Get me this damsel to wife,” Shechem pleaded with his father, Hamor (Genesis 34:4). He was referring to Dinah, Jacob’s beautiful, teenage daughter. With heartfelt remorse and tears, he confessed that he was so taken by the girl that he had lost control and taken her in a fit of passion. “I love her,” he explained, and assured his father, “She loves me.” In fact, he had forcibly raped her.
In verse 2, the Hebrew word ana translated into the English as defiled means use of force. Although Dinah put herself in a precarious situation by associating closely with Shechem, she did not agree to the sexual encounter. Hamor’s son overpowered her in the same way David’s son Amnon forced his half sister Tamar. The major difference here, though, is that after the tragedy, Shechem loved Dinah even more.
After stealing her virginity, the young man sought to repair the harm he had done to her, speaking kindly to her. He likely promised her a gloriously happy marriage, a thrilling city life and riches (verse 3). The Oxford King James Bible margin reference shows that verse 3 means he spoke to her heart. Swayed by romance, Dinah believed him and chose to remain by his side. She gave up her peaceful pastoral life with her parents and brothers.
Jacob Takes No Action
News of Shechem’s abuse of Dinah reached Jacob. The patriarch grew pale and silent. He sent a message to her brothers, who were tending his cattle grazing in the fields. Before taking action, he needed his strong, youthful sons with him. He would wait patiently until they returned (Genesis 34:5). Yet Hamor brought his son to Jacob immediately (verse 6). Hamor feared his son’s impulsive action with Dinah would lead to trouble with Jacob and his rapidly growing clan. He had sold land to Jacob (Genesis 33:19), so there was some hope the matter could be resolved without bloodshed. However, Hamor recognized that Jacob’s family was a strong, stouthearted people. He feared a plot against himself and his people. Hamor thought it best to make the first move, believing it far better to deal with the situation immediately than to let it fester and break out into an armed conflict.
It appears that Dinah’s brothers and Hamor (along with Shechem) arrived at Jacob’s dwelling at about the same time. Looking into the faces of Jacob’s sons, Hamor realized that Shechem had provoked an intensely emotional response. Things did not look good.
The burly brothers were united in their deep anger over Shechem’s defilement of Dinah. “[T]hey were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; which thing ought not to be done” (Genesis 34:7). Knowing what had happened to their sister, the brothers became not only fiercely angry, they believed their father was greatly dishonored and their small-but-God-created-nation violated! Hamor’s hope of resolving the matter with Jacob alone was dashed; he would now also have to negotiate with his sons.
Looking at Jacob, but addressing all of them, Hamor said, “The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife” (verse 8). Jacob’s sons stared coldly at the prince. Hamor swallowed hard and continued: “And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein” (verses 9-10). Hamor sensed the need for an on-the-spot peace treaty, so he sugarcoated his son’s actions with a proposal of intermarriage with his people and the promise of commerce and wealth. Essentially Hamor suggested they overlook his son’s crime and become one big happy family.
Hypocrisy And Deceit
Hamor got little positive reaction. Jacob’s sons did not soften one bit. Shechem stepped in to defend himself. “Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife” (Genesis 34:11-12).
Hamor and Shechem did not realize that behind all the icy stares, a deceitful plot was developing in the minds of Jacob’s sons. Remember, they were sons of the Supplanter (Genesis 27:36; 34:13).
Jacob said nothing in response to Hamor and Shechem. Yet, His sons—Dinah’s brothers—had a lot to say. A Gentile had sullied their younger sister, and they were not going to be bought off by money. “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us,” exclaimed one of Jacob’s sons, speaking for the group. “But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised; Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone” (verses 14-17). What an absurd proposition! One can only wonder if Jacob’s sons really believed that Hamor and Shechem would go for such a deal.
Nevertheless, they did consent (verse 18). The two Gentiles were actually happy with the clan’s solution. Shocking! Circumcision is an extremely painful and medically dangerous procedure for an adult male. Usually fever and a complete loss of energy and strength accompany the procedure. Jacob’s sons would have understood these facts. It is likely that the Hivites did not.
One Honorable And One Ignoble Gentile
Genesis 34:19 makes it clear that Shechem was willing to be the first to step up and endure the rite. Why? “[B]ecause he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.” Shechem had made a horrible mistake, but he was more honorable than his father, his people or Jacob’s sons. He truly did love Dinah and wanted to make things right.
Leaving Jacob’s dwellings with a sense of relief, Hamor and Shechem took the Israelite proposal to the men of the city. “These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters,” reasoned Hamor with the townsmen (verse 21). It seemed like a good plan to the crowd listening intently. Many nodded their heads in agreement. However, there was a catch. “Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised” (verse 22). The crowd was still. Only a few heads nodded in agreement. A few men winced.
Hamor was persuasive. He had concocted a way to sweeten the deal. “Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us” (verse 23). Hamor’s ignoble side showed itself clearly here. He saw a way to use Shechem’s tryst with Dinah as an opportunity for great gain. Jacob and his sons held a gold mine in cattle. These Gentiles could make the Israelites’ incredible wealth theirs if they struck this agreement. Surprisingly, all the men were circumcised, not suspecting any danger whatsoever.
Simeon And Levi’s Cruelty
What transpired next is the epitome of cruelty. Three days after all the men of the city were circumcised—at their weakest point—Simeon, Levi and a band of soldiers slew all the males of the city (Genesis 34:25). Hamor and Shechem did not escape death (verse 26). The raiding band retrieved Dinah from Shechem’s house, and then ransacked the city with unbounded anger.
Moses, who recorded the book of Genesis, described their bloody massacre this way: “The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house” (verses 27-29). Jacob had escaped a bloodbath with Laban and his murderous brother Esau. Yet he did not grasp the nightmarish violence and treachery locked in the hearts of his two sons. Their crime and cruelty was immense.
Seeing his blood-soaked sons and downtrodden daughter, and hearing the mournful cries of the Hivite women and children, Jacob shuddered in disgust. “Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house,” Jacob said to Simeon and Levi (verse 30). He was appalled at the immense suffering the two had precipitated so brutally upon a peaceful people. In addition, they had opened the door for other nations—the Canaanites and Perizzites—to violently attack the tiny nation of Israel.
“Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” was their cold-hearted reply (verse 31; English Standard Version). The extent of punishment meted out by Simeon and Levi far exceeded Shechem’s crime against their sister. Yet they justified themselves, claiming that Shechem wanted to buy their sister like some prostitute. What motivated them to wipe out an entire generation of men and enslave their women and children because of the sin of one man? There is an extremely important lesson for us here.
Control Your Anger
We live in a frightfully dangerous and violent world. Massacres and mass shootings of people have become commonplace. The United States has experienced one mass shooting per month for the past four years. Some have been more sensational than others, such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn., that snuffed out the lives of 20 children and 6 adults. In addition to these mass shootings, on average 28 people are murdered each day in America. Investigations into the background of mass murderers and killers often reveal a history of anger—out-of-control anger—that often leads to rage and violent actions.
Simeon and Levi were driven to murder Hamor, his son and all the men in his city by their boiling hot anger that exploded into a violent mass murder. These two sons of Jacob were not in control of their emotions, and the result was a huge loss of life and a massive disaster. Let’s understand.
Not all anger is sin. There is a time to show righteous indignation. The Bible shows that Jesus Christ expressed anger on occasion with good cause. One of the most familiar examples involves cleansing the temple of moneychangers (John 2:14-15). Here Christ was not selfish, resentful, hateful or violent toward other human beings. He desired to teach them that they were treating His Father’s house with great disrespect. Christ’s anger in this incident was not out-of-control, destructive anger—it was constructive. Those who responded well to it benefited greatly. All Christians can display anger in this manner.
What About You?
When was the last time you examined your use of anger? Are you in control of it? Does your expression of anger serve a righteous purpose? Or is it self-serving? What is the foundation of your anger? Is it resentment, bitterness or violence? Do you use your anger to hurt your mate, your children or friends and acquaintances? Your honest answers to these questions indicate the size of the problem you have with anger. Unless you get your anger under control, you are in grave danger of potentially making some of the biggest mistakes of your life—even potentially committing murder (Matthew 5:22). Uncontrolled anger is really that dangerous!
A large number of problems between people and nations today are caused by uncontrolled emotions, thoughtlessness, misperception and easily hurt feelings—also known as emotional immaturity. Emotional immaturity is one of the greatest afflictions of our time. Herbert W. Armstrong wrote: “The great tragedy of our generation is that nearly all people mature physically, perhaps half to two thirds mature mentally, but very few ever grow up emotionally or spiritually. One is not a fully mature man or woman, as God intended, until emotional and spiritual maturity has been reached!” (Good News, March 1985).
Mr. Armstrong taught that emotional maturity is reached when the sound reasoning of the mind—instead of impulse—controls and guides a person’s moods, feelings and desires. This biblical teaching is based on scriptures such as: “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32; esv). Essentially, emotional immaturity allows carnal human nature (which is Satan’s nature) free expression. Yelling, screaming, rudeness, accusing, name-calling, throwing things—these are evidence of not being emotionally mature.
Prevent, Don’t Vent
For years, popular psychology recommended that people vent their anger—just let it out—to overcome their emotional problem. That notion changed in the early 1980s when a controversial book, Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, by Carol Tavris, was published. The book took the view that anger was often more destructive when expressed than suppressed. “People who are most prone to give vent to their rage get angrier, not less angry,” wrote Tavris. So how should people deal with their anger? Dr. Tavris recommended rethinking a provocation and deciding on an appropriate, intelligent, reasonable and more emotionally mature response. Does that sound similar to what Mr. Armstrong taught? A resounding yes!
This is precisely what your Bible recommends as well. Study and meditate deeply on the following scriptures: “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly” (Proverbs 14:29; esv); “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention” (Proverbs 15:18; esv). The Bible is full of sound advice on how to control your emotions—especially anger. Get control of your anger and prevent its ruinous effects in your life.
Simeon and Levi paid a severe penalty for the cruelty they unleashed on the Hivites through their out-of-control anger. God and Jacob never forgot it. In his momentous end-time prophecy recorded in Genesis 49, Jacob made this inspired pronouncement: “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (verses 5-7). Neither son was given a portion of land in Israel. Simeon and Levi never became independent nations. Let us be careful not to let uncontrolled anger keep us out of God’s Kingdom.