Genesis 34
Christian Standard Bible
Dinah Defiled
34 Leah’s daughter(A) Dinah, whom Leah bore to Jacob, went out to see some of the young women of the area. 2 When Shechem—son of Hamor the Hivite, who was the region’s chieftain—saw her, he took her and raped her. 3 He became infatuated with Jacob’s daughter Dinah. He loved the young girl and spoke tenderly to her.[a] 4 “Get me this girl as a wife,”(B) he told his father.
5 Jacob 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. 6 Meanwhile, Shechem’s father Hamor came to speak with Jacob. 7 Jacob’s sons returned from the field when they heard about the incident. They were deeply grieved and very angry, for Shechem had committed an outrage against Israel by raping Jacob’s daughter,(C) and such a thing should not be done.
8 Hamor said to Jacob’s sons, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your[b] daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 9 Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 Live with us. The land is before you. Settle here, move about, and acquire property in it.”
11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Grant me this favor,[c] and I’ll give you whatever you say. 12 Demand of me a high compensation[d] and gift; I’ll give you whatever you ask me. Just give the girl to be my wife!”
13 But 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. 15 We will agree with you only on this condition: if all your males are circumcised as we are.(D) 16 Then we will give you our daughters, take your daughters for ourselves, live with you, and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.”
18 Their words seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The 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 family. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city(E) and spoke to the men of their city.
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’s take their daughters as our wives and give our daughters to them. 22 But 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. 23 Won’t their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let’s agree with them, and they will live with us.”
24 All the men(F) who had come to the city gates listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and all those men were circumcised. 25 On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi,(G) Dinah’s brothers, took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and killed every male. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went away. 27 Jacob’s sons came to the slaughter and plundered the city because their sister had been defiled. 28 They took their flocks, herds, donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 They captured all their possessions, dependents, and wives and plundered everything in the houses.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me,(H) making me odious to the inhabitants of the land,(I) the Canaanites and the Perizzites.(J) We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”(K)
31 But they answered, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
Genesis 35
Christian Standard Bible
Return to Bethel
35 God said to Jacob, “Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there.(A) Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”(B)
2 So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you.(C) Purify yourselves and change your clothes.(D) 3 We must get up and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to the God who answered me in my day of distress.(E) He has been with me everywhere I have gone.”(F)
4 Then they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and their earrings, and Jacob hid them under the oak near Shechem. 5 When they set out, a terror from God came over the cities around them, and they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.(G) 6 So Jacob and all who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel(H)) in the land of Canaan. 7 Jacob built an altar there and called the place El-bethel[a] because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
8 Deborah, the one who had nursed and raised Rebekah,[b](I) died and was buried under the oak south of Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bacuth.[c]
9 God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; you will no longer be named Jacob, but your name will be Israel.”(J) So he named him Israel. 11 God also said to him, “I am God Almighty.(K) Be fruitful and multiply.(L) A nation, indeed an assembly of nations, will come from you,(M) and kings will descend from you.[d](N) 12 I will give to you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac.(O) And I will give the land to your future descendants.” 13 Then God withdrew[e](P) from him at the place where he had spoken to him.
14 Jacob set up a marker at the place where he had spoken to him—a stone marker. He poured a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.(Q) 15 Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.
Rachel’s Death
16 They set out from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult. 17 During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have another son.”(R) 18 With her last breath—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni,[f] but his father called him Benjamin.[g] 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem(S)). 20 Jacob set up a marker on her grave; it is the marker at Rachel’s grave still today.
Israel’s Sons
21 Israel set out again and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder.[h] 22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.(T)
Jacob had twelve sons:(U)
23 Leah’s sons were Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn),
Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Issachar, and Zebulun.
24 Rachel’s sons were
Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Rachel’s slave Bilhah
were Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Leah’s slave Zilpah
were Gad and Asher.
These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
Isaac’s Death
27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre(V) in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron(W)), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28 Isaac lived 180 years. 29 He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people,(X) old and full of days. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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