Gen 34:1
Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.: Dinah here is a typical teenager, going out to make some friends. I've read multiple commentaries and her age isn't certain, but she's probably in her teens, around 14 to 16.
Gen 34:2
And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her.: Jacob had settled down outside of Shechem, apparently named after the son of Hamor. This guy raped her.
Gen 34:3
His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman.: This rapist was attracted to her however, and then tried to win her over! What a sick man..
Gen 34:4
So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this young woman as a wife.": So after raping Dinah, he now wants his father to get her for a wife for him. I seriously can't understand this logic.
Gen 34:5
And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came.: This happened when Jacob's sons were out in the field with the livestock. Jacob heard about it but didn't say anything, waiting until his sons came in from the field. Apparently, Jacob must have sent notification.
Gen 34:6
Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.: Once his sons had arrived, Hamor went to speak with Jacob. It seems weird the way this is laid out, but it looks like the timeline is that Jacob sent notice to his sons, his sons came in from the field, then Hamor went to talk to Jacob. It could have been that the field wasn't that far off, so his sons came quickly.
Gen 34:7
And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.: Jacob's sons just came in from the field, which seems to indicate that they weren't far away, unlike with Laban. They were rightfully angry.
Gen 34:8
But Hamor spoke with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.: This is actually quite disgusting. Hamor wants his son Shechem to have her a a wife, after raping her. There's no way on earth I'd even consider this if I were Jacob or one of her brothers. He really deserves to be put to death, in my opinion.
Gen 34:9
And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves.: Hamor wants to normalize relations between Israel and Shechem. It's really mind boggling, but he wants to act like all could be forgiven, and to join together as one. Sick.
Gen 34:10
So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.": He goes a bit further than marrying each other, but really becoming as one people. Now, who in their right mind would do such a thing? I guess if all you cared about is money, I can see it, but there's more to life than money.
Gen 34:11
Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.: Weirdly worded, but Shechem is addressing Jacob and his sons.
Gen 34:12
Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.": Shechem asks them how much it would cost for them to let him marry her. This must have been a really messed up culture for Shechem to rape someone, then have his father go ask the victim's father for the rapist to marry the victim. It's hard to even write that down.
Gen 34:13
But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.: Not sure why Jacob stays out of this, but it looks like he lets his sons handle the situation. And they handle it by lying.
Gen 34:14
And they said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us.: They lie, saying that they can't let Shechem marry her because he isn't circumcised. While this is true on the surface, the lie is that they had no intention of letting him marry her and told them this deceitfully.
Gen 34:15
But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised,: The lie is that they will allow Shechem to marry her if everyone is circumcised.
Gen 34:16
then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.: They go even further and agree that they will essentially become one people if they get circumcised.
Gen 34:17
But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.": They can either take it or leave it. Get circumcised, or they're done.
Gen 34:18
And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son.: In other words, they were deceived. It was successful.
Gen 34:19
So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father.: So Shechem consented and intended to go get circumcised immediately as agreed. I'm not sure how he was more honorable than the household of his father. It's possible that this is stating that in general people viewed him as more honorable. It's also possible that his desire to get circumcised made him more honorable than his father. I really don't know. All the commentaries I've looked at differ on this, so it's not really clear.
Gen 34:20
And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: The gate of the cities is where the businessmen, and the important people hung out. So Hamor and Shechem go to the gate to address the important people of the city.
Gen 34:21
"These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters.: At the gates, Shechem and Hamor tell the important people of the city that Israel and family are peaceful and that they are going to become one with them.
Gen 34:22
Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised.: Hamor and Shechem say that the only condition that Jacob and his family require to join together is for the people in the city to get circumcised.
Gen 34:23
Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.": Hamor and Shechem are now selling the benefits of joining with Jacob. Jacob was rich and had a lot of livestock. Apparently, that was appealing to the people of Shechem.
Gen 34:24
And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.: So the people of Shechem listened and agreed. All the males were circumcised. Perhaps earlier when it was mentioned that Shechem was more honorable than his father's household, the intent was to explain why all the people would go ahead and get circumcised. They must have believed Shechem.
Gen 34:25
Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males.: This is horrible. From what I've read, the third day is the worst, so that's why they waited till then. It was common for fever and inflammation to set in. So all the males in the town were incapacitated, and the two brothers Levi and Simeon killed them. I'm not sure why only the two brothers went through the city, but probably because it would have been more stealthy if only the two of them went in.
Gen 34:26
And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem's house, and went out.: And then, they killed Hamor and Shechem. This confirms to me that they did the killing stealthily. After killing them, they took their sister Dinah home.
Gen 34:27
The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled.: Then, they plundered the city. Their explanation? Shechem raped Dinah. This is definitely not a good thing, and not something that God would sanction.
Gen 34:28
They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field,: They took all of their livestock from the fields and the city.
Gen 34:29
and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses.: And all of their wealth too... And their wives and children! That's horrific. How could they do this using Dinah as justification? Which is worse? It's certainly not justice. Justice would have been to put Shechem to death, not to murder all the men, then plunder the town and take a bunch of women and children captive. Just wow.
Gen 34:30
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.": Jacob chastised the two sons for what they did. It seems like all the brothers were in on it at the beginning, but only Simeon and Levi followed through. Jacob is worried that now the Canaanites and Perizzites will come and kill them. And rightfully so.
Gen 34:31
But they said, "Should he treat our sister like a harlot?": I'm pretty sure that's not what Jacob wanted. He probably wanted them to not kill an entire town for raping their sister, after lying to them to get them to circumcise themselves first. The fact that they tried justifying their behavior says quite a bit. They weren't even remorseful.
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