Genesis 34:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.

NIV: When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her.

NASB: When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her and raped her.

CSB: When Shechem—son of Hamor the Hivite, who was the region’s chieftain—saw her, he took her and raped her.

NLT: But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he seized her and raped her.

KJV: And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

NKJV: And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her.

Shechem shares his name with the city or region in which Jacob and his family now live (Genesis 33:18–19). Perhaps he is named after its founder. His father, Hamor the Hivite, is the "prince" or ruler of the city. Shechem, then, is the son of a powerful man.

This influential man comes across Dinah, a daughter of Jacob and Leah (Genesis 30:21) and assaults her. Though English translations use a variety of language to describe the act, the Hebrew text makes clear this was not consensual. The terms are most woodenly presented by the NASB, which says "he took her and lay with her by force." He did not seduce her, or trick her. Shechem saw Dinah, attacked her, and raped her.

The ESV translation adds that this act humiliated Dinah. That translation choice is meant to emphasize the consequences of this act for the victim. In that culture, a woman who was known not to be a virgin had limited prospects for marriage. The stigma and shame associated with rape would have made this even worse. In this moment, Shechem not only violated Dinah physically and emotionally—he all but destroyed her future.

Hard as it is to imagine, the following verse indicates Shechem's despicable act wasn't random. Rather, it seems to have been due to lack of self-control; he will immediately campaign to marry Dinah, professing his deep love for the young woman he has defiled.

Genesis 34:1–12 describes a depraved attack on one of Jacob's children. Dinah, his daughter through Leah, is raped by Shechem, son of the local prince. Jacob waits until his sons return to let them know about this act. With apparently no remorse, the rapist and his father arrive to ask for Dinah to be married to her attacker. Shechem proclaims his love, offering any price to have Dinah as his wife. Dinah's brothers respond with a combination of deceit and violence that will echo through the rest of Israel's history.

Jacob's family has settled within sight of the city of Shechem. Dinah, Jacob's daughter by Leah, is raped by the son of the city's ruler Hamor, also named Shechem. Shechem decides he loves Dinah and wants to marry her. Dinah's brothers are outraged. Hamor and Shechem, however, ask for Dinah to be given to Shechem as a wife and for their people to intermarry. Jacob's sons pretend to agree, provided the men of the city are circumcised. Instead, while the town's men are recuperating, Dinah's brothers by Leah, Levi and Simeon, lead a slaughter of all the men of the city.

With the blessing of the Lord, Jacob has survived his reunion with his brother Esau and settled his family in the land of Canaan, in a city called Shechem. Some time passes and then Jacob's daughter Dinah is raped by the son of the ruler of the city. To exact revenge and defend their sister's honor, Jacob's sons trick the men of the city into being circumcised and then slaughter all of them when they are recovering, plundering all the wealth of the people. This creates fear in the local Canaanite communities, who avoid future confrontation with Jacob's family.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.