But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
Parallel translations
- WEB They said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?”
- KJV And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?
- BSB But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
- NKJV But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”
- NLT “But why should we let him treat our sister like a prostitute?” they retorted angrily.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The brothers justify themselves, asking whether their sister should be treated like a prostitute.
Overview
Simeon and Levi answer Jacob's rebuke with a question that highlights the real wrong done to Dinah. Their grievance is genuine, but it does not excuse the treachery and slaughter they committed. The chapter ends unresolved, leaving readers to weigh true injustice against sinful revenge, a tension only finally answered in God's perfect justice.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Prov 6:34For jealousy arouses the fury of the husband. He won’t spare in the day of vengeance.
- Gen 34:13The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit, and spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister,
- Gen 49:7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 34:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.