Chapter Summary: Chapter 34 Of Genesis

When stripped raw, the plots of stories perpetually comes down to the influence of sex, temptation, violence, opulence, or impulsiveness presented to characters in some way. In Chapter 34 of Genesis, motivated by lustrous desire, Shechem, son of Hamor, rapes Dinah, daughter of Leah. After infuriating Jacob’s clan, Shechem asks to marry Dinah, so Jacob and his sons mendaciously accept his offer, on the condition that all of his clan be circumcised. In an unsurprising twist, two of Dinah’s brothers avenge the deflowering of their sister by slaughtering all of the men recovering from their circumcisions. There stands 2 paramount lessons to be learned from this situation: 1. Intentional crimes will be met with severe repercussions, and 2. A family

Here, Jacob’s sons need to defend their family’s honor themselves. The Canaanites offer to intermarry their clans, share all of their land, and Shechem adds that he will “give whatever you ask me; only give me the girl to be my wife,” (Gen 34:12). Although his proposal seems genuine, Shechem’s expectations are unrealistic because he hasn’t paid his dues for raping Dinah, but her brothers intend on making that happen. In a clever ruse, Dinah’s brothers lie to Shechem, telling him that if every man is in the city is circumcised, they will intermarry the families and “live among you and become one people,” (Gen 34:16). By utilizing the fact that their sister marrying an uncircumcised man would be “a disgrace,” to their family, the brothers suggest the circumcision is not punishment, but a necessary hindrance (Gen 34:14). Their acquittal of the outrage Shechem caused should compel him to think twice about the Jacobs’ suspiciously forgiving demeanor, especially since he failed to apologize to the family for his actions, but he is too distracted by the satisfaction of having the permission to marry her and excitement overcomes his judgment. After genuinely fooling Shechem, Dinah’s brothers Levi and Simeon teach him his final lesson by destroying

Shechem and Hamor immediately agree to have the entire tribe circumcised, since he is suddenly madly in love with Dinah and is willing to pay any price to marry her. Although Shechem’s commitment to marrying Dinah verifies the legitimacy of his love for her, he did humiliate her entire family, and they must vindicate their name. The brothers admit that they answered to Shechem “deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah,” implying that they concocted a plan to avenge their sister and their name (Gen 34:13). The gruesome punishment for Shechem and his clan highlights how important Jacob’s family’s reputation is to them, and the barbarous murder of the entire city “because their sister had been defiled,” proves that families are deeply concerned with their prestige. Surprisingly, however, Jacob is extremely unhappy with the way his sons dealt with the shame Shechem turned on his family. The brothers argue, saying “Should our sister be treated like a whore?” but their father is not pleased. Although the lessons to be taken out of these events are clear, there exist numerous occasions where this story raises more questions than it answers. Why do the concerns of Jacob differ from his sons’? What is Dinah’s take on the