Free Bible Commentary
“Genesis 34:1-7”
Categories: Genesis“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.”
---End of Scripture verses---
Things were finally looking up and going right for Jacob. After twenty years of double-dealing, he was finally able to escape clutches of his domineering father-in-law. He had wrestled and prevailed against God's angel and received a new name for his efforts—Israel. He feared the worst kind of confrontation with Esau, but it turned out to be a peaceful reunion. His brother greeted him with an embrace and a kiss and he reentered Canaan a changed man. Genesis 33:18 tells us that “Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem”. He had even made a good choice here, by camping “before the city” (Genesis 33:18). This was a pagan society and Jacob chose to live in a tent outside the city gates. "He erected an altar there and called it El-Elohe-Israel"—“God the God of Israel” (Genesis 33:20). Jacob was no longer the childish deceiver but “Israel,” the prince of God. Unfortunately bad things happen to good people, and that is just the way life goes sometimes. Of all the turmoil that Jacob had endured in his life, his stent in Shechem turned out to be the most turbulent and disturbing of them all.
“Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.” (verse 1) Dinah was probably a teenager at this time. She had several brothers, eleven in total, but she wanted some female companionship, and she went looking for it. She was young, naïve and vulnerable and unescorted in a foreign land. She had either chosen to sneak out of her tent or she was not well supervised. She went out to "visit” or "see"— literally "to look with delight" upon the “daughters of the land.” Whether this was innocent curiosity or sinful intent is debatable, but either way she got much more than she bargained for.
“When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.” (verse 2) The prince of Shechem, named Shechem himself, caught a glimpse of Dinah, and he liked what he saw. He was so obsessed with her that he took her and forced himself upon her against her will. Even though this thing happened long ago and far away, there are lessons here for all of us to learn. Sometimes things can seem so innocent and still be so dangerous. Surely just a stroll through the city seemed such a harmless thing and no big deal at all, but boy was Dinah ever wrong about that. There are predators in world and they come in all sorts and sizes and we need to be careful when we are out and about in big city, and not take unnecessary chances. We also need to exercise care that loneliness, boredom or discontentment does not lead us into places that we do not want or need to be. One careless, thoughtless, senseless moment can change a life forever, and in this case it was actually hundreds of lives.
“He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.” (verse 3) It seems pretty ridiculous that Shechem “spoke tenderly,” or literally “spoke to the heart” of this young girl after he brutalized her, but evidently he tried to smooth things over and whisper sweet nothings to Dinah to win her hand in marriage. “This narrative exemplifies, once again, a major theme of the patriarchal stories: the sexual depravity of the inhabitants of the land. This has been illustrated by the accounts of Lot and the men of Sodom and by the repeated threats to the matriarchs Sarah and Rebekah.” (Nahum Sarna) “So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, 'Get me this young girl for a wife.'” (verse 4) Maybe Shechem was remorseful and truly wanted to do right by Dinah, but his rash and violent action driven by his sense of self entitlement was just unredeemable. He asked his father to arrange his marriage to Dinah with her father Israel, and Hamor obliged him.
“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.” (verse 5) Jacob held his peace when heard about the heinous thing that had happened to his daughter. This may seem odd, but the truth is that there was very little he could have done about it without risking the welfare of the rest of his family. He was a stranger living in a foreign land, and the only law seemed be that there were no laws. He remained quiet until sons came home. “The need to exercise restraint, pending the arrival of his sons, is understandable, but his passivity throughout the entire incident is remarkable.” (Nahum Sarna)
“Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.” (verse 6) “Apparently, Hamor arrives before the brothers and is left cooling his heels until they come home. Shechem has accompanied his father but judiciously remains in the background until it is opportune for him to enter the picture.” (Nahum Sarna) It was Hamor's intentions to negotiate the terms of a marital agreement for his son with Israel, but he had not the slightest idea that he was walking right into a web of deceit woven by the sons of Jacob that would end up costing his own life and that of his son, and the lives of all of the adult males of the entire city.
“Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved...” (verse 7) When Jacob's sons learned what had happened to their sister, the were understandably grieved and furious. But grief and fury make for a very dangerous combination that often leads to desperation and to people doing the most regrettable and disgraceful things. With Simeon and Levi it was more about revenge than desperation, and they cooked up a plot that was the recipe for disaster. “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.” The word for “disgraceful” is “a powerful term describing offenses of such profound abhorrence that they threaten to tear apart the fabric of Israelite society. For society's own self-protection, such atrocities can never be tolerated or left unpunished.” (Nahum Sarna) While this may be true, the punishment exacted in this instance greatly surpassed the severity of the crime committed.
Please read Genesis 34:8-17 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
-Louie Taylor
