1. MoseKapitel 34

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Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land.

And Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of that region, saw her; he seized her, lay with her, and violated her.

And his soul clung to Dinah, Jacob's daughter; he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.

So Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife."

Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came home.

Then Hamor, Shechem's father, went out to Jacob to speak with him.

When Jacob's sons came in from the field and heard of it, the men were deeply grieved and burned with anger, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter—a thing that must never be done.

Hamor said to them, "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.

Intermarry with us: give us your daughters, and take our daughters for yourselves.

Settle among us. The land is open before you—live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it."

And Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give whatever you ask of me.

Set the bride-price and the gift as high as you like, and I will pay whatever you demand. Only give me the girl as my wife."

Jacob's sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah.

They said to them, "We cannot do such a thing—give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised. That would be a disgrace to us.

We will consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by having every male among you circumcised.

Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We will live among you and become one people.

But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, we will take our daughter and go."

Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and to his son Shechem.

The young man lost no time in doing what they asked, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter; and he was the most honored of all his father's household.

So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of the city:

"These men are at peace with us. Let them settle in the land and trade in it; the land is large enough for them. We can take their daughters as our wives and give them our daughters.

But the men will consent to live with us and become one people on this one condition: that every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.

Will not their herds, their property, and all their livestock become ours? Let us only give them our consent, and they will settle among us."

All the men who went out from the city gate listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised.

On the third day, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords, came against the unsuspecting city, and killed every male.

They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword, took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and left.

Jacob's sons came upon the slain and plundered the city, because its men had defiled their sister.

They seized the flocks, the herds, the donkeys, and everything else in the city and in the fields.

They took captive all their children and their wives, and carried off all their wealth and everything in the houses.

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought disaster on me by making me a stench to the inhabitants of this land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My men are few; if they band together against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed."

But they answered, "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?"

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Zusammenfassung2

Kapitel 34

Main Theme: The Rape of Dinah and the Brothers' Revenge on Shechem.

Content: Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah, is raped by Shechem, son of the Hivite Hamor, the prince of the land. Shechem wishes to marry Dinah, and Hamor negotiates with Jacob and his sons. Jacob's sons respond with deceit and demand that all the men in the city be circumcised. On the third day, while the men are suffering from pain, Simeon and Levi kill all the men of the city and take Dinah back. Jacob's sons plunder the city. Jacob fears the consequences, but his sons defend themselves: "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?"

Key Words/Images:

Rape (עִנָּה): Shechem's assault on Dinah – the text uses a verb meaning to "dishonor" or "humiliate" her, a serious violation against the family.
Circumcision: Jacob's sons deceitfully use the sign of the covenant as a weapon for revenge.
Deceit (מִרְמָה): The brothers respond "with deceit" – a dark echo of Jacob's own history.
Shame and Honor: The conflict centers on the family's honor and "outrage in Israel" (נְבָלָה).

Historischer Kontext

People

Dinah (דִּינָה) is Jacob’s daughter born to Leah, as mentioned in verse 1 (בַּת־לֵאָה אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לְיַעֲקֹב). Her name comes from the Hebrew word for "judgment" or "justice" (דין). In this chapter, she appears as a young woman of marriageable age.

Shechem (שְׁכֶם) was the son of Hamor the Hivite. His name is identical to the city name Shechem. He is described as the "most honored" in his father’s house (v. 19), indicating that he was the heir to his father’s leadership position.

Hamor (חֲמוֹר) was the chief of the Hivites (נְשִׂיא הָאָרֶץ, v. 2) in the Shechem area. His name means "donkey" in Hebrew.

Simeon and Levi (שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי) were Dinah’s full brothers (born to Leah), specifically called "Dinah’s brothers" (אֲחֵי דִּנָה) in verse 25. They led the revenge attack against Shechem and killed all the men in the city.

Places

Shechem (שְׁכֶם) was the city where the events of this chapter took place. Jacob had previously purchased a plot of land outside the city (Gen 33:18–20), which established his family as neighbors to the Shechemites.

The city gate (שַׁעַר עִירָם) is mentioned as the place where Hamor and Shechem presented their proposal concerning marriage and circumcision to the men of the city (vv. 20–24). In ancient cities, the city gate was the central location for legal proceedings, business agreements, and public assemblies. The fact that "all who went out at the gate" agreed indicates a formal city assembly.

Events and Customs

Bride price (מֹהַר) and dowry (מַתָּן) were central elements in marriage arrangements in the ancient Near East. Shechem’s offer to pay "whatever you ask" (v. 12) shows his desperate desire to legitimize the relationship. The bride price was a payment from the groom’s family to the bride’s family, while the dowry consisted of gifts given directly to the bride.

Marriage alliances between ethnic groups (vv. 9–10) were a common diplomatic tool in ancient times. Hamor’s proposal for mutual intermarriage and the right to settle and trade represented a political alliance, not merely a single marriage. For Jacob’s family, this posed a real danger of assimilation with the Canaanites.

Rape and disgrace are described using three verbs in verse 2: "he took her" (וַיִּקַּח), "he lay with her" (וַיִּשְׁכַּב), and "he humiliated her" (וַיְעַנֶּהָ). The last verb (ענה) is consistently used in the Old Testament to refer to sexual violence and coercion. The act is described as "a disgraceful thing" (נְבָלָה) done against Israel (v. 7), an expression that in the OT denotes serious violations of society’s moral order.

Circumcision (הִמּוֹל) was for the Israelites a sign of the covenant with God. That Jacob’s sons required circumcision from the Shechemites (v. 15) served a dual purpose: it gave an appearance of religious legitimacy to the agreement, while simultaneously making the men physically vulnerable. On the third day after circumcision (v. 25), the pain was at its worst, leaving the Shechemites defenseless.

Key Terms

"A disgraceful thing in Israel" (נְבָלָה עָשָׂה בְיִשְׂרָאֵל, v. 7) is an expression used several times in the OT to describe actions that violate the holy character of the community (cf. Deut 22:21; Josh 7:15; Judg 20:6). The phrase "in Israel" here refers to Jacob/Israel’s family as a distinct community with its own norms, since Jacob had recently received the name Israel (Gen 32:28).

"Made us stink" (לְהַבְאִישֵׁנִי, v. 30) is Jacob’s troubled reaction. The expression literally means "to make smell bad" and describes how the family’s reputation was now ruined among neighboring peoples. Jacob’s main concern seems to be practical consequences rather than moral questions regarding the revenge action itself.

"Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?" (הַכְזוֹנָה יַעֲשֶׂה אֶת־אֲחוֹתֵנוּ, v. 31) is the sons’ rhetorical closing statement. The word זוֹנָה (prostitute) emphasizes that without action, Dinah’s violation would remain unaddressed, which in their eyes was unacceptable.

Personen5

Shechem10 Hamor9 Jacob9 Dinah (Jacob's daughter)7 Leah1

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Schlüsselwörter8

Shechem — A Canaanite prince who raped Dinah, Jacob's daughter, and wanted to marry her.
Dinah — Jacob's only daughter, who was raped by Shechem and then offered as his wife.
Jacob — The patriarch in Genesis, father of Dinah and founder of Israel's twelve tribes.
Hamor — Shechem's father and ruler of the city of Shechem, who negotiated with Jacob and his sons about the marriage between Shechem and Dinah.
Simeon and Levi — Two of Jacob's sons who avenged their sister Dinah by killing all the men in the city of Shechem.
Circumcision — A religious ritual where the foreskin of the penis is removed, proposed by Jacob's sons as a condition for the marriage between Shechem and Dinah.
Deceit — The action carried out by Simeon and Levi when they used the circumcision ritual to weaken the men of Shechem and then kill them.
Rape — The forced sexual act committed by Shechem against Dinah.