Genesis 34:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

NIV: The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled.

NASB: Jacob’s sons came upon those killed and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister.

CSB: Jacob's sons came to the slaughter and plundered the city because their sister had been defiled.

NLT: Meanwhile, the rest of Jacob’s sons arrived. Finding the men slaughtered, they plundered the town because their sister had been defiled there.

KJV: The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.

NKJV: The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled.

Referring to this location as a "city" can lead modern readers to a misunderstanding. In many cultures today, the term "city" usually means tens or hundreds of thousands of people. In the ancient world, a "city" might have been as few as several hundred people. Similar confusion can arise when reading that this massacre was committed by two sons of Jacob, Levi and Simeon (Genesis 34:25). These brothers would have brought along their combat-capable servants, as well. This was not the equivalent of a superhero film where two allies defeat tens of thousands of enemies in hand-to-hand combat.

No matter how many people were involved, all the town's fighting men have been killed thanks to deception by the sons of Jacob (Genesis 34:13–16). This allows the entire area to be ransacked.

Once the battle is over, Jacob's other sons—and, again, their servants—entered the city to collect all items of value. In that era, a city without adult men was no city at all. Everything there, including the women and children, will be absorbed into the families of Jacob's sons (Genesis 34:28–29).

It's expected a modern reader will find these actions atrocious. Jacob, for his part, will worry this retaliation will be taken poorly by surrounding communities (Genesis 34:30). Simeon and Levi seem to argue that the townspeople are accomplices in Shechem's rape of their sister (Genesis 34:1–3). The people of the city had not stepped in to hold him accountable for the crime. They appear to have condoned his treatment of Dinah, or at least done little to hold the rapist accountable (Genesis 34:31).

Genesis does not explicitly condemn or approve the response of Levi and Simeon. On one hand, this same region will be marked out for destruction as a result of wickedness, after God frees Israel from Egypt (Deuteronomy 9:4). On the other hand, there is no sense that God commanded this retaliation. And, later, Simeon and Levi will suffer consequences in their inheritance due to their actions here (Genesis 49:5–7). It's possible God brought judgment on the city of Shechem. This might have been to avert possible attacks from the Canaanites later on (Genesis 35:5). It's also possible Levi and Simeon simply went outrageously overboard in pursuit of justice. Or, all of these might be part of the meaning of this story.

The following verses describe the wealth Jacob's family added from the Shechemite people following the slaughter.

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.