27 Jacob's sons came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.
Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.
They said, "Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?"
But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted thing; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the devoted thing: and the anger of Yahweh was kindled against the children of Israel.
Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, There is a devoted thing in the midst of you, Israel; you can not stand before your enemies, until you take away the devoted thing from among you.
when I saw among the spoil a goodly Babylonian mantle, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jew's enemy, killed they; but they didn't lay their hand on the spoil.
The other Jews who were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and killed of those who hated them seventy-five thousand; but they didn't lay their hand on the spoil.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 34
Commentary on Genesis 34 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 34
At this chapter begins the story of Jacob's afflictions in his children, which were very great, and are recorded to show,
Gen 34:1-5
Dinah was, for aught that appears, Jacob's only daughter, and we may suppose her therefore the mother's fondling and the darling of the family, and yet she proves neither a joy nor a credit to them; for those children seldom prove either the best or the happiest that are most indulged. She is reckoned now but fifteen or sixteen years of age when she here occasioned so much mischief. Observe,
Gen 34:6-17
Jacob's sons, when they heard of the injury done to Dinah, showed a very great resentment of it, influenced perhaps rather by jealousy for the honour of their family than by a sense of virtue. Many are concerned at the shamefulness of sin that never lay to heart the sinfulness of it. It is here called folly in Israel (v. 7), according to the language of after-times; for Israel was not yet a people, but a family only. Note,
Hamor came to treat with Jacob himself, but he turns him over to his sons; and here we have a particular account of the treaty, in which, it is a shame to say, the Canaanites were more honest than the Israelites.
Gen 34:18-24
Here,
Gen 34:25-31
Here, we have Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's sons, young men not much above twenty years old, cutting the throats of the Shechemites, and thereby breaking the heart of their good father.