Genesis 34, Rape

Jacob's family has settled outside the town of Shechem, named apparently, for the son of Hamor the Hivite. (Shechem was probably about 30 miles north of modern Jerusalem; see this Wikipedia page.)

Genesis 34:1-4, Rape of Dinah

Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her. His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife."

Dinah is raped by the son of the local ruler.  Shechem is obsessed with Dinah and wants her as his wife.

Genesis 34:5-7, Jacob and his sons hear of the rape

When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home. Then Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob.

Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter--a thing that should not be done.

Jacob hears of the rape.  (From Dinah?)  He is quiet about it until his sons come home.  They are furious and make plans to retaliate.  But the rapist is the king's son.... 

It is likely that Jacob's silence angers his sons.  They make plans for vengeance and do not tell their father.

Much of the time the author of Genesis does not comment on the historical events.  Here is an exception.  Our narrator stresses that what Shechem has done was disgraceful ("in Israel"), as if to partially justify the horror of what follows. The phrase "in Israel" appears to look forward to a time when Israel is a nation, not just a small family band.

Genesis 34: 8-12, Hamor and Shechem ask for Dinah

But Hamor said to them, "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it."

Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife."

Hamor, the king, proposes marriage and an alliance.

Note: It is possible that Jacob has other daughters.

Genesis 34:13-17, Jacob's sons plan revenge
Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. They said to them, "We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us.

We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go."

According to the NIV footnotes, several places where the word "sister" appears, the Hebrew word is really the word for "daughter".  Clearly "sister" is implied.

Genesis 34:18-24, The men of the community are circumcised.
Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter.

So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen. "These men are friendly toward us," they said. "Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. Won't their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us." All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.

This is a painful process for an adult male! The brothers are relying on that fact.

Hamor and Shechem appear to have considerable power and influence and are looking to ally their power with that of Jacob.

Genesis 34:25-29, Massacre and robbery

Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left.

The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.

The rape of Dinah is followed by an act of extreme violence, with dozens murdered. Surely innocents die. (How big is the "city"?) I find it difficult to believe that just two sons, Simeon and Levi, are capable of accomplishing all of this.   Other sons are involved in carrying off the wealth.

Genesis 34:30-31, Jacob complains

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed."

But they replied, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"

Jacob is upset by the massacre but the sons have a quick response.