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Genesis 34

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Part of Isaac and Jacob📖 Genesis introduction

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1Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. ✦ 2When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her and raped her. ✦ 3But he was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. ✦ 4So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” ✦ 5Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob said nothing until they came in. ✦ 6Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard about it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done. ✦ 8But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage. ✦ 9And intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. ✦ 10So you will live with us, and the land shall be open to you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.” ✦ 11Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and I will give whatever you tell me. ✦ 12Demand of me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give whatever you tell me; but give me the girl in marriage.” ✦ 13But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. ✦ 14They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, that is, give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. ✦ 15Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you will be circumcised, ✦ 16then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. 17But if you do not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.” 18Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19The young man did not delay to do this, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father. ✦ 20So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the people of their city, saying, ✦ 21“These men are friendly to us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. We will take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them. 22Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 23Will their livestock and their property and all their animals not be ours? Let’s just consent to them, and they will live with us.” ✦ 24All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. ✦ 25Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons—Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers—each took his sword and came upon the city undetected, and killed every male. ✦ 26They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. ✦ 27Jacob’s sons came upon those killed and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. ✦ 28They took their flocks, their herds, and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; ✦ 29and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even everything that was in the houses. 30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me repulsive among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since my men are few in number, they will band together against me and attack me, and I will be destroyed, I and my household!” ✦ 31But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

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

Where this chapter connects

2 Sam 13 ·5Josh 7 ·5Gen 34 ·5Deut 22 ·4Gen 23 ·3Gen 46 ·3Gen 17 ·31 Sam 17 ·3

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

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