Genesis 34: “They Defiled Dinah, and the Sons of Jacob Deceived”
1. The Context of Peace Broken
“Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land.” (Gen 34:1)
The chapter opens with quiet domesticity — and a hint of danger.
After reconciliation and worship in chapter 33, Jacob’s family seems at rest, yet compromise lurks: they have settled near the pagan city of Shechem.
St Bede the Venerable remarks:
“The city of Shechem signifies worldly society, pleasant to the eyes yet perilous to the soul. For when the faithful dwell near sin, their peace is soon disturbed.” (Commentary on Genesis, 34)
Dinah’s innocent curiosity foreshadows how easily friendship with the world leads to scandal.
2. The Sin of Shechem
“And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her, and humbled her.” (v. 2)
The text is stark: lust leads to violence.
Shechem, though a prince, acts without restraint — a symbol of passion ungoverned by reason.
St Ambrose comments:
“The prince who should rule others is ruled by desire. He defiles another’s body and enslaves his own soul.” (On the Duties of the Clergy I.18)
Yet Scripture also shows complexity: afterwards, Shechem “loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her” (v. 3).
Sin is mixed with sentiment — a picture of how fallen love can imitate affection while lacking holiness.
3. The Proposal of Marriage
“Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, ‘Get me this girl for my wife.’” (v. 4)
He seeks marriage, not concealment.
Human justice might commend this; divine law demands repentance first.
To repair a wrong, one must first confess it as wrong.
St Augustine observes:
“He desired to marry, yet not to repent; and so sought to heal sin with sin.” (City of God XVI.43)
There can be no true peace built upon unrepented evil.
4. Jacob’s Silence
“Now Jacob heard that his daughter had been defiled; but his sons were with his cattle in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.” (v. 5)
Jacob’s restraint is ambiguous — wisdom or weariness?
He has learned to wait on God, yet perhaps also fears confrontation.
St Bede writes:
“Jacob’s silence is the patience of the wise; he who once acted in haste now waits for counsel. Yet silence without action may tempt injustice.” (Commentary on Genesis, 34)
Patience must mature into discernment, not paralysis.
5. The Offer of Alliance
“Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him… ‘Make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you.’” (vv. 6–10)
What appears generous is spiritually poisonous.
Hamor proposes assimilation — the covenant family absorbed into Canaanite society.
St John Chrysostom comments:
“The devil often flatters the faithful with friendship that leads to forgetfulness. He offers peace but steals holiness.” (Homilies on Genesis LXI.1)
This is not merely a family negotiation but a moral test: will Jacob’s sons preserve their distinct calling or trade it for comfort?
6. The Deceit of Jacob’s Sons
“The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah.” (v. 13)
Their indignation is understandable — their sister’s honour violated.
But zeal turns to deceit, the very sin that once enslaved their father.
They demand circumcision as a condition for alliance:
“We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised… Only on this condition will we consent to you: that every male among you be circumcised.” (vv. 14–15)
The sacred sign of the covenant becomes a tool of vengeance — a grave profanation.
St Bede laments:
“They make holy things the instrument of deceit; the mark of faith becomes the mask of fury.” (Commentary on Genesis, 34)
Religious hypocrisy — even for a just cause — defiles what it seeks to defend.
7. The Consent of the Shechemites
“Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem… and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of the city.” (vv. 18–24)
A tragic irony: the pagan city embraces circumcision more eagerly than Jacob’s sons honour it.
Their sincerity, though blind, contrasts with Israel’s deceit.
St Augustine notes:
“Those who know not God sometimes act with more zeal than those who profess Him, but zeal without truth avails not.” (City of God XVI.43)
8. The Massacre
“On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came upon the city unawares, and killed all the males.” (v. 25)
Holy anger turns to unholy bloodshed.
Justice becomes vengeance; covenant becomes cruelty.
St Ambrose says sharply:
“They avenged their sister with impiety. For zeal without righteousness is but another sin.” (On Jacob and the Happy Life 17)
The same God who permitted their zeal will later rebuke it.
Jacob’s dying words (Gen 49:5–7) condemn their violence: “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce.”
9. The Spoil and the Shame
“The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city… they took their flocks and herds… all their wealth, their little ones and their wives.” (vv. 27–29)
Revenge ends in greed — the righteous cause poisoned by profit.
What began as justice ends as theft.
St Bede writes:
“So swiftly does wrath turn to avarice; those who avenge wrongs of the flesh commit wrongs of the soul.” (Commentary on Genesis, 34)
The conquerors become worse than the offender.
10. Jacob’s Rebuke
“Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me odious to the inhabitants of the land.’” (v. 30)
Jacob fears not merely for reputation but for survival.
Yet his rebuke is moral as well as practical: violence has endangered the covenant itself.
“They said, ‘Should he treat our sister as a harlot?’” (v. 31)
Their answer is defiant; their zeal remains unrepentant.
Justice must be governed by charity — without it, even truth becomes weapon.
St Augustine summarises:
“They had right to be angry but not to be cruel. For charity is the rule of all virtue, and where it is absent, even zeal is sin.” (City of God XVI.43)
11. Theological Summary
| Theme | Revelation |
| Dinah’s curiosity | The peril of compromise with the world |
| Shechem’s sin | Lust disguised as love; passion enslaving power |
| Jacob’s silence | The struggle between patience and justice |
| Simeon and Levi’s deceit | Zeal corrupted by anger |
| The massacre | Violence that profanes the covenant |
| Jacob’s rebuke | Justice must serve peace, not pride |
St Bede the Venerable summarises:
“The Church learns here that she must be distinct from the world, patient in injury, pure in zeal, and merciful in judgement.” (Commentary on Genesis, 34)
12. Moral and Spiritual Application
Guard your purity. Dinah’s story warns that curiosity without discernment endangers the soul.
Rule passion by faith. Shechem’s lust and the brothers’ wrath both show the tyranny of unruled desire.
Do not sanctify sin. Religion misused for vengeance becomes blasphemy.
Wait for God’s justice. Divine timing defends the innocent more surely than human anger.
Let zeal be purified by love. Every cause must be measured by Christ’s Cross, where justice and mercy meet.
13. Christ the True Avenger of Innocence
The Fathers discerned in this violent story a shadow of divine justice fulfilled in Christ:
| Jacob’s Family | Fulfilment in Christ |
| Dinah violated | Humanity wounded by sin |
| Simeon and Levi’s zeal | The Cross where true justice replaces vengeance |
| Innocents slain | The Innocent slain for sinners |
| Spoil and plunder | The spoiling of death and hell by Christ’s victory |
| Jacob’s rebuke | Christ’s command: “Put your sword back into its sheath.” |
St Ambrose reflects:
“The zeal of Simeon and Levi condemned, but Christ’s zeal redeemed. He avenged not by sword but by sacrifice.” (On the Mysteries 15)
Thus, the bloodshed of Shechem finds its redemption in the blood of the Cross — where vengeance becomes salvation.
14. Closing Prayer
God of justice and mercy,
You see the wounds of the innocent and the anger of the guilty.
Purify our zeal that it may burn with love, not hatred.
Teach us to wait for Your justice and to shun the fury of revenge.
Keep Your Church pure from the world’s corruption
and strong in compassion for all who suffer wrong.
Through Jesus Christ, the true Avenger who conquers by His Cross,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 