2 And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and humbled her. 3 And his soul fastened on Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the maiden, and spoke consolingly to the maiden. 4 And Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, Take me this girl as wife. 5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter; but his sons were with his cattle in the fields, and Jacob said nothing until they came.
6 And Hamor the father of Shechem came out to Jacob, to speak to him. 7 And the sons of Jacob came from the fields when they heard [it]; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had wrought what was disgraceful in Israel, in lying with Jacob's daughter, which thing ought not to be done. 8 And Hamor spoke to them, saying, My son Shechem's soul cleaves to your daughter: I pray you, give her to him as wife. 9 And make marriages with us: give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to you. 10 And dwell with us, and the land shall be before you: dwell and trade in it, and get yourselves possessions in it. 11 And Shechem said to her father and to her brethren, Let me find favour in your eyes; and what ye shall say to me I will give. 12 Impose on me very much as dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say to me; but give me the maiden as wife. 13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and spoke—because he had defiled Dinah their sister— 14 and said to them, We cannot do this, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that [were] a reproach to us. 15 But only in this will we consent to you, if ye will be as we, that every male of you be circumcised; 16 then will we give our daughters to you, and take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and be one people. 17 But if ye do not hearken to us, to be circumcised, then will we take our daughter and go away.
18 And their words were good in the eyes of Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son. 19 And the youth did not delay to do this, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter. And he was honourable above all in the house of his father. 20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade in it. And the land—behold, it is of wide extent before them. We will take their daughters as wives, and give them our daughters. 22 But only in this will the men consent to us to dwell with us, to be one people—if every male among us be circumcised, just as they are circumcised. 23 Their cattle, and their possessions, and every beast of theirs, shall they not be ours? only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us. 24 And all that went out at the gate of his city hearkened to Hamor and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised—all that went out at the gate of his city.
25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. 26 And Hamor and Shechem his son they slew with the edge of the sword; and took Dinah out of Shechem's house; and went out.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 34:2-26
Commentary on Genesis 34:1-19
(Read Genesis 34:1-19)
Young persons, especially females, are never so safe and well off as under the care of pious parents. Their own ignorance, and the flattery and artifices of designing, wicked people, who are ever laying snares for them, expose them to great danger. They are their own enemies if they desire to go abroad, especially alone, among strangers to true religion. Those parents are very wrong who do not hinder their children from needlessly exposing themselves to danger. Indulged children, like Dinah, often become a grief and shame to their families. Her pretence was, to see the daughters of the land, to see how they dressed, and how they danced, and what was fashionable among them; she went to see, yet that was not all, she went to be seen too. She went to get acquaintance with the Canaanites, and to learn their ways. See what came of Dinah's gadding. The beginning of sin is as the letting forth of water. How great a matter does a little fire kindle! We should carefully avoid all occasions of sin and approaches to it.
Commentary on Genesis 34:20-31
(Read Genesis 34:20-31)
The Shechemites submitted to the sacred rite, only to serve a turn, to please their prince, and to enrich themselves, and it was just with God to bring punishment upon them. As nothing secures us better than true religion, so nothing exposes us more than religion only pretended to. But Simeon and Levi were most unrighteous. Those who act wickedly, under the pretext of religion, are the worst enemies of the truth, and harden the hearts of many to destruction. The crimes of others form no excuse for us. Alas! how one sin leads on to another, and, like flames of fire, spread desolation in every direction! Foolish pleasures lead to seduction; seduction produces wrath; wrath thirsts for revenge; the thirst of revenge has recourse to treachery; treachery issues in murder; and murder is followed by other lawless actions. Were we to trace the history of unlawful commerce between the sexes, we should find it, more than any other sin, ending in blood.