Genesis 33–34

Jacob Meets Esau

33Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female slaves. ²He put the female slaves and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. ³He himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground ^xseven times until he approached his brother.

⁴But Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. Then they wept. ^y5When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?”

He answered, “The children God has graciously given your servant.” ^z6Then the female slaves and their children approached him and bowed down. ⁷Leah and her children also approached and bowed down, and then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down.

⁸So Esau said, “What do you mean by this whole procession ^aI met?” ^b

“To find favor with you, my lord,” ^che answered.

⁹“I have enough, my brother,” Esau replied. “Keep what you have.”

¹⁰But Jacob said, “No, please! If I have found favor with you, take this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing God’s face, since you have accepted me. ¹¹Please take my present that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have everything I need.” So Jacob urged him until he accepted.

¹²Then Esau said, “Let’s move on, and I’ll go ahead of you.”

¹³Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and I have nursing sheep and cattle. If they are driven hard for one day, the whole herd will die. ¹⁴Let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a pace suited to the livestock and the children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”

¹⁵Esau said, “Let me leave some of my people with you.”

But he replied, “Why do that? Please indulge me, ^dmy lord.” ^e

¹⁶That day Esau started on his way back to Seir, ¹⁷but Jacob went on to Succoth. He built a house for himself and stalls for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth. ^fg

¹⁸After Jacob came from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely ^hat Shechem ⁱin the land of Canaan and camped in front of the city. ¹⁹He purchased a section of the field where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for 100 qesitahs. ^jk20And he set up an altar there and called it “God, the God of Israel.” ^l

Dinah Defiled

34Dinah, Leah’s daughter ^mwhom she bore to Jacob, went out to see some of the young women of the area. ²When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, a prince of the region, saw her, he took her and raped her. ³He became infatuated with Dinah, daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke tenderly to her. ⁿ⁴“Get me this girl as a wife,” ^ohe told his father Hamor.

⁵Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent until they returned. ⁶Meanwhile, Shechem’s father Hamor came to speak with Jacob. ⁷Jacob’s sons returned from the field when they heard about the incident and were deeply grieved and angry. For Shechem had committed an outrage against Israel by raping Jacob’s daughter, ^pand such a thing should not be done.

⁸Hamor said to Jacob’s sons, “My son Shechem is strongly attracted to your ^qdaughter. Please give her to him as a wife. ⁹Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰Live with us. The land is before you. Settle here, move about, and acquire property in it.”

¹¹Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Grant me this favor, ^rand I’ll give you whatever you say. ¹²Demand of me a high compensation ^sand gift; I’ll give you whatever you ask me. Just give the girl to be my wife!”

¹³But Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully because he had defiled their sister Dinah. ¹⁴“We cannot do this thing,” they said to them. “Giving our sister to an uncircumcised man is a disgrace to us. ¹⁵We will agree with you only on this condition: if all your males are circumcised as we are. ^t16Then we will give you our daughters, take your daughters for ourselves, live with you, and become one people. ¹⁷But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”

¹⁸Their words seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹The young man did not delay doing this, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most important in all his father’s house. ²⁰So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city ^uand spoke to the men there.

²¹“These men are peaceful toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and move about in it, for indeed, the region is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as our wives and give our daughters to them. ²²But the men will agree to live with us and be one people only on this condition: if all our men are circumcised as they are. ²³Won’t their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will live with us.”

²⁴All the able-bodied men ^vwlistened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and all the able-bodied men ^xwere circumcised. ²⁵On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, ^yDinah’s brothers, took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and killed every male. ²⁶They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went away. ²⁷Jacob’s other sons came to the slaughter and plundered the city because their sister had been defiled. ²⁸They took their sheep, cattle, donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. ²⁹They captured all their possessions, children, and wives and plundered everything in the houses.

³⁰Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, ^zmaking me odious to the inhabitants of the land, ^athe Canaanites and the Perizzites. ^bWe are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.” ^c

³¹But they answered, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”