Genesis 34.30-31-Jacob's Reaction to the Massacre of Shechem and His Sons' Response
Thursday September 28, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 34:30-31-Jacob’s Reaction to the Massacre of Shechem and His Sons’ Response
Lesson # 213
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 34:1.
This evening we will complete our study of the massacre of the city of Shechem by Jacob’s sons in retaliation for the rape of their sister Dinah by Shechem, the son of Hamor, the Hivite.
In Genesis 33:17, we saw Jacob staying temporarily in Succoth in order to rest his flocks and family after their difficult and long journey from Paddan Aram and confrontations with both Laban and Esau.
Then, in Genesis 33:18-20, we saw Jacob crossing the Jordan and moving twenty miles to the west and settling at Shechem in the land of Canaan, and purchases land from Hamor, who was a Hivite.
Hamor sold this tract of land to Jacob with the intention of intermarrying with Jacob’s family and absorbing their great wealth and possessions that they acquired in Paddan Aram.
However, the Hivites were a branch of the Canaanites who were under a curse as stipulated in the prophecy of Noah, which is recorded in Genesis 9:24-27, thus Jacob’s family could not intermarry with Hamor’s people, the Hivites.
Then, in Genesis 34:1-4, we saw Dinah raped by Shechem, the son of Hamor, the Hivite.
Genesis 34:5-7 records Jacob’s “passive” response to the rape of Dinah and the angry reaction of his sons.
In Genesis 34:8-12, we saw Hamor proposing intermarriage and an economic package to Jacob’s sons that would greatly benefit Jacob’s family.
However, we saw on Sunday in Genesis 34:13-17, Jacob’s sons deceitfully propose to Hamor that he and his constituents agree to the condition of circumcision with the intention of killing him, his son Shechem and all the men of the city of Shechem in retaliation for his son Shechem raping their sister Dinah.
Genesis 34:18-24 gives us the account of Shechem and Hamor deceitfully selling to their subjects the proposed condition of circumcision so as to get Jacob’s sons to agree to their intermarriage and economic proposals.
Last evening we noted Genesis 34:25-29, which presents to us the record of the murder of Shechem and his father Hamor as well as all the men of the city of Shechem by Jacob’s sons in retaliation for the rape of their sister Dinah.
This evening we will complete our study of Genesis 34 by noting Genesis 34:30-31, which gives us the record of the reaction of Jacob and his sons to this event.
Genesis 34:1, “Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.”
Genesis 34:2, “When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.”
Genesis 34:3, “He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.”
Genesis 34:4, “So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, ‘Get me this young girl for a wife.’”
Genesis 34:5, “Now Jacob heard that he (Shechem) had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in.”
Genesis 34:6, “Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.”
Genesis 34:7, “Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.”
Genesis 34:8, “But Hamor spoke with them, saying, ‘The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage.’”
Genesis 34:9, “Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves.”
Genesis 34:10, “Thus you shall live with us, and the land shall be open before you; live and trade in it and acquire property in it.”
Genesis 34:11, “Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, ‘If I find favor in your sight, then I will give whatever you say to me.’”
Genesis 34:12, “Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage.”
Genesis 34:13, “But Jacob's sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor with deceit, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.”
Genesis 34:14, “They said to them, ‘We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.’”
Genesis 34:15-16, “Only on this condition will we consent to you: if you will become like us, in that every male of you be circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people.”
Genesis 34:17, “But if you will not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”
Genesis 34:18, “Now their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son.”
Genesis 34:19, “The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father.”
Genesis 34:20-21, “So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, ‘these men are friendly with us; therefore let them live in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them.’”
Genesis 34:22, “Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised.”
Genesis 34:23, “Will not their livestock and their property and all their animals be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will live with us.”
Genesis 34:24, “All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.”
Genesis 34:25, “Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male.”
Genesis 34:26, “They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem's house, and went forth.”
Genesis 34:27, “Jacob's sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister.”
Genesis 34:28-29, “They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses.”
Genesis 34:30, “Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.’”
Jacob’s reaction to the massacre of the men of the city of Shechem and the plundering of that city by his sons Simeon and Levi reveals that he is out of fellowship with God and again living according to his old Adamic sin nature.
Notice that Jacob never condemns his sons for the massacre, nor for abusing the rite of circumcision or even for breach of contract!
But rather, he simply fears the consequences of their actions, which would make him unpopular with the inhabitants of the land and could result in the death of himself and his household.
Jacob demonstrates no moral outrage or righteous indignation towards the actions of his sons just as he failed to show no moral outrage or righteous indignation for the rape of his own daughter Dinah.
Not only this, but notice that he shows no concern whatsoever for his daughter Dinah who has gone through a harrowing experience of being raped, held hostage and seeing the massacre of innocent people!
Jacob cares more about himself and his own public relations rather than his sons’ actions or the well-being of his own daughter or how the massacre of Shechem misrepresented the holiness of God, which he and his family were to reflect.
His fear of retribution by the inhabitants of the area surrounding Shechem reveals that he fails to take into consideration the Lord’s unconditional promise to protect him and his household.
The Lord had delivered him from Laban and Esau, when Jacob was in the right but now he could not see how he could expect divine protection when his family was obviously in the wrong.
Remember, Jacob had no idea that his sons were fixing to kill the Shechemites.
In Genesis 49:5-7, Jacob under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit rebukes Simeon and Levi for their conduct in dealing with the rape of Dinah indicating that these two alone hatched the plan and that Jacob was totally unaware of their intentions and was thus innocent of murder.
Genesis 49:5, “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.”
Genesis 49:6, “Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united with their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they lamed oxen.”
Genesis 49:7, “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”
Therefore, the criticism of Jacob for failing to rebuke Simeon and Levi for their murderous plan is unwarranted since he never knew of their plan in the first place.
However, the criticism of Jacob for remaining silent while his sons proposed circumcision as the condition for intermarriage with the inhabitants of Shechem who were a Canaanite people is warranted since intermarriage with the Canaanites was out of the question since they were under a curse according to Genesis 9:25.
Jacob failed as the leader of his family by remaining silent while his sons proposed circumcision as the condition for intermarriage with the Canaanites.
He knew that this was wrong since his own father Isaac prohibited him from marrying a Canaanite woman like his brother Esau.
In fact, this was the reason why Isaac sent him to Paddan Aram to marry an Aramean woman, who were Shemites.
Jacob should have taken control and stopped the negotiations with Shechem and Hamor once he heard his sons propose circumcision as a condition for intermarriage with the inhabitants of Shechem since the Lord prohibited his family to intermarry with Canaanites.
He should have demanded that his daughter be returned to him and then immediately leave the area and return to Bethel to fulfill his vow to the Lord.
Therefore, we see that the massacre of Shechem could have been avoided if Jacob functioned in his role as the patriarch of the family and had taken control from the beginning.
So we see that his criticism of his sons seemed to them as ridiculous and hypocrisy on his part since he was complaining about the action they had taken but what had “he” done?
Had he forgotten that his daughter Dinah was raped by Shechem, a Canaanite who then had the audacity to hold her hostage while he negotiated a marriage agreement with Jacob’s family?
Where was Jacob when intermarriage with Canaanites was proposed to his family by Shechem and Hamor, which was against the will of the Lord?
Later on the Mosaic Law prohibited the Israelites from intermarrying with the Canaanites since the latter would take the former away from their relationship with God and lead them into idolatry, which would result in divine discipline upon the nation of Israel (See Deuteronomy 7:1-4).
Satan, who is the great enemy of the nation of Israel, is behind this proposal since acceptance of this proposal would have meant the absorption of the Israelites by the Canaanites and the loss of their identity, thus preventing the birth of Christ.
If Jacob had known a better way to solve the problem with Dinah and Shechem, then why didn’t he speak up?
Where was Israel, the man who prevailed with God and men by appropriating by faith the power of God in his life?
Why didn’t Jacob speak up when he knew his son’s proposal of circumcision was wrong and that intermarriage with Canaanites was prohibited by God?
The statements made by Jacob as recorded in Genesis 34:30 reveal that he was a people pleaser at this point in the narrative rather than a God pleaser.
He wanted to get along with his neighbors even if it meant compromising his relationship with God and disobeying Him!
So we can see that his sons thought that Jacob’s criticism was total hypocrisy and unwarranted.
Genesis 34:30, “Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household.’”
“By making me odious” is the verb ba’ash (vu^B*), which literally means, “to stink” but is used in Genesis 34:30 figuratively by Jacob to describe the massacre of Shechem by his sons as making him “abhorred” by the inhabitants of the area surrounding Shechem.
The “Canaanites” lived in the land west of the Jordan River before the conquest of Joshua and whose western border was the Mediterranean Sea (Gen. 13:12; Num. 33:51).
The “Perizzites” refers to a tribe of people who inhabited the mountainous region eventually taken over by the tribes of Ephraim and Judah (cf. Josh. 11:3; 17:5; Judg. 1:4f.) and because they were related to the Canaanites, the term “Perizzites” often refers to this entire group (cf. Gen. 13:7; 34:30).
According to Joshua 11:3 and 17:15, the “Perizzites” occupied the central hill country, which would be the region of Shechem.
Genesis 34:31, “But they said, ‘Should he treat our sister as a harlot?’”
Notice that Jacob’s sons use the phrase “our sister” and not “your daughter” revealing the tremendous rift that has taken place between Jacob and his sons.
The rhetorical question put forth by Jacob’s sons to their father emphatically asserts the anticipated negative answer and condemns Jacob.
However, Jacob’s prophecy concerning Simeon and Levi recorded in Genesis 49:5-7 condemns Jacob’s sons.
Jacob failed in his leadership role in his family by remaining silent when his boys proposed circumcision as the condition for intermarriage with the Canaanites since he did not give appropriate guidance and direction to his children.
Simeon and Levi were justified in being angry for the rape of their sister and her being held hostage but were wrong in the actions they took to deal with the problem.
