Dinah and the Violence at Shechem

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 were grieved and very angry, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing by lying with Jacob’s daughter.

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.

Hamor and Shechem accepted these terms and spoke to the men of their city about peace, trade, and gain. The men listened, and every male was circumcised. On the third day, when they were sore, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, attacked the unsuspecting city and killed all the males, including Hamor and Shechem. Then they took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and left.

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.