Simeon And Levi

Simeon and Levi however, never found the marital terms acceptable and by proposing cruel and wicked conditions they did not expect for the townsfolk to actually go through with the foolish plan. To them it was a social injustice against their sister for which they could not condone or forgive. Therefore, recognizing that the Hamor and Shechem were suffering from the pain of the circumcision, Simeon and Levi on the third day, liberated their sister from her entrapment and in doing so violently kill all the men of the tribe of Hivites. The underlying reason for the slaying of Hamor and Shechem was an understanding directed against the practice of conversion to Judaism. A Jew would easily understand this disgust and ambivalence toward Jewish …show more content…
They were specific to ask how to treat their sister. The word אֲחוֹתֵֽנוּ (our sister) retaining an equality within the family structure regardless of the result of the activity. Each translation of the final verse offers a different definition and treatment, yet Simeon and Levi imply the revenge justified her honor. However, none of the selected translations of the descriptive reflect a woman that has been raped. They each have connotations of a partner engaged in sexual activity. Perhaps הַכְזוֹנָ֕ה occurs as a reflection of what Jacob was in essence doing to Dinah - selling her for financial gain. The economic gain that would benefit Jacob by the sum of a bride price and Hamor by the acquisition of Jacob’s family intermingling. This final verse appears as a loaded question, as a reader is left to wonder what becomes of Dinah. Her noble brothers rushed in to ‘save’ her, but destroyed the opportunity for her …show more content…
The story implies the importance of keeping one’s vows. Because of Jacob’s disobedience to God, his family is afflicted with the rape of his daughter, genocide at the hands of his sons, and overall disgrace. The presence of God appears to be absent from this chapter, his name is not mentioned. Is this because Jacob was hiding in a foreign land from God? The moral to the story to keep one’s word is important, as the lessons learned are not only of family honor, but of submission to God. This trickster tale shows that there is a problem of status, deception to improve status, and success of the plan. The rape lowered Dinah’s status as a human by making her an outsider among her kinship. The actions of her brothers, as noble in intent, repeated the cycle of violence that cannot be undone. Her brothers did not think of potential repercussions before they acted. Genesis 34 demonstrates ferocity as a consequence of noncompliance. What Jacob’s bet av gained in materialistic goods, was not worth the cost of relationship with God. Of all Jacob’s shortcomings, his disobedience to God was by far the greatest. If Jacob had listened to God, he would not have put his family at risk, therefore to correct his naughtiness, he must go to Bethel for a new beginning (Gen 35:1).
I would be remise not to mention how the questions of this chapter have inspired curiosity over the years. Bestselling author Anita Dimanti used this chapter