Author: Beth Duncan

Genesis 34:24 All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.

This revenge was planned, calculated. From the first suggestion of circumcision to win Dinah’s hand, the sons of Jacob had this end in mind. But not only did they kill all the males in the city, they also looted the city after the massacre. As with Dinah’s rape, the word that comes to mind here is evil.

Genesis 34:25 Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. 

A quick scripture search leads me to Matthew 5:21-22, where Jesus equates anger with murder. What does He do with this scripture? Rape led to mass circumcision led to mass murder led to looting. Jesus has no sin-o-meter. It’s all wrong. It’s all sin. The brothers’ actions didn’t balance any scale.

Genesis 34:26 They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for reinforcing the fact that vengeance is Yours, not ours. We can’t handle that responsibility. Help us to focus on loving You and loving others, in seeing You in all who we encounter. Help us to know how to move forward from tragedy and heartbreak in a way that leads to light, to healing, to You and not in a way that leads to destruction. Help us, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 34:27 The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 34:18-19 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. The young man, who was the most honored of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. 

I am reading this story to learn, so I see traps all over the place here. I would think that the Shechem’s friends and neighbors would know what Shechem had done, would know the heinousness of the violation and would be a bit suspicious of Jacob’s sons and their easy acquiescence. Apparently not.

Genesis 34:20-21 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city.“These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. 

I guess it’s possible, since they live in the same place as Shechem, that they see his actions as acceptable. Maybe they have done the same before. But I don’t understand why no one thinks about how mass circumcision will incapacitate the males of the village and how that could be a really bad thing. It defies logic.

Genesis 34:22 But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that I can look at this situation from the outside and see the harm and danger present. When I am in situations in life, please help me to be as aware and in tune to harm and danger. Help me to keep You–not those around me–as my moral compass. Help me to live a life that is pleasing to You. Always. Amen.

Genesis 34:23 Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.”

Have a blessed day. 

Genesis 34:13 Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor.  

I truly think Hamor and Shechem were oblivious to their heinousness. It’s hard to believe, but they both seem to think that violently taking a woman because you desire her and then offering whatever price to make her your wife is ok. There seems to be no guile, no fronting there, shocking as it may be.

Genesis 34:14 They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. circumcising all your males.

The sons of Jacob, however, knew exactly what they were doing. There was deceit in their every word. They are planning to avenge their sister’s honor. They are setting Hamor and Shechem up. Is their act more or less despicable for its calculated nature? Does it matter? Not in God’s eyes.

Genesis 34:15 We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males.

Precious Savior, You tell me not to judge so that I will not be judged. Show me, then, what I am to do with this situation, this story. If You don’t want me to judge, then You want me to learn. Help  me to avoid both unplanned and intentional harm to others. Help me to strive to treat all others, as Your deeply loved children. Help me. Amen.

Genesis 34:16-17 Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 34:5 When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.

What Shechem did to Dinah is heinous. There is no other description. The question now is how will Dinah and her family move forward? In a way that leads to healing and light or in a way that leads to more destruction?

Genesis 34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 

Even typing that feels really naive, very “rose-colored,” but the truth remains that whatever they do next will either lead them on a path to healing or further down a path of pain.

Genesis 34:7 Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.

Precious Savior, Sometimes the only choice you have is whether you are going move towards light and healing or deeper into pain. Be with anyone facing this type of decision today, Lord. Help them to feel Your presence, Your peace. Help us all to actively move towards healing and peace. Always. Amen.

Genesis 34:8 But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.

Have a blessed day. 

Genesis 34:1 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. 

Commentary says, ““Unattached young women were considered fair game in cities of the time,” laying some of the blame of this heinous act on Dinah for going out without familial males to protect her, laying some of the blame on Jacob and Leah for not being sure she was supervised, and laying some of the blame on Shechem for violating her.

Genesis 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. 

The unfortunate truth is that many women today face similar violation–men who take what is not theirs, who say the females were “asking for it” in their dress or behavior, who, like Shechem, speak tenderly and claim to love their victims yet violate them all the same.

Genesis 34:3 His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.

Precious Savior, My heart breaks for all who have been shamed and violated in this world. Be with them. Help them to heal and move forward. Be a light in their darkness, a peace in their distress. Help them to feel Your presence. Always. Amen.

Genesis 34: 4 And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 33:16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. 

Name changes in the Bible are often used to show a new relationship with God or a new identity in God, so I am again struck by the fact that Jacob, who was renamed Israel after wrestling with God in Chapter 32, is still being called Jacob.

Genesis 33:17 Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth. 

It’s not surprising, I guess, because he is still, in many ways, acting like Jacob–half obedience, quasi-change. He gives his brother gifts, but he doesn’t fully trust him. He’s listening to God, but he’s only partially obeying.

Genesis 33:18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 

Precious Savior, Again, I find comfort in the fact that You can use all things for our good and Your glory if we let You. I don’t want to be like Jacob/Israel–only partially listening and semi-obeying, but I am so thankful that even with all of his faulty humanity, You were able to use him in a powerful way. That means You can use me, too. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 33:19-20 For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 33:1 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 

After Jacob wrestles with God, there is evidence of growth–he does go from the back of the group to the front to meet Esau, though he still shows favor to Rachel and her son by placing them in the rear of the wives and children, which offer a bit of protection if Esau has murderous tendencies.

Genesis 33:2 He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 

But Esau not only meets Jacob, he runs to meet him, not only welcomes Jacob, embraces him, throws his arms around his neck and kisses him. The problems of the past are just that–past. For the first time maybe ever, these two are meeting as brothers, as friends.

Genesis 33:3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the example of love and forgiveness we see in today’s scripture. I’m not sure I completely understand it, but I don’t have to. You understand it and have shown me what’s possible with Your love. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 33:4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.

Have a blessed day.