Genesis 33–34

33RD CHAPTER

Jacob Meets Esau

¹Jacob saw Esau coming with 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two slaves. ²He put the slaves and their children in front, Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph last. ³He went on ahead of them and bowed seven times with his face touching the ground as he came near his brother. 

⁴Then Esau ran to meet Jacob. Esau hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. They both cried. ⁵When he saw the women and children, Esau asked, “Who are these people here with you?” 

“The children God has graciously given me, sir,” Jacob answered. 

⁶Then the slaves and their children came forward and bowed down. ⁷Likewise, Leah and her children came forward and bowed down. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down. 

⁸Then Esau asked, “Why did you send this whole group ⸤of people and animals⸥ I met?” 

He answered, “To win your favor, sir.” 

⁹Esau said, “I have enough. Keep what you have, Brother.” 

¹⁰Jacob said, “No, please take the gift I’m giving you, because I’ve seen your face as if I were seeing the face of God, and yet you welcomed me so warmly. ¹¹Please take the present I’ve brought you, because God has been gracious to me and has given me all that I need.” So Esau took it because Jacob insisted. 

¹²Then Esau said, “Let’s get ready to go, and I’ll go with you.” 

¹³Jacob said to him, “Sir, you know that the children are frail and that I have to take care of the flocks and cattle that are nursing their young. If they’re driven too hard for even one day, all the flocks will die. ¹⁴Go ahead of me, sir. I will slowly and gently guide the herds that are in front of me at their pace and at the children’s pace until I come to you in Seir.” 

¹⁵Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.” 

“Why do that?” Jacob asked. “I only want to win your favor, sir.” 

¹⁶That day Esau started back to Seir. ¹⁷But Jacob moved on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is named Succoth ^[Shelters^[. 

¹⁸So having come from Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in Canaan. He camped within sight of the city. ¹⁹Then he bought the piece of land on which he had put up his tents. He bought it from the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver. ²⁰He set up an altar there and named it God Is the God of Israel. 

34TH CHAPTER

Dinah Is Raped

¹Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to visit some of the Canaanite women. ²When Shechem, son of the local ruler Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her. ³He became very fond of Jacob’s daughter Dinah. He loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. 

⁴So Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl for my wife.” 

⁵Jacob heard that Shechem had dishonored his daughter Dinah. His sons were with his livestock out in the open country, so Jacob kept quiet until they came home. 

⁶So Shechem’s father Hamor came to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷Jacob’s sons came in from the open country as soon as they heard the news. The men felt outraged and very angry because Shechem had committed such a godless act against Israel’s family by raping Jacob’s daughter. This shouldn’t have happened. 

⁸Hamor told them. “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please let her marry him. ⁹Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take ours for yourselves. ¹⁰You can live with us, and the land will be yours. Live here, move about freely in this area, and acquire property here.” 

¹¹Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and her brothers, “Do me this favor. I’ll give you whatever you ask. ¹²Set the price I must pay for the bride and the gift I must give her as high as you want. I’ll pay exactly what you tell me. Give me the girl as my wife.” 

¹³Then Jacob’s sons gave Shechem and his father Hamor a misleading answer because he had dishonored their sister Dinah. ¹⁴They said, “We can’t do this. We can’t give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised. That would be a disgrace to us! ¹⁵We will give our consent to you only on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as we are. ¹⁶Then we’ll give our daughters to you and take yours for ourselves, and we’ll live with you and become one people. ¹⁷If you won’t agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our daughter and go.” 

¹⁸Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹The young man didn’t waste any time in doing what they said because he took such pleasure in Jacob’s daughter. He was the most honored person in all his father’s family. 

²⁰So Hamor and his son Shechem went to their city gate to speak to the men of their city. They said, ²¹“These people are friendly toward us, so let them live in our land and move about freely in the area. Look, there’s plenty of room in this land for them. We can marry their daughters and let them marry ours. ²²These people will consent to live with us and become one nation on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as they are. ²³Won’t their livestock, their personal property, and all their animals be ours? We only need to agree to do this for them. Then they’ll live with us.” 

²⁴All the men who had come out to the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. So they were all circumcised at the city gate. 

²⁵Two days later, while the men were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and boldly attacked the city. They killed every man ²⁶including Hamor and his son Shechem. They took Dinah from Shechem’s home and left. ²⁷Then Jacob’s sons stripped the corpses and looted the city where their sister had been dishonored. ²⁸They took the sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, and whatever else was in the city or out in the fields. ²⁹They carried off all the wealth and all the women and children and looted everything in the houses. 

³⁰Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused me a lot of trouble! You’ve made the people living in the area, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, hate me. There are only a few of us. If they join forces against me and attack me, my family and I will be wiped out.” 

³¹Simeon and Levi asked, “Should Shechem have been allowed to treat our sister like a prostitute?”