Genesis 34:1–31 (ESV)
Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done.
But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it and get property in it.” 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. Ask me for as great a bride-price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.”
The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 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. Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.”
Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house. So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
There are chapters of the Bible that leave us heavy-hearted. Genesis 34 is one of them. We have just finished this wonderful story of how Jacob had finally come to faith, and trust and accepted God as his own God. We read about how Jacob and Esau had finally reconciled after 20 years of rivalry. It would have been a great place to end the story, but that’s not how the world works. Until Jesus comes again, sin will forever haunt us. Chapter 34 reminds us of this. It’s a story of sin, injustice, and violence. Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, is violated. Her brothers respond with fury and deceit, leading to bloodshed. The whole chapter feels like a descent into darkness. But even here, the Word of God speaks to us.
Dinah’s violation is described as “an outrageous thing in Israel.” The Hebrew phrase stresses the moral horror of this act. Shechem then tries to justify it with marriage proposals and gifts, but no amount of bargaining can erase sin. Jacob himself is strangely passive, silent at first, while his sons burn with anger.
The brothers propose circumcision as a solution. But notice this is not out of genuine zeal and devotion because of God’s covenant. But because they deceitfully wanted to disable their enemies. They use the sign of God’s covenant, meant to mark His people as holy, as a weapon. On the third day, when the men of the city are weakened, Simeon and Levi slaughter them. We should recognise the horror of this. The covenant sign itself has been profaned by two who would become the heads of entire tribes in Israel. Their vengeance is not justice but cruelty. Yes they rescue Dinah, but at a terrible cost. They bring bloodguilt on the family.
And then we have Jacob. Jacob who had recently been transformed by his wrestle with God. But this sinful situation brings Jacob back to his old ways. He worries about his reputation and safety, but not about the desecration of God’s covenant. Even though God is now his God, he is not fully God’s man. So this chapter of the story ends without any real resolution. The sons defend their violence and Jacob remains uneasy, but no real justice has been brought to the situation.
This chapter is meant to shock us. There is no hero here. Dinah suffers, Shechem sins grievously, Jacob hesitates, and the brothers take vengeance. Everyone falls short. It’s a picture of what happens when God’s people compromise with the world, when they rely on anger instead of faith, when covenant signs are emptied of their true meaning.
So what do we learn from such a dark story? First, the Bible never hides the ugliness of sin. It tells the truth, even when it’s painful. This reminds us that our hope cannot be in human goodness. Jacob’s family, the chosen covenant family, looks as broken as the nations around them. Left to ourselves, we are no better. We all need God’s grace.
Second, we see the danger of twisting holy things. Circumcision was meant to point to God’s covenant love, but Simeon and Levi turned it into a tool of vengeance. In the same way, people today can misuse even good and holy things, Scripture, baptism, the Lord’s Supper. When we forget their true purpose and try to bend them to our own agendas to get us more power, or allow us to manipulate people into doing things we want them to do.
Third, this chapter makes us long for a better Savior. Dinah needed justice, but her brothers gave only destruction. We need a Redeemer who deals with sin in perfect justice and perfect mercy. And in Christ we have Him. At the cross, Jesus bore the outrage of our sin and satisfied God’s justice without compromising His mercy. He is the true covenant-keeper, the one who never twists God’s commands, the one who brings healing where human anger only makes things worse.
So when we read Genesis 34, we are reminded of the seriousness of sin, the insufficiency of human solutions, and the necessity of Christ. He alone can heal, forgive, and make all things new.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we come to You with heavy hearts as we read this dark story. Sin destroys, violence corrupts, and even Your people stumble into compromise and anger. We confess that we too have twisted good things and trusted in our own strength. Forgive us, Lord. Thank You that in Christ justice and mercy meet. Thank You that He bore our sin and gives us His righteousness. Teach us to trust Him, to walk in holiness, and to long for the day when every tear will be wiped away. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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