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Genesis 34:1-31 — The Defiling of Dinah

Gen.34.1-31

¹Now Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land . ²When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her, lay with her, and violated her. ³His heart clung to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. ⁴So Shechem said to Hamor his father, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” ⁵Jacob 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. ⁶Then Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷When the sons of Jacob heard of it, they came in from the field. The men were grieved and burned with anger, because he had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, and such a thing must not be done. ⁸But Hamor spoke with them, saying, "My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. ⁹Intermarry with us: give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰You may dwell with us, and the land will be open before you. Settle in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it." ¹¹Then Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. ¹²Set upon me as great a bride price and gift as you wish, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman as a wife." ¹³But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. ¹⁴They said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. ¹⁵Only on this condition will we agree with you: if you become like us, by every male among you being circumcised. ¹⁶Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. ¹⁷But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go." ¹⁸Their words seemed good to Hamor and to Shechem son of Hamor. ¹⁹And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter, and he was the most honored of all his father's house. ²⁰So Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, ²¹"These men are at peace with us. Let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is wide enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives for ourselves, and let us give our daughters to them. ²²Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us and become one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. ²³Will not their livestock and their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree to them, and they will dwell with us." ²⁴And 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. ²⁵On the third day, when they were in pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came against the unsuspecting city and killed every male. ²⁶They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, and they took Dinah from Shechem's house and went out. ²⁷The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. ²⁸They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and whatever was in the field. ²⁹They took captive and plundered all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, and all that was in the houses. ³⁰Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number; if they gather themselves against me and strike me, I shall be destroyed, I and my house.” ³¹But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”

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4/11/2026

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