The last half of Genesis 34:5 says that Jacob keeps silent until his sons come in from the field. He presents a contrast to everyone else who is talking. Again, note here Jacob’s passivity and lack of action. Perhaps his sons are overcompensating for his lack of action when they take many impulsive, violent actions.
Genesis 34:6–7 says,
Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.
In Genesis 34:7, Israel is mentioned as a place for the first time. This is not mere trivia because Israel is where Israel and his sons dwell. This is also relevant to making sense of what happens next. Genesis 34:8–9 says,
But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. Thus you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.”
In other words, the fact that Dinah has been raped is bad enough. But now, Hamor wants to propose that everyone become a single community: a mixed multitude that consists of Israel, his sons, and everyone else. “Everyone else” includes men of the type that would see a woman and take her by force. That is a proposal so absurd that I wonder if Hamor makes it with a straight face. Also, note that Hamor’s proposal does not mention sin, guilt, or repentance. There can be no true biblical reconciliation without repentance.
In essence then, Hamor isn’t offering a mere marriage proposal; he is offering a test of faith. The question is, will Jacob trust that he will inherit the land and descendants by promise or will he acquire land and a legacy by works? A similar test was offered to Abraham when he had the promise of a seed but no son. Consequently, Abraham took a sinful shortcut and had a child with Hagar, Sarah’s maid. The interpretation of Hamor’s proposal as a test of faith is further validated by the language he uses. He suggests (Gen. 34:10) that Jacob and his sons “acquire property” in the land. The word for this in Hebrew (achaz) is related to the word for the eternal inheritance (achazzah) God promised Abraham in Genesis 17:8. Hence, the spiritual theme undergirding the narrative is that an earthly inheritance is not to be acquired through human works but to be received by faith through a divine promise.
Genesis 34:11–12 says,
But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. Thus you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.”
Yes, Hamor desires to pay an enhanced bride price for his sin. But again, let us remember that while the text may describe outward acts oriented toward making things right, it does not reveal evidence of an inward change of heart.
Next, Genesis 34:13 says,
But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.
It is interesting that Jacob is present at this meeting but, once again, remains silent. In contrast, the verse says that Jacob’s sons respond with deceit. The irony about sin and evil is that they don’t like emptiness. They have to fill in a void with something, whether it’s a lie, slander, or violence.
Genesis 34:14–17 says,
They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”
It appears that Jacob’s sons have inherited their father’s proclivity for trickery. Not only do they imitate Jacob’s deception, but they also commit sacrilege by emptying the covenantal sign of circumcision of all meaning. That is to say, all they ask for is participation in an outward ritual as opposed to also requesting an external sign of inward change. Circumcision is supposed to be a sign of faith, a sign of separation from the world unto God (see Gen. 17:10–14). By deceit, the sons pervert the ceremony to signal assimilation. Accordingly, as the legacy of the nation of Israel will prove time and time again in the Old Testament, the people of God don’t have to be conquered to be killed. There is such a thing as death by dilution or murder by mixture. As it applies to modernity, that is not an ethnic principle but a spiritual one.
What is the response of Shechem and Hamor to the sons’ proposal? Genesis 34:18–19 says,
Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father.
Shechem and Hamor’s response makes it clear that the ceremony has no religious implications whatsoever; to them, it is a formality that is a prerequisite to marriage. There are two sad observations to be made here. First, those who are supposed to be a light and a blessing to their neighbors⎯Jacob’s sons⎯are instead teaching their neighbors to profane sacred things. Second, the first time the eventual leaders of the tribes of Israel act together, it is here, in this Old Testament narrative. So far, they have deceived their neighbors. Soon, we will see two of these tribal leaders⎯Simeon and Levi⎯act to murder their neighbors.
The end of Genesis 34:19 says, “Now [Shechem] was more respected than all the household of his father.”
Shechem, of course, is the one who raped Dinah. The pagan world may very well honor those whom God rejects. See Romans 1:28–32.
Genesis 34:20–24 says,
So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, “These men are friendly 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 in marriage, and give our daughters to them. Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.” All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
These verses give us insight into the minds of the Canaanites. The verses are also helpful because they make it evident that this is not a “good guy, bad guy” story. It’s a “bad guys and then worse bad guys” story. Hamor and Shechem are deceitful by omission. They tell Jacob’s sons, “Let’s marry,” and frame it as an opportunity for the sons to acquire land and property. Yet, when they reason among themselves, their real intent is to acquire Jacob’s wealth. So they have no problem undergoing circumcision because they see it as a means of economic advancement.
Genesis 34:25–29 says,
Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth. Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses.
In these verses, Simeon and Levi execute their vengeance. And the Bible warns us that when a person seeks their own justice, they don’t use just scales; instead, the vengeance outweighs the initial sin. In this case, there is one initial sin: rape, which one man commits against one woman. What is Simeon and Levi’s response? Genocide, theft, and destruction. That is, they kill every male, loot the city, and take all the animals, women, children, and wealth. Therefore, this chapter does not describe biblical justice but corrupt human justice, which is disproportionate. The rationale behind human justice follows: When I am the judge of the sin committed against me, the world must pay because I am biased; therefore, I have the right to burn down everything around me. My final note about Genesis 34:27 is that Jacob’s sons come upon the slain, which means they encounter dead bodies. This means their defilement is both spiritual and physical.
Genesis 34:30 says,
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.”
Finally, for the first time since the start of this chapter, Jacob speaks. Yet he doesn’t mention the mountains of sins committed. Rather, his primary concern is himself. In Genesis 34:30 in the NASB, Jacob uses “I,” “me,” or “my” eight times. His words echo a fear of man. It’s important to remember at this point in the narrative that Jacob is not a sojourner without a destination and a promise. Rather, recall what God promised Jacob when he dreamed of a ladder to heaven before leaving the Promised Land. Genesis 28:13–15 says,
And behold, the Lord stood above [the ladder] and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
In other words, God promises to bring Jacob back to the Promised Land, give it to him, and bless him with many offspring. God won’t leave him until that’s all accomplished. Jacob, however, is afraid that the people in the land will destroy him and his household. The point is that when we compare Jacob’s fear of his neighbors to God’s promise, it is evident that a person can only believe a false narrative if they disbelieve God’s Word. A believer can only hold onto a lie if they have forgotten the truth.
In the final verse (Gen. 34:31) of the chapter, the sons respond to their father, saying, “[But], “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?”
The chapter ends with a question because once again, Jacob is silent.
Now that we have made it through Genesis 34, I will conclude by making seven observations.
One: Dinah goes out to see the daughters of the land. She goes to investigate and then gains some information, however unsettling. Hence, in the same way that Dinah sees, we now see the results of being curious about the world.
Two: Abraham demonstrated how to live in but not be of the world in his dealings with King Abimelech (Gen. 21). As a result, Abimelech had respect for Abraham and essentially entered a non-aggression pact with him. In this chapter, Jacob reveals what happens when you intermingle with the world.
Three: Many people are familiar with the biblical principle of “an eye for an eye.” Many regard that to mean, “If you do it to me, I will do it to you.” Yet the principle was designed to protect people. You see, because of our sin, we always want to inflict more damage on others than was done to us. The “badder” bad guys in this chapter are Simeon and Levi. They lie and commit idolatry, sacrilege, and murder. They also leave women widowed and children fatherless. And, the victim in this story (Dinah) is even further isolated because no man will court her, knowing that her brothers are unhinged brutes. Thus, the guiding principle of “an eye for eye” dictates that justice be proportionate so that the punishment fits the crime. In other words, it should not be a whole person for an eye or a community for an eye but an eye for an eye.
Four: Genesis 34 speaks to the depravity of people. It says to its original readers, “These are the people of the land. This is who they are.” It also says, “These are your tribal leaders. This is who they are.” Clearly, no one is special. This must mean that some are chosen based on God’s sovereignty, not human merit.
Five: Evil is real both without and within. This doesn’t require much explanation. A person has more control over their own heart than they do over others’ hearts. Hence, when it comes to dealing with evil, they ought to be more concerned about how they respond (which they have much control over) than they are about how others respond (which they have little control over). Furthermore, responding to evil demands that they be active, not passive. Interestingly, evil is not a domineering force; it seems to flourish only when virtuous forces remain passive and inactive. Evil likes to fill voids, not occupied spaces.
Six: If it were up to people to administer justice, a perpetual cycle of violence would result: You did something to me; therefore, I will do something to you. This would create a never-ending cycle of victims demanding justice. This is one reason why God ordains the State (see Rom. 13). Ideally, the State should be a minister of God for good, protecting the blameless and bearing the sword that will bring wrath on those who practice evil. Because the State is supposed to be an unbiased third party, it executes justice based on impartial sober-minded justice, not partial emotional fury.
Seven: Only with God is there hope. How so? Because Jacob, Simeon, and Levi are not stamped, “rejected,” and then discarded. Instead, God will use all of them in the history of redemption. In other words, God will not stamp you “rejected” then throw you away. He will use you despite all your sin and perceived failings. So is this a dark chapter in the Bible? Yes. But the story is not over. You cannot judge the end of the story by the middle of the book.
Beloved, only God can effectively overcome evil and deal with sin. Simeon and Levi’s plan killed the sinner and more. It destroyed the rapist, his family, and his community. This resulted in more victims who had valid grievances. Rather than creating lasting peace, it caused more trauma in the lives and hearts of other people. Most importantly, it did not move anyone’s heart from godless rebellion to godly adoration. Yet this is how most people deal with evil: They destroy something. What is God’s plan, though? His plan is the only one that deals effectively with evil and sin. You see, He wants to save you but knows you cannot effectively pay the penalty for your sins. Hence, He sends His Son for you, to die in your place for your sins (see 2 Cor. 5:19). Subsequently, Jesus⎯in His death on the Cross⎯is destroyed for you, so that you can live! All divine vengeance is now satisfied. This creates lasting peace between you and God, and He creates in you a new heart that swells with gratitude and joyful recognition of what Christ has accomplished for you. Most importantly, God’s work changed your heart, moving it from godless rebellion to godly adoration. Beloved, if you are ever curious about how God deals with evil, simply look to the Cross.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal