(Through the Bible) Genesis 32-36 — Chuck Smith

So we turn in our Bibles to Genesis chapter 32. Now, in the 31st chapter, we had the parting of Laban, Jacob's uncle, as he kisses his grandchildren goodbye, as he sets up the stone, and as he gives a heavy-duty charge to Jacob saying, you take care of my girls and my grandkids, and if you do anything wrong, may God watch over you and take care of you.

And so Laban departed with his host and returned back to Paddanerim. And Jacob chapter 32 went on his way and the angels of God met him. So he has just left the host of Laban and he starts on his way again towards Esau.

Jacob Meets the Host of God

And the angels of God met him. No doubt this was very encouraging to Jacob at this point, to meet the angels of God. Now it is interesting, it doesn't tell us in what form or whatever. We do know that angels did, in many cases, take on human form in the Old Testament.

In what form the angels met him here is not declared, just that the angels of God met him. Angels, it seems, are able to materialize and to speak to people. Actually, in the book of Hebrews, we are told to be careful.

To entertain strangers, you might be entertaining angels without even knowing it. Now, to my knowledge, I have never seen an angel in my whole life. My wife gets upset when I say that, but I mean a really truly angel.

She's an angel, but not a really truly one. I don't think. There is a pastor up in Boise, Idaho that declares that Gabriel's been visiting him over a period of time. From the things that Gabriel has supposedly told him, I doubt that it's Gabriel.

Now, we are told that we are not to believe every spirit, but to try the spirits if they be of God. And we are told that Satan is able to transform himself into an angel of light in order to deceive. And Paul says, if an angel of heaven preaches any other gospel than that which you've already received, let him be accursed.

So, if an angel would come along and say, hey, God loves everybody, and it doesn't matter what you might do, God will accept you and receive you, you don't need to pray, you don't need to come by Jesus Christ, hey, let that angel be accursed.

The angels of God would not reveal or say anything that would be contrary to the already revealed Word of Truth which we have in the Bible. So, though I've never seen an angel, I am open. I would enjoy the experience very much, I'm sure.

There are angels, the Scriptures said, who have been given charge over us to keep us in all of our ways, sort of guardian angels, I do believe in them. Mine has been with me on several occasions and has helped me out.

I'm very conscious and aware of my angel's presence with me on occasions and of his help. And there have been occasions when I've turned and said, thanks, buddy, appreciate that one, you know, it was really, you know, I don't know how I got out of it myself, but except that the angel of the Lord delivered me and it was very obvious that it was just the hand of the Lord that delivered.

Jacob Fears Esau and Prays for Deliverance

So, Jacob met the angels and when Jacob saw them, he said, this is God's host. He just saw Laban's host. They were a rough host, but this is God's host. And he called the name of the place Mahanaim. Mahanaim means the place of two hosts.

So, it was the host of Laban and the host of angels. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau, his brethren, to the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, thus shall you speak unto my Lord Esau.

Tell him, thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban and stayed there until now. I have oxen and asses and flocks and men's servants and women's servants. I have sent to tell my Lord that I may find grace in thy sight.

And the messengers returned to Jacob saying, we came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee and four hundred men with him. So, the reception committee with Esau was on their way. So, it was the third host now.

There was the host of Laban. That was very uncomfortable. There was the host of angels. That was comfortable. There is now the host of Esau coming with four hundred men and that again is uncertain. But it seems to be uncomfortable at the moment because the last time he saw Esau, Esau was threatening to kill him.

Why would he want to bring four hundred men with him unless he intended him harm? And so, the news is disrupting to Jacob. He doesn't like the news that he hears of the four hundred men that Esau is bringing with him.

Notice, Jacob in his message to Esau is pointing out his own wealth in order to cause Esau to be comfortable not thinking that Jacob is coming back to claim his inheritance. Coming back to claim his birthright.

Coming back to take away from Esau or to try to take from Esau. I don't need anything. I'm very rich. I have servants, men's servants, maid's servants, catalogs and the whole thing. And I'm returning now.

And the addressing of him as Lord. Though his father said, and your brothers shall be your servants. Yet Jacob is addressing him as the Lord. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. And he divided the people that were with him, the flocks, the herds, the camels into two bands.

And he said, if Esau comes to one company and smites it, then shall the other company which is left escape. So, he immediately began to prepare. The first thing was just to divide the whole company into two bands.

Figuring if Esau strikes one while they are fighting and all, it would give the other band an opportunity to escape. And then Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the Lord which said unto me, return to thy country and to your family and I will deal well with you.

Now, Jacob as he begins to pray is immediately reminding the Lord of what the Lord said to him. How often times in prayer, I remind the Lord of what He said. The Lord, You've said, where two or three are gathered together.

Or where two or three agree. Now, the Lord knows He said that. And I know He said it, but I just like to remind Him that He said it every once in a while, you know. I like to remind the Lord of His promises.

Now, Lord, You've promised if we ask anything and just remind Him that, Lord, this is what You said. I didn't say this. Lord, You said this. And so Jacob is doing much the same thing. He's reminding the Lord of what the Lord said.

Lord, You're the one that said, return and I will deal well with you. Now, Lord, I'm returning and here comes my brother. And the acknowledgement in verse 10, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown unto Thy servant.

For with my staff I passed over this Jordan and now I have become two bands. He is returning now to the area where Jaboch enters into the Jordan River. And as he looks down into the valley and he sees the Jordan River before him, he remembers 20 years earlier when he was fleeing from his brother, all he had was just a walking stick.

Just my staff. Coming back now 20 years later, God has been so good and blessed him so abundantly that he's had to divide his whole group into two companies of people. Two bands. Lord, I don't deserve anything.

I'm not worthy the least of Your mercies. You've blessed me abundantly. When I passed over Jordan, all I had was the staff. Now I've become two bands. Now, to give you a little idea of how large a group he had with him, in his present to Esau, he sent to him 550 animals.

Now, that was just a small part of one of the bands of animals. So, I mean, this was a big drive of cattle. Sheep. Servants and all that Jacob is coming back with. A wealthy man. And he attributes the wealth unto God.

I'm not worthy. I'm not deserving, yet look what you've done. And then his real request. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me and the mother with the children.

And you said, again reminding God what he said, I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. I do think that there's tremendous value in the promises of God's Scripture.

And as we remind ourselves of what God has said, Lord, you have said, I will supply all your needs according to my riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The Lord likes you to take him at his word, stand upon his promises.

The real prayer is deliver me from the hand of Esau. Now the honest confession, I am afraid. And it's an honest confession. It may be a negative confession, but it's honest. And I think an honest negative confession is probably better than a dishonest positive confession.

Well, I'm not afraid, everything's all right. And you're trembling, that isn't honest. Jacob is honest with God. I'm afraid that he's going to come and kill me. Very negative confession, but it was true.

Honesty and Openness Before God

Jacob was afraid and it's best to be honest. Honest, especially when you're talking with God. Who do you think you're kidding when you're not really honest with God? He knows your heart. He knows what's in your heart.

You're not fooling God at all. So it's best to be honest with God, totally honest and open. I love a frankness with God. I love being just blunt and frank when I talk with God. I love to tell him exactly how I feel.

I'm more open with God, I think, than I am with anybody else because I know that I might as well be. I know it's ridiculous for me not to be open with God. I know that there is not any hiding of anything from God, that everything is open and naked before Him.

And thus any endeavor of mine to disguise or to color or to in any wise alter the true feelings of my heart are just absolute folly. It's just deceiving myself. And so a great openness with God, a great honesty.

Lord, I am afraid. I don't know what I'm gonna do. Lord, I just really am disturbed over this thing. God, I'm angry, I'm mad. I can't stand what they're doing, Lord. And just be honest with God about your emotions, about your feelings, and then God can deal with them as long as I'm trying to cover and try to fool God and say, oh, that's all right, Lord.

Everything's okay. I feel great. No, it doesn't bother me. No, no. Then God can't deal with the real issues of my life until I get just really frank with Him and honest in my dealings with God. Jacob was honest.

And then he reminded, as I said, God of his promise. You said, I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea. Now, Lord, how can my seed be as the sand of the sea if Esau wipes us all out?

You see, that's the idea. You made the promise that my descendants are gonna be unnumbered. And Lord, that'll never be if Esau comes and wipes me out. And so he lodged there that same night and he took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau, his brother.

200 she-goats, 20 he-goats. 200 ewes, 20 rams. 30 milk camels with their colts. 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 she-ashes, 10 foals. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves.

And he said to his servants, pass over before me and put a space between the droves and drove. And he commanded the foremost saying, when Esau, my brother, meets you and asks you saying, who are you? And where are you going?

Who do these animals belong to? Then you shall say, they are of thy servant Jacob's. It is a present sent unto my Lord Esau and behold, he is behind us. And so he commanded the second, the third, and all that followed the drove saying, on this manner shall you speak unto Esau when you find him.

And say moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goes before me. And afterward, I will see his face. Peradventure, he will accept me. So Jacob prays and then he does his best to set things up.

Jacob's Scheming and the Limits of Self-Reliance

Now, as I told you, one of Jacob's problems was that he felt that God couldn't do his work without his help. In other words, Jacob always was trying to help God out. Jacob wasn't a man to just trust the Lord alone.

He was the kind of a fellow who would pray and then do his best to set things up. He was a very wise man and a very clever man. And he always was scheming, always conniving, always manipulating people.

And this is just another one of Jacob's manipulations. Having prayed, rather than just leaving it there with God, he would pray and then he does his best to help God work out the situation by setting up this whole appeasement program.

Sending out the servants with all of these droves of cattle and sheep and rams and goats and so forth so that by the time Esau gets to him, he's sort of just overwhelmed by all of the presents that he has received from Jacob.

And he is hoping that the anger of Esau will surely be appeased by all of these gifts. You say, well, God wants us to do something, doesn't he? Yes, I do not believe that faith is really passive. I think that faith is active and I believe that God does expect us to use our heads and use the wisdom that He has given to us.

But I do believe that God wants us to be trusting in Him and His ability to do His work. I think that too many times we get into problems where we shouldn't really get involved at all, where we're trying to help God out and God doesn't need my help.

And so he went the present over before him and he stayed that night in the company. And he rose up that night and took his two wives and his two women servants, that is Bildad and Zilpah, and his 11 sons and he passed over the Ford Jabok.

And he took them and sent them over the brook and sent over all that he had and Jacob was left alone. I really feel that he sent them all away so he could get a good night's sleep. Others think that he sent them away so he could spend the night in prayer.

That doesn't sound like Jacob. He's a practical man. And as I say, he really is trusting in himself more than God at this particular point. Yes, he takes God into account. He asks God to help him, but then he does his best to help himself.

And so I think that he knew that this has been a rough day. It's been an emotional day. Laban is upset and I can't go back that direction. Esau is coming. I don't know what his attitude is. And so he thinks I better get a good night's sleep, get all these little kids out of here because you remember all, and there were 11 boys, but how many girls we don't know.

There were girls also. And they were all under 13 years of age. So a lot of racket, you know, and a lot of cutting up and a lot of playing and a lot of movement in the night. And Jacob felt he needed a good night's rest.

Wrestling With God and Surrendering Strength

And so Jacob was left alone, but rather than getting a good night rest, there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, and that is this angel that was wrestling with Jacob, Jacob would not give up.

He could not prevail against Jacob. Jacob was a strong, iron-willed man. And that was Jacob's weakness, was his strength. He was so strong. He was prone to trust and rely upon himself rather than to trust in the Lord completely.

And so, here is a night in which he really needs rest more than any other night. And rather than being able to get rest, the Lord sends an angel to wrestle with him all night long. But he still wouldn't give up.

He still wouldn't surrender. And so when the angel saw that he would not surrender, he touched the hollow of his thigh and it went out of joint as he wrestled with him. And when he saw that he would not surrender, he deliberately crippled Jacob.

Using the divine power, he crippled this man. Now, Jacob's one thought was always he could flee. He set things up so that Esau would meet the other company. If Esau was still angry and started to smite the company, then he could flee.

And always in the back of his mind, if all else fails, run. Now, the Lord has closed out that door of escape. He's crippled. How can he run? And so, the angel touched the hollow of his thigh. The thing shriveled.

He became a cripple. God shut him off from escaping now. And this is what finally brought Jacob to the place of giving up. That's it. I've had it. Jacob finally surrendered. That which God was wanting him to do all along, surrender his life, surrender his will unto the Lord, finally came with the crippling.

It took the crippling to do it. That's tragic. Sometimes a person's greatest strength can be their greatest weakness. With Paul the Apostle, he was another Jacob in a sense. The guy with an iron will.

When Paul wanted to do something, it was almost impossible to stop him. He was preaching in Lystra. And the people got angry and they stoned him. They thought they killed him. They drug him out of town.

Even his friends thought he was dead. And Paul himself doesn't know if he was dead or alive. And his friends were gathered around his body, weeping over Paul. Oh, the great soldier of the cross. What a loss, you know, to the Kingdom of God.

And pretty soon, Paul began to move. Stood up, shook himself. Says, let's go back into town. Man, how do you stop a guy like that? You don't. That iron will. But it also became a problem. For Paul was in Galatia.

And he intended to go over into Bithynia with the Gospel. He had a desire to get into Asia there. Oh, I want to go into Asia and preach. God didn't want him to go to Asia. But Paul was determined to go to Asia.

So God had to make Paul so sick he couldn't get out of bed until he got Paul's attention. Paul said, where is it you wanted me to go, Lord? Over to Greece? Oh, but I wanted to go to Asia, Lord. Greece, Paul.

But he was so sick he couldn't go on into Asia. The Lord just put the head. But he had to put him in bed. He had to. You know, that's sad. But Paul probably could never have endured all of the things that he endured unless he had that great will.

It was a great strength. But yet, so many times, the natural abilities are the very things that get in our way in our attempt to serve God. And God has to deal and bring us to a dependence upon Him in all things.

He doesn't want me to depend upon my natural abilities. He wants me to depend totally upon Him. And with Jacob, it took the crippling in order to bring Jacob to the place of surrender in order that God might really do all for Jacob He wanted to do.

He couldn't do it as long as he was this clever, conniving kind of a guy. God couldn't do what he was wanting to do. And so he brings him to the place of weakness, brings him to a crippling situation.

Jacob is surely not a good example for us. It's just a good illustration and demonstration of what God has to do to some people to bring them into a complete surrender of themselves to God so that then God can take them and begin to work through them.

And they have that understanding, that deep understanding that I have to depend upon the Lord. And so the angel crippled him. And Jacob at this point, defeated according to Hosea, began to weep and plead with the angel.

You know, you have to hear a person's tone of voice many times to know what they're really saying. You cannot put the tone of voice in words on a page. You've got to hear it. And as we read the words on the page, it sounds like Jacob is demanding, coming from a position of victory or power, saying, I'll not let you go except you bless me.

As the day was breaking, the angel said, let me go. The day is breaking. And Jacob said, I will not let you go. It sounds like he's coming from a position of power and all. Not so. Hosea says, he was at this point broken.

He was weeping. He was crying. He was pleading. He was actually saying, in essence, please don't go without blessing me. I can't let you go unless you bless me. I've had it. I'm destroyed. I can't run.

I've had it. Please don't go without, first of all, blessing me. And so the angel said unto him, what is your name? Reminding him of his character. For his name was a reflection of his character. My name is Jacob.

My name is Heel Catcher. Because I caught my brother's heel, and I've been at everybody's heels. I've been clever. I've been able to get by because of my dogged determination. I don't give up. I'm a self-governed man.

I'm the master of my destiny. I'm the master of every situation. My name is Jacob. Your name, and here's the blessing. The blessing is just the change of a name. Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel.

But the name change indicates the change of nature. You're no longer to be a self-governed, clever heel catcher. But you're now to be a man whose life is governed by God. Israel. And it indicates the change of character.

Actually, it is the new birth. It's being born again. No longer being mastered by self, by the flesh. But now being mastered by the Spirit of God. Living now a life after the Spirit. What a beautiful blessing.

The greatest blessing he could ever receive. It was the blessing that was to last the rest of his life. God wants to bless you. He wants to change your nature from a self-governed, independent, self-sufficient individual into a person who is relying and trusting in God.

Whose life is governed by the Spirit of God. And so the change in Jacob, the blessing, was the change of nature that God gave to him. For as a prince, thou hast power with God and with men and hast prevail.

God is changing your nature. Making you a prince. Giving you power with God and power with men. And Jacob said to him, what is your name? And he said, why do you ask me my name? And he blessed him there.

And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel. For he said, I have seen God face to face. Peniel means the face of God. And my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel, the sun rose upon him and he was limping or halted upon his thigh.

He was crippled. The crippling was an experience that lasted. Therefore, the children of Israel eat not the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh unto this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh and the sinew that shrank.

Esau's Forgiveness and Jacob's Return

And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked and behold, Esau came and with him 400 men and he divided the children unto Leah and unto Rachel and the two handmaidens. In other words, each of the mothers with their children that they had born.

And he put the handmaids and their children in the front and Leah and her children after. And Rachel and Joseph were behind. And he passed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times until he came near his brother.

Now according to the Tel Alamarna tablets, it is proper when greeting a king to bow to the earth seven times in approaching him. So Jacob was approaching his brother Esau and greeting Esau as a king, which indeed Esau was.

He had become the ruler and the king, so to speak, over the area of Mount Sir, the area known as Edom. And so he is giving honor to his brother's position in bowing before him seven times, a custom in those days.

And Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him and they wept. So that prayer of Jacob's was answered. His brother's anger was assuaged. And the meeting, rather than being tense, rather than being bitter, rather than with great recriminations and anger, it's a sign of acceptance, a sign of forgiveness, a sign of love.

As they embraced each other, they kissed each other. They wept together. The work of God's Spirit had been wrought. It is my opinion that Esau, when he was coming, was intending to fulfill his threat of killing Jacob.

And even as Laban, when he was pursuing Jacob, intending to, by force, take back everything that Jacob had and to do Jacob harm, and even as God spoke to Laban and said, don't touch him, don't do him harm, don't speak to him good or evil, and God protected Jacob, I believe that God changed the heart of Esau so that by the time they met, all of the anger and the bitterness of the years gone by flowed out.

And there was that beautiful reunion of the two brothers. And he lifted up his eyes. He saw the women and the children. And he said, whose are these that are with you? And Jacob said, the children which God has graciously given thy servant.

And the handmaidens came near in their children, and they bowed themselves to their uncle, actually. And Leah also with her children came near and bowed themselves. And after that came Joseph with Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

And he said, what is the meaning of all of these droves of animals that I met when I was coming towards you? And he said, these are to find grace in thy sight. And Esau said, hey, I have enough, brother.

Keep that to yourself. And Jacob said, no, I pray you, if I have found grace in your sight, receive my present at my hand, for therefore I have seen thy face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me.

Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have enough. And he urged him, he insisted so that Esau took it. And Esau said, let's take our journey.

Let's go. We'll go before you. And Jacob said to him, my Lord knows how that the children are tender. They're young, actually, 13 and under. And the flocks and the herds with the young are with me. And if the men should overdrive them, even one day the flock will die.

So let my Lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant, and I will come on softly or slowly, according as the cattle that go before me and the children are able to endure until I come to my Lord unto Seir.

So Esau said, let me now leave with you some of my men that they might be with you. And he said, I don't need it. Let me find grace in the sight of my Lord. So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

And Jacob journeyed to Sukkot. And there built a house and made booths for his cattle. And therefore, the name of the place is called Booths or Sukkot. Now, the fact that he built booths and all indicates his intention to just sort of stay there a while, which he no doubt did.

Now, one of the things that the book of Genesis does not really keep us up with, and that is the time lapses between. Jacob did not go directly to Mount Seir to where Esau was. He stopped first at Sukkot for a period of time, built booths there, stayed there for a while.

And then he moved on to Shechem, the area of Shechem, where he no doubt stayed for maybe eight to 10 years. The Bible doesn't give us these time passages, except that we note the ages and the events. And we know that many years had to transpire.

So probably eight or more years transpired between the time that Esau saw and before he ever started journeying down towards Hebron. He stayed up in the area of Shechem for many, many years. So Jacob came to, in verse 18, to Shalem, a city of Shechem.

The word Shalem is actually the Hebrew word Shalom. And it probably would be better translated that Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem. There is no record of any city called Shalom in that area.

And the translation could easily read, and Jacob came in peace unto Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan Aram and he pitched his tent before the city. And he bought a parcel of a field where he had spread his tent at the hand of the children of Hamar, Shechem's father, for 100 pieces of money.

And he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel, or God, the God of Israel. So he here adopts his new name, the name that God had given to him. And in building the altar, he builds it unto the God, not of Jacob, but to the God, the God of Israel.

And so, he purchased now this field, planning to remain in this area, indicated by the fact that he purchased the field and did remain here for many years. Now, there's a time gap between chapters 33 and 34, because at the time that they had left the land of Paddan Aram, Dinah was less than six years old.

Dinah, Shechem, and the Treachery of Simeon and Levi

And now, she comes into the story at this point, and obviously is older than that. And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, who was, of course, the first wife that Laban had given to him, the older sister. And after Dinah had borne several sons to Jacob, she finally bore a daughter.

And so, she had a lot of big brothers. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, and all. And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, which she barren to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And so, what it was is, of course, being a little girl, or a young girl now, perhaps at this point, maybe in her teens, or at least getting close to it, she had girlfriends.

Well, where are you going to get girlfriends? She's just started making acquaintances with the girls from the area of Shechem. And when Shechem, the son of Hamar, the Hivite, the prince of the country, saw her, he took her and laid with her and defiled her.

And his soul claimed to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. And he loved the damsel, and he spoke kindly to the girl. And Shechem spake unto his father Hamar, saying, get me this girl as my wife. Now, his action was wrong, but he seemed to be an honorable person, having done it, having wooed her, and having had intercourse with her.

He now is in love with her and desires that she be his wife, and asked that his father make these arrangements for him. Now, Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter. And his sons were with the cattle in the field.

And Jacob held his peace until they were come home. And Hamar, the father of Shechem, went out to Jacob to commune with him. And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it. And the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter, which thing ought not to be done.

And Hamar communed with them, saying, the soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. I pray that you would give her to him as a wife. And let us make marriages with each other. Give us your daughters.".

Notice plural. So Jacob had other daughters that are not named. Give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. And ye shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade therein, and get your possessions here.

And Shechem, the son of Hamar, said to Jacob and to her brother, that is, Dinah's brothers, let me find grace in your eyes. And what ye shall say unto me, I will give. Ask me whatever you want for a dowry and a gift, and I will give it to you accordingly.

And as you shall say unto me, but give me this girl for my wife. And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamar, his father, deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. And they said unto them, we cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, for that's a reproach unto us.

But if you'll consent unto this, and you'll be as we are, every male of you will be circumcised. Then we'll give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us. And we will dwell with you, and we'll become one people.

If you will not hearken unto us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone. And their words pleased Hamar and Shechem, Hamar's son. And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter, and he was more honorable than all the house of his father.

And Hamar and Shechem, his son, came unto the gate of their city. They communed with the men of the city, saying, hey, these people are peaceable. We ought to live with them. The land is large enough for us all.

Let's take their daughters. They can have our daughters. We'll have intermarriage. We'll become one people with them. And they'll do this under one condition, that we'll be circumcised as they are circumcised.

And then shall not their cattle, their substance, and every beast of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us. And unto Hamar and Shechem, all of the men of the city gave ear.

They hearkened unto them, and they came to pass that they were all circumcised. But on the third day, when there was a soreness, the two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah's brothers, they were the sons of Leah, they each man took his sword and came upon the city boldly and slew all of the men.

They slew Hamar and Shechem, the son with the edge of the sword. They took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went out. And the sons of Jacob came upon the slain. They spoiled the city because they had defiled their sister.