Genesis 34:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.

NIV: They said to them, 'We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us.

NASB: They said to them, 'We cannot do this thing, that is, give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.

CSB: "We cannot do this thing," they said to them. "Giving our sister to an uncircumcised man is a disgrace to us.

NLT: They said to them, 'We couldn’t possibly allow this, because you’re not circumcised. It would be a disgrace for our sister to marry a man like you!

KJV: And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:

NKJV: And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us.

Jacob's daughter Dinah was brutally raped by Shechem (Genesis 34:1–5). In negotiations alongside his father, Shechem has offered to let Jacob's family name their price to allow him to marry her. That, one would assume, also means not holding him accountable for his crime (Genesis 34:6–12).

Jacob's sons remain outraged. It would not be hard to imagine that their first impulse was to kill Shechem on the spot. However, Dinah has not yet been mentioned, so she is probably being held by Shechem's people (Genesis 34:26). Also, while Jacob's family is enormously wealthy and powerful (Genesis 30:43), Shechem is connected to a "city" (Genesis 33:18). That term meant something much smaller in the ancient world than it does today. Still, the able-bodied men of the town would certainly have outnumbered Jacob's sons, even including their servants.

Rather than simply insisting on justice or attacking, Jacob's sons hatched a shrewd plan (Genesis 34:13). They pretended as if they agreed with Shechem's proposal. The only problem, they insist, is that it would be a disgrace among their people to marry Dinah to an uncircumcised man. This ruse will not only make the lie seem more plausible, it will enable a violent revenge as well.

Genesis 34:13–31 describes the response of Jacob's sons to the rape of his daughter, Dinah. The rapist, Shechem, has asked for her hand in marriage. Dinah's brothers suggest that if the men of the town will be circumcised, they will agree to marriages between the two groups. Shechem and his father, Hamor, gladly agree to these terms. But this is a trap. While the men are still sore from circumcision, Simeon and Levi spring an attack, killing all the men and looting the town. Jacob is afraid this will bring retaliation from the Canaanite and Perizzite people. His sons, however, are adamant that their actions were justified.

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.