Single lesson
Dinah and the Violence at Shechem
Genesis 34:1–31
After Dinah was assaulted, her family answered with deceit and violence, and the whole household faced the consequences.
Before you teach
Dinah, Jacob’s daughter by Leah, went out to see the daughters of the land. Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her and assaulted her. Afterwards, he became attached to Dinah, spoke kindly to her, and asked his father to get her for him as a wife. Jacob heard that Dinah had been defiled, but his sons were still out with the livestock, so he kept silent until they came. Hamor came to speak with Jacob. When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they…
Explain the central teaching of Dinah and the Violence at Shechem, using two details from the reading. After Dinah was assaulted, her family answered with deceit and violence, and the whole household faced the consequences.
Welcome: Dinah and the Violence at Shechem
5 minIntroduce “Dinah and the Violence at Shechem” and locate Genesis 34:1–31. After Dinah was assaulted, her family answered with deceit and violence, and the whole household faced the consequences. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Genesis 34:1, Genesis 34:16, Genesis 34:31
Read and explain the passage
12 minDinah, Jacob’s daughter by Leah, went out to see the daughters of the land. Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her and assaulted her. Afterwards, he became attached to Dinah, spoke kindly to her, and asked his father to get her for him as a wife.
Hamor asked the family to agree to marriages between the groups and to live and trade together in the land. Shechem said he would give whatever was asked if he could marry Dinah. But Jacob’s sons answered deceitfully. They said every male in the city must be circumcised before they would agree.
After that, Jacob’s sons came upon the dead and plundered the city because their sister had been defiled. They took flocks, herds, donkeys, possessions, and goods from the city and the field. They also carried off the little ones and the wives. Jacob told Simeon and Levi they had brought trouble on him and made him odious to the people of the land, and he feared his household would be destroyed. They answered by asking whether their sister should have been treated like a prostitute.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Dinah and the Violence at Shechem”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Genesis 34:1, Genesis 34:2, Genesis 34:4, Genesis 34:24, Genesis 34:13, Genesis 34:10, Genesis 34:27, Genesis 34:25, Genesis 34:30
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with ““Jacob heard that Dinah had been defiled, but his sons were still out with the livestock, so he kept silent until they came.” Which details explain how the account reaches this point?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. After Dinah was assaulted, her family answered with deceit and violence, and the whole household faced the consequences. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Genesis 34:7, Genesis 34:5, Genesis 34:13, Genesis 34:24, Genesis 34:10, Genesis 34:27, Genesis 34:25, Genesis 34:30
Make and respond: Choices and outcomes evidence map
12 minWork on “Dinah and the Violence at Shechem: Choices and outcomes evidence map”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Dinah and the Violence at Shechem” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Genesis 34:1, Genesis 34:16, Genesis 34:31
Closing: return to Dinah and the Violence at Shechem
3 minRevisit Genesis 34:1–31. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Dinah and the Violence at Shechem and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Genesis 34:1, Genesis 34:16, Genesis 34:31
Questions to explore
“Jacob heard that Dinah had been defiled, but his sons were still out with the livestock, so he kept silent until they came.” Which details explain how the account reaches this point?
Jacob heard that Dinah had been defiled, but his sons were still out with the livestock, so he kept silent until they came. Hamor came to speak with Jacob. When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they were grieved and very angry, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing by lying with Jacob’s daughter.
Genesis 34:7, Genesis 34:5, Genesis 34:13
How does this moment affect the rest of the account: “Hamor asked the family to agree to marriages between the groups and to live and trade together in the land.”?
Hamor asked the family to agree to marriages between the groups and to live and trade together in the land. Shechem said he would give whatever was asked if he could marry Dinah. But Jacob’s sons answered deceitfully. They said every male in the city must be circumcised before they would agree.
Genesis 34:24, Genesis 34:13, Genesis 34:10
“After that, Jacob’s sons came upon the dead and plundered the city because their sister had been defiled.” How does this ending connect with the beginning?
After that, Jacob’s sons came upon the dead and plundered the city because their sister had been defiled. They took flocks, herds, donkeys, possessions, and goods from the city and the field. They also carried off the little ones and the wives. Jacob told Simeon and Levi they had brought trouble on him and made him odious to the people of the land, and he…
Genesis 34:27, Genesis 34:25, Genesis 34:30
Make, think or respond
Dinah and the Violence at Shechem: Choices and outcomes evidence map
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “Words or actions”, “What happens next”, “Verse reference”.
- Read Genesis 34:1–31. Use “Dinah and the Violence at Shechem” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Compare two actions or statements in the account and explain their different outcomes.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Dinah and the Violence at Shechem connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “Dinah and the Violence at Shechem” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Genesis 34:1–31. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Genesis 34:1–31. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Genesis 34
1 Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
2 Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.
3 His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.
4 Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, “Get me this young lady as a wife.”
5 Now 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.
6 Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk with him.
7 The 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.
8 Hamor talked with them, saying, “The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.
9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.
10 You shall dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it.”
11 Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give.
12 Ask 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.”
13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit when they spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister,
14 and 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.
15 Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised,
16 then 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.
17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our sister, and we will be gone.”
18 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.
19 The 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.
20 Hamor 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.
22 Only 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.
23 Won’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.”
24 All 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.
25 On 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.
26 They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.
27 Jacob’s sons came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.
28 They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field,
29 and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house.
30 Jacob 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.”
31 They said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.