Or, The High Cost of Dishonorable Conduct
Scripture: Genesis 34:1-31
Date: December 11, 2016
Speaker: Sean Higgins
We’ve been told that crime doesn’t pay. And actually, because we live in this world, the one created by the eternal, sovereign, holy Lord, no sin is worth it in the long run. We don’t always see justice, poetic or punitive, but divine math always trumps the rebel’s formula that two wrongs make a right. We do not have a right to do wrong, even in response to a wrong. We’re supposed to do what is right before God.
When Jacob left the land of Canaan some twenty man-years before the events in Genesis 34, he had not done right. He deceived his father to steal his brother’s blessing, and his sin kept him from absolute blessing. But the LORD was gracious to him and met Jacob in Bethel. The LORD personally affirmed that He would give covenant offspring and land to Jacob and promised to be with him and bring him back.
In the meantime, Jacob got married (four times) and had kids (11 sons and at least one daughter). While the circumstances weren’t great with the Laban, it worked in one way to keep Leah or Rachel from being tied to their father or their home when the LORD told Jacob to return. Even in the last chapter, Genesis 33, Jacob’s humility (and God’s common grace) enabled Jacob and Esau to reunite and then walk away again in peace. All is set for Jacob’s return to Bethel to fulfill his vow (see Genesis 28:20-22).
However, Jacob only fulfilled part of the vow. He has recognized the LORD as His God; “he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel,” meaning, “God, the God of Israel,” his new name (Genesis 33:20). But he doesn’t erect that altar in Bethel or pay his vow of a full tenth. Instead, he went to Succoth and built a house and sheds on the outside of Canaan, then went to the city of Shechem inside Canaan where he bought property and settled.
Chapter 34 is a lengthy chapter listing some of the price that Jacob paid for not going to back to Bethel. At the beginning of chapter 35 God directly commands him to return there. If he had gone there, none of this would have happened in the first place.
The “safely” into Canaan and altar building in Genesis 33:18-20 is good. Even camping before the city of Shechem is okay, or it would have been if they had kept going. But he liked something about the city. Jacob even bought some real estate from the sons of Hamor. He didn’t know at the time how much it would cost he and his family.
Jacob had eleven sons and at least one daughter named back in chapter 30. The daughter was identified then because of what happens to her now.
There are two problems that open the chapter, one that leads to the other.
Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land . Moses doesn’t tell us why. John Calvin faulted her and Jacob since girls were to stay home under the eye of their father. Dinah was the daughter of Leah , significant because of her full-brothers Levi and Simeon who play a major part in a few paragraphs, and she was probably around 14-15 years old. Was she going out to serve the less fortunate ladies? Was she going out to look for a babysitting job? Was she going out to see her friends at the mall? It’s even possible to translate the infinitive as a passive: “went out to be seen by the women of the land” (see Hamilton).
She was seen, but by Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land . Dinah attracted the attention of the regional royalty, which is impressive. It was also dangerous. He saw her and lay with her and humiliated her . This was sexual assault against an unwilling woman. Where were they? What time of day was it? How did Shechem get her into a private place? Or did he not need to? Shechem forced himself upon Dinah and showed no moral, traditional, or legal restraint.
After humiliating her, his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. Is her name repeated because he wasn’t concerned with her name before now? He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. He “spoke to her heart,” trying to woo her. First rape, then romance. His lusts were so strong that he couldn’t wait and his emotions are so strong that he spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.” Now he’s into doing things the right way, ordering his dad to arrange the marriage.
Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. He heard it, we aren’t told by whom, but not from Dinah. We find out later in the story that she was stuck in Shechem’s house, presumably under constraint. But his daughter had been defiled , meaning that something happened to her that made her unfit for community participation; she is excluded from the camp. It doesn’t mean that she was guilty, any more than touching a dead body made someone guilty; but she wasn’t clean. She had been violated.
What would any dad do? What did Jacob do? Nothing. His sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. Jacob was in the minority, fearful for himself, so he didn’t go to confront Hamor or Shechem. He held his peace ; he kept quiet. It doesn’t seem that he sent a message to his boys either. This is not patience, this is passivity.
While the shepherd waits with his silent sorrow, Hamor arrives to negotiate for a wedding. As he and his son arrive at Jacob’s place, so do all the brothers who had learned from someone else what happened. Unlike their father, Moses says the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done. They were pained and enraged.
These brothers were on the planet because their grandparents on their dad’s side wouldn’t let Jacob marry a Canaanite. And this wasn’t even an honorable marriage, it was defiling abuse. Something must be done in response.
There are two proposals in this section, both of which are offensive, though for different reasons.
Without acknowledging any wrongdoing or making apology, Hamor does attempt to move forward. His offers sounds gracious, but it is also oblivious. He addresses father and sons: ”The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, get property in it.” Hamor makes it sound so warm and inviting and profitable. They can move about the region in safety, buy and sell, even purchase land.
Shechem couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He’s got to have Dinah so badly he offers to pay anything. Never shop for groceries when you’re hungry or negotiate an engagement present when you’re twitterpated. “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. Ask me for as great a bride-price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.” He asks for the same thing that Jacob asked from Esau.
The back-and-forth must have gone on for a while because, by verse 13, Jacob appears to have left; nothing is said about his emotional or verbal response.
On the other hand, the sons of the deceiver have a plan. They answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah . They show remarkable restraint, good poker-faces. They talk in terms about what is “right,” but not the actual issue.
“We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.” (Genesis 34:14–17)
They had no intention of becoming partners, let alone in-laws, with the people of Shechem. That they answered deceitfully tips the hand that the brothers are not concerned about circumcision, either for reasons of hygiene or religion. God gave their great-grandfather the sign of the covenant. They were initiated into it. The LORD was their LORD by this sign. But they use the sign for their own advantage.
They treat the sign that marked them as special as nothing special, as a diversionary tactic. And it’s all or nothing. “Either pay this high price or we’re walking and taking Dinah with us.”
There are two dishonorable maneuvers by two pairs of men.
Somehow, Hamor and Shechem think this deal is great. Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. Shechem was so blind that he didn’t delay at all to share the good news with the people.
Shechem was eager and he was well esteemed, the golden-haired boy of the tribe. Both father and son present the opportunity.
“These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” (Genesis 34:21–23)
Note the switch in advantage between who is giving and who is taking. Before it was Jacob’s family that had the upper hand, now it’s the people of the city. “Look at everything we’re going to get! We just have to agree to this one, teeny condition.”
Hamor and Shechem cut out key parts of the story; they tell the people nothing about Dinah, about Shechem violating her or about his desire to marry her. The real reason for the deal is hidden from the public presentation. “Do this and it will benefit everyone, by which we really mean us.” If only leaders wouldn’t lie for their own benefit at other people’s expense. Selfish politics is not new.
What’s worse, Hamor and Shechem deceive the town’s people while being deceived themselves. The men pay a high price and never see the return. All of them listened and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city , meaning all the able-bodied men capable of representing their city in battle (Hamilton). They should have asked more questions, asked to read the contact. Instead, they were excited by the prospect of free money.
Now the design of the deceit becomes clear. Levi and Simeon, at least, knew that they couldn’t take revenge on the entire town unless they had an advantage. They’ve coordinated two for themselves. The men think that they have a contract of peace and they are physically debilitated.
On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. This was a massacre. It was a violent overreaction.
They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. They rescued their sister but killed all the men. The latter Old Testament law did not require the death penalty for rape, even if the financial penalty was severe (see Deuteronomy 22:28-29). But Levi and Simeon go far beyond justice by any measure, taking matters into their own hands.
The other brothers came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered. The brothers rationalized their rape of the city since their sister had been raped.
There are two dishonorable reactions in the final two verses.
Now Jacob says something in condemnation, but toward his sons. ”You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites.” Something stinks, but there is just as much stink on Jacob. He held his peace against Hamor and Shechem, yet he can’t help but complain against Simeon and Levi. Note that he isn’t concerned for what is right but for his reputation. He doesn’t condemn the lies or sacrilege or the murders or the theft per se, but the possible retaliation.
He’s anxious for his safety. ”My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” It’s a lot of “me” and “I,” isn’t it? There still hasn’t been any mention of Dinah. Jacob’s complaint was based on assumed outcomes, not on objective standards. His sons were reckless.
But the brothers don’t seem to give a rip about their dad’s complaint. They think he is feckless, lacking initiative or strength of character. ”Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” No. They call Dinah our sister rather than “your daughter.” Did Jacob not care because Dinah was Leah’s daughter? The brothers show zero remorse for their conduct, and the “narrator gives them the last word” (Waltke).
There is always a price. Jacob pays for not going to Bethel. Dinah pays for not staying home. Jacob pays again for his inactivity. Shechem pays for his assault. Hamor and Shechem pay for their failure to make amends. The people of the city pay for not asking more questions. Levi and Simeon pay, cursed by Jacob in Genesis 49:5-7, for their violence and anger. They did things that ought not to be done in Israel.
The cost is high for dishonorable conduct. Jacob’s family won’t ever forget this event, and Jacob shoulders the primary blame. He isn’t called “Israel” in this chapter because he doesn’t strive with anyone. He has not shown his sons how to act any better, either before this defiling or after it.
How about for us? Not sure what to do? Wondering what is appropriate? Get wisdom. How do you do that? Well, it requires work. And probably more than work, it will take courage. Convictions are costly, but remember, so is dishonor. There is always a price.
Also, be where you’re supposed to be. Some, maybe most, convictions never get into battle because they were wise to stay out of the wrong place first.
Jacob will be ready to go to Bethel when the LORD calls him at the start of chapter 35.