Genesis 34:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.

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

NASB: Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, 'Let me find favor in your sight, and I will give whatever you tell me.

CSB: Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Grant me this favor, and I'll give you whatever you say.

NLT: Then Shechem himself spoke to Dinah’s father and brothers. 'Please be kind to me, and let me marry her,' he begged. 'I will give you whatever you ask.

KJV: And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.

NKJV: Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.

Hamor and Shechem have come to ask Jacob for Dinah's hand in marriage, to Shechem. News has already reached Jacob, and his sons, that Shechem has raped Dinah and that she has not returned from the city (Genesis 34:1–7). In what seems to be an attempt to avert revenge, Hamor has proposed a broad mingling of his people with those of Jacob. He speaks of more marriages and trading opportunities to follow (Genesis 34:8–10).

Amidst these talks, Shechem once again demonstrates a lack of sense and self-control. He extravagantly offers to pay whatever price Jacob and his sons demand to be allowed to marry Dinah. He expands on this offer in the following verse. Given that Jacob's sons are already enraged at what happened to their sister, and their likely offense at Hamor's offer of free trade, it's noteworthy one of them doesn't strike Shechem dead then and there.

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.

Accessed 5/6/2024 3:25:06 AM