Genesis 34:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”

NIV: And Shechem said to his father Hamor, 'Get me this girl as my wife.'

NASB: So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, 'Get me this young woman as a wife.'

CSB: "Get me this girl as a wife," he told his father.

NLT: He said to his father, Hamor, 'Get me this young girl. I want to marry her.'

KJV: And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.

NKJV: So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”

Shechem has violently raped Jacob's daughter Dinah (Genesis 34:1–2). Then, almost beyond belief, we are told he announces his affection for her in loving terms (Genesis 34:3). His act was something the not-yet-given Mosaic Law would punish with death (Deuteronomy 22:25–27), but he has the nerve to make romantic advances to the victim.

Now, Shechem insists he be married to his woman he has brutalized. He goes to his father, Hamor, who would have been required to arrange such a marriage. This demand reveals Shechem to be extraordinarily self-entitled. This might have been partly due to his father's status as a "prince" of the region. The following passage further proves Shechem suffers from an extreme lack of self-control. He will blindly agree to anything, so long as he gets his prize.

While not explicitly stated, it seems that Shechem not only raped Dinah, he kidnapped her, as well. The next time she is directly mentioned, her brothers Simeon and Levi are removing her from Shechem's house in the middle of their bloody revenge (Genesis 34:26).

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 5/2/2024 11:06:14 AM