ao:eng_webu
Genesis 34
1Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
2Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.
3His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.
4Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, “Get me this young lady as a wife.”
5Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came.
6Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk with him.
7The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had done folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing that ought not to be done.
8Hamor talked with them, saying, “The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.
9Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.
10You shall dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it.”
11Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give.
12Ask me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife.”
13The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with when they spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister,
14and said to them, “We can’t do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us.
15Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised,
16then will we give our daughters to you; and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
17But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our sister, and we will be gone.”
18Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.
19The young man didn’t wait to do this thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter, and he was honored above all the house of his father.
20Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying,
21“These men are peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let’s take their daughters to us for wives, and let’s give them our daughters.
22Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people, if every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised.
23Won’t their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let’s give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”
24All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
25On the third day, when they were sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males.
26They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.
27Jacob’s sons came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.
28They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field,
29and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house.
30Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house.”
31They said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?”
Slow reading
Read Genesis 34 three times
Guided passes through short verse groups: read it whole, watch the words, then pray it back. Phrases to stop on along the way, with deeper explanation held back until you have read the verses yourself.
Ask about this chapter
Have a question about Genesis 34?
Ask anything about this chapter. Every answer names the verses it rests on and links straight to them, highlighted in the reader.
Study together
Questions on Genesis 34
Every comment is tied to a place in the text: a verse, a span of verses, or one section of the study. Ask what you do not understand, and answer others from Scripture.
Sign in to ask a question or answer one. Reading always stays open to everyone.
Questions this passage answers
What is sin?
Scripture defines sin as lawlessness, as falling short of God's glory, and as failing to do the good we know we should do. It is not only a list of bad actions but a condition of the heart that produces them, and it is first against God rather than only against people. Scripture also says all have sinned, that its wage is death, and that God is faithful to forgive those who confess.
What does the Bible say about work?
Scripture presents work as something given before sin entered the world, made harder by the curse, and redeemed in Christ so that ordinary labour is done for the Lord rather than for people. It commands diligence, honest dealing, rest, and provision for one's household, and it refuses to make a person's worth depend on their job.
How do I forgive someone who hurt me?
Biblical forgiveness is the decision to release a debt you have every right to collect, made because God released yours. It is not pretending the wrong was small, and it does not always mean reconciliation or renewed trust. It usually begins as an act of obedience and becomes a feeling later, often much later.
How do I trust God when life is difficult?
Biblical trust is not a feeling you generate. It is leaning your weight on what God has revealed about himself, especially when your circumstances suggest otherwise. Scripture builds trust the same way every time: by remembering what God has already done, telling him the truth about what you feel now, and obeying the next small thing while the outcome is still hidden.