Genesis 34:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.”

NIV: You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.'

NASB: So you will live with us, and the land shall be open to you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.'

CSB: Live with us. The land is before you. Settle here, move about, and acquire property in it."

NLT: And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. And feel free to buy property in the area.'

KJV: And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.

NKJV: So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.”

Hamor and his son, Shechem, have come to ask Jacob for Dinah's hand in marriage to Shechem. Jacob and his sons, however, know that Shechem has raped Dinah and that she has not returned from the city (Genesis 34:1–7). Shechem's father is the ruler of the city. He has made it clear that Shechem is in love with Dinah and has asked that Jacob give her as a bride. In addition, he has suggested their peoples intermarry freely, sons to daughters and daughters to sons.

Now he points out the business opportunities this could create for both peoples, encouraging Jacob to make this their permanent home. They could trade freely and make acquisitions. Hamor is not simply appealing to Jacob for a single marriage; he is lobbying for peace between these groups of people.

Hamor may be sincere in these offers, but underneath it all he is attempting to smooth over Shechem's crime. Judging by what happens in the rest of this chapter, he misunderstands how serious this crime was to Dinah's family. Worse, it's possible that this is a blatant attempt to buy off Dinah's father and brothers with the promise of prosperity. Even if that's not Hamor's intention, it's possible that Jacob's sons interpret it that way, making them even more enraged.

Even if Jacob had been willing to consider Hamor's suggestions, he knows he must not allow his sons to intermarry with the Canaanites. He knows, also, that God has already promised to give to him and his descendants all of the land of Canaan. He doesn't need Hamor's offer for his people to eventually take possession of what God has already granted.

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.