The Sons of Seir the Horite
36: 20-30

The Horites were the original inhabitants of the land of Edom. These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region before it became known as Edom. We don’t know a lot about their history, but we do know the word Horite means cave dwellers. They lived in the caves found in the mountain range of Mount Seir. Outside the Bible they are known as the Hurrians. Originally they were an independent nation, as we know from 14:6. They were partially exterminated, but also partially subjugated by Esav according to Deuteronomy 2:22. The Horites who survived intermarried with the Edomites and were absorbed by them. Two are mentioned in this chapter. Esau’s son Eliphaz had a concubine named Timna and Oholibamah became Esau’s wife.

The seven sons of Seir the Horite were named Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs (36:20-21).

The first son, Lotan, produced two sons Hori and Homam. Timna, the concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, was Lotan’s sister (36:22). So here was the direct connection between the Horites and the Edomites. Hori and Homam were the grandsons of Seir the Horite.

The second son, Shobal, produced five sons; their names were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam (36:23).

The third son, Zibeon, produced two sons Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon (36:24). From that discovery Anah received the surname Berri (26:34) meaning spring man.

The fourth son, Anah, produced two children named Dishon and Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, the great-granddaughter of Seir the Horite, who became the wife of Esau (36:25).

The fifth son, Dishon, produced four sons named Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran (36:26).

The sixth son, Ezer, produced three sons named Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan (36:27).

The seventh son, Dishan, produced two sons named Uz and Aran (36:28).

All seven sons of Seir the Horite became the heads of clans. Their names were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite heads of clans, according to their divisions, in the land of Seir (36:29-30).

The Clans of the Descendants of Esau
36: 15-19

These were the thirteen clans among Esau’s descendants. We use the term clans here because the Hebrew word allup means a thousand, a company or a group. The descendants of each son or grandson became a clan. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau became the clans of Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Gatam and Amalek. These were the clans descended from Eliphaz in Edom. They were the grandsons of Adah (36:15-16).

The sons of Esau’s son Reuel: became the clans of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the clans descended from Reuel in Edom. They were the grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath (36:17).

The sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: became the clans of Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the clans descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah (36:18).

These were the sons of Esau and what became of them, namely the nation of Edom, and these were their clans (36:19).

Esau’s Sons and Grandsons
36: 9-14

This is the account of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir (36:9). He had five sons and ten grandsons. Esav’s daughters (36:6) probably married Horite men and presumably his granddaughters did also. First, there is a summary statement about Esau’s first two wives. These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esav’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath (36:10). First, the sons of Eliphaz are mentioned. They were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz (36:11). Later one of Jobs three friends was named Eliphaz the Temanite (Job 2:11, 4:1 to7:21). It very well could have been this son because they lived about the same time. These were grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah (36:12).

Then, as a side note, Moses tells us that Esav’s son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek who was to play a key role in the future history of Isra’el. Because Amalek was the son of a concubine, he was looked down upon by the other sons of Eliphaz and seen as inferior. This may have forced him to live in a separate region and to develop his own nation. The descendants of Amalek became the notorious Amalekites, who settled in the area of the Sinai and the Negev (Genesis 14:7, Numbers 13:29, 14:43-45). The Amalekites were the first nation to oppose the entrance of Isra’el into the Promised Land after their deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 17:8-16), and they later subjugated Isra’el in the period of the judges (Judges 3:13, 6:3, 7:12). However, they were slaughtered under King Sha’ul (First Samuel 14:48, 15:1-9), and later attacked by King David (First Samuel 27:8, 30:1). Finally the tribe of Simeon exterminated them in the days of Hezekiah (First Chronicles 4:42-43).

Next, the sons of Esau’s second son Reuel are mentioned. They were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of Esav’s wife Basemath (36:13). Therefore, these were Esav’s grandsons through his son Reuel.

Lastly, the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon, who bore three sons to Esav: Jeush, Jalam and Korah (36:14). At that point no grandchildren were recorded.

The Wives and Sons of Esau
36: 1-8

This is the account of Esau and what became of him, namely the nation of Edom. The name Edom signifies three different things in this chapter. First, it is used of the person of Esav (36:1); second, the inhabitants of Seir are called by the title Edom (36:9) and, finally, the territory itself is described as the land of Edom (36:31).

At the close of Chapter 35, we were presented with a list of the sons of Jacob (35:22-26). They were catalogued according to their mothers. The same method is now used to record the sons of Esau.⁵⁴⁴ The author says: Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan. His first wife was Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite. His second wife from Canaan was Oholibamah, daughter of her father Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite (36:2). She was called Judith earlier in 26:34.

Esav also took a third wife, Basemath, daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth (36:3). She was called Mahalath earlier in 28:9. The names of Esau’s three wives differ here from those given in the previous accounts. This difference came about when Moses used genealogical documents from Esau’s family and tribe, and inserted them without alteration. This difference can be explained by the ancient custom in the East, of giving surnames, as the Arabs frequently still do, founded upon some important or memorable event in a person’s life. Slowly, the new name becomes the one that is more frequently used. For example, Esau’s name became Edom (25:30). As a rule the women received new names when they were married.⁵⁴⁵

Then we are told about the sons of Esau. Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the five sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan. It is ironic that Esau’s sons were born in the Promised Land, and except for Benjamin, Jacob’s sons were born outside the Land. Then we are told of Esav’s departure from Canaan. Although Esau is outside the covenant promise of God, the blessing extends to him in two ways: his children (36:4-5) and his prosperity (36:6-7).⁵⁴⁶

Esau took his blessing that he had received from Isaac (27:39-40), his wives and sons and an untold number of daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob (36:6). Therefore, just after Ya’akov left for Haran, Esau surrenders the land of Canaan to Jacob because at this point in his life, he took the patriarchal blessing quite seriously. He understood that he must find his possessions away from the land of Canaan, and that is what he does. He moved southward into the mountainous regions southwest of the Dead Sea.

Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock (36:7). This is the same issue that separated Abraham and Lot (13:6). There was obviously plenty of land in Canaan, but the problem was that Canaan was comprised of city states. Each city state held a large amount of land around it, so actual neutral space open for grazing was very small. Therefore Esav, like Lot, left for the East and greener pastures.⁵⁴⁷

This summary shows that Esau, who became Edom, settled in the hill country of Seir (36:8). There he subjugated a people called the Horites by force (Deuteronomy 2:12 and 22). But after defeating them, Esau’s descendants assimilated them through marriage.

The Written Account of the Generations of Esau
36:1 to 37:1

Moses edited and compiled eleven family documents in the book of Genesis. The major structural word for Genesis is toldot, which means the written account of, or this is what became of these men and their descendants. The noun is often translated generations, histories or descendants. After the section on the written account of the generations of Jacob from 25:19 to 35:29, we have the tenth toldot, the written account of the generations of Esau. The previous toldot told us about the establishment of Jacob, the son of promise, and the nation of Isra’el. Part of what became of Jacob was Esau; therefore, this tenth family document tells us about the dispensing of his non-seed line. Because he was Isaac’s son, God would make him into a great nation, but he was not the son of promise.

It is now clear that the last five toldots have a carefully constructed structure. The non-seed lines of Ishmael and Esau alternate with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph to form the line of blessing.

The toldot of Terah (the Abraham narrative) 11:27 to 25:11

The toldot of Ishmael 25:12-18

The toldot of Isaac (the Jacob narrative) 25:19 to 35:29

The toldot of Esau 36:1 to 37:1

The toldot of Jacob (the Joseph narrative) 37:2 to 50:26

Like his brother, Jacob, Esau grew into a great nation, the Edomites. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Rebekah when the twins were born: Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated (25:23). The Edomites lived in Mount Seir, south and east of the Dead Sea, rather than Canaan. Thus, this toldot is the fulfillment of the patriarchal blessing given to Isaac in 25:23 and 27:39-40.

It also explains the future relationship between the nations of Isra’el and Edom. The descendants of Esau play a frequently antagonistic role in Isra’el’s history (see the commentary on Numbers Dj – The Resistance of Edom). Throughout the period of the judges and the monarchy, Isra’el experienced periodic military harassment from the Edomites. The worst display of hostilities was when the Babylonians came to Jerusalem and destroyed the Solomon’s Temple in 586 BC. The prophet Obediah pronounced doom on the Edomites because on the day you (Edom) stood aloof while strangers (the Babylonians) carried off his (Judah’s) treasure, and foreigners entered his gates to cast lots for Yerushalayim, and you were no different from them (Obediah 1:11). Because of Edom’s history of mistreatment against its brother, the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; the house of Esau will be stubble, and they will set it on fire and consume it. There will be no survivors from the house of Esau, for ADONAI has spoken (Obediah 1:18).

The role of Esau’s foreign wives has been accented (36:2-5) in order to emphasize that Esav stepped outside of God’s will. His genealogy also includes the detail that his descendants, like those of Ishmael before him, settled outside the Promised Land (see 36:6-8 and compare it to 25:18). Having thus dispensed with the non-seed line of Esau, Moses, the human narrator, is now prepared to follow the promises of God through the descendants of Jacob, which he will do in the last major unit of Genesis, the Joseph narrative.⁵⁴³

Isaac Died and His Sons Esau and Jacob Buried Him
35: 27-29

Since Jacob’s departure from Beersheba to Haran, Isaac’s family had moved back to Hebron where David would one day be anointed king over Isra’el (Second Samuel 5:3). Jacob (Hebrew: Ya’akov) came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is Hebron) where Abraham and Isaac had stayed (35:27). He had visited his father several times during the ten years since he returned from Haran, but now his entire household had come home with him. His children and his wives would have been very eager to see and hear the head of the family that they had heard about their entire lives.

Isaac (Hebrew: Yitz’chak) lived to be one hundred and eighty years of age (35:28). He actually lived twelve more years after Jacob returned to him. Yitz’chak was still living when Jacob thought Joseph had been lost to a wild animal, although in reality, he had been sold into slavery in Egypt (to see link click Jb – When Midianite Merchants Came by, His Brothers Sold Joseph for Twenty Shekels of Silver). But Moses, under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, found it appropriate to mention Isaac’s death here.

Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. Although not much is said about it in Genesis, the patriarchs did believe in life after death. Isaac’s spirit, no doubt, was transported to Sh’ol, where the spirits of Shem, Noah, Abraham and other righteous of the TaNaKh were resting and waiting for the redemption and resurrection (Luke 16:19-31; Ephesians 4:7-10).

It is noteworthy that his sons Esav and Ya’akov buried him (35:29). They were still in fellowship with each other many years after their first reunion. Coming together once more, they participated in the burial ceremony of their father. Yitz’chak was buried in the same sepulcher with Rebekah, Abraham and Sarah, in the cave in Ephron’s’ field in Machpelah that Abraham had purchased near Mamre, which is actually in Hebron (23:17-20).⁵⁴² We do not have any record that the two brothers ever saw each other again. Isaac’s death is only reported here in order to end this toldot. That is not what happens chronologically, but in keeping with the purpose of Genesis, one person’s story is ended so another person’s story can begin.

Isaac died at the time that Yosef was elevated to second in command of Egypt (see Jv – Joseph as Prime Minister), never learning that Joseph was still alive in Egypt. So Yitz’chak died about ten years before Jacob moved to Egypt. With the summary of Jacob’s family and the death of Isaac, the story of Ya’akov comes to an end. But before proceeding to the account of what becomes of Jacob, namely Joseph, Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, first disposes of the non-seed line of Esau.

Jacob suffered four devastating blows in Chapter 35. Deborah, who had cared for him from the time he was born dies (35:8), Rachel, his beloved wife dies (35:19), Reuben, his firstborn son tries to seize his father’s position and violates one of his concubines (35:22a), and Isaac, his father, dies (35:29). It was a great period of adversity and suffering for Ya’akov, and as we live our lives we will suffer similar adversity as well. Jesus said: Your Father in heaven causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). But unlike those without faith in Yeshua, no matter how severe the burden, there is one thing the believer can count on. Suffering will never destroy the child of God. It cannot and will not claim victory over the godly. As Rabbi Sha’ul so eloquently said: Who will separate us from the love the Messiah? Trouble? Persecution? Hunger? Poverty? Danger? War? As the New Testament puts it, “For your sake we are being put to death all day long, we are considered sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all things we are super conquerors, through the One who has loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers, neither what exists nor what is coming, neither powers above nor powers below, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which comes to us through the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord (Romans 8:35-39).

Jacob Had Twelve Sons
35: 22b-26

With the addition of Benjamin, the family was complete and Jacob had twelve sons (35:22b). The names do not appear in order of birth, but according to their respective mothers. The children of Leah and Rachel come first, and then the children of Bilhah and Zilpah. His twelve sons were another assurance that God is faithful and His promises are true. These sons are the firstfruits of the twelve tribes of Isra’el that would become a great nation, and Moses, the compiler of eleven family documents, thought it was appropriate to provide an accurate summary here.

Leah’s six sons were listed first. Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun (35:23). The two sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin (35:24). Then afterwards, the maidservants are mentioned. The two sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali (35:25). The two sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Ya’akov, who were born to him in Paddan Aram with the exception of Benjamin (35:26).

Jacob had left his father’s house with no other possession than a staff, and now he returned, and once Benjamin was born, he would have twelve sons that would become the twelve tribes of Isra’el. God had been faithful and blessed him greatly.

Reuben Went In
and Slept with His Father’s Concubine Bilhah
35: 21-22a

Isra’el moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder, which is outside of Bethlehem (35:21). Once again, this shows that Rachel could not have died outside of Beit-Lechem because Isra’el had moved on after burying her. While Isra’el was living in that region, Reuben, who was now probably thirty years old, went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah (35:22a). No details are given, but Bilhah was much older than Reuben, being the maidservant of Rachel, and the mother of Reuben’s two half-brothers Dan and Naphtali. This was not a rape and on the surface it seems to be an odd match, but each had their own reasons for getting involved.

As far as Reuben was concerned, it ensured that Bilhah could never ascend to the position of chief wife. After Rachel’s death, Bilhah was clearly the only threat to that position belonging to Leah, Reuben’s mother. Secondly, Reuben may have been challenging his father’s authority. It was a well-known and widely adopted practice in the ancient Near East that the eldest son should inherit the concubines of his father (Second Samuel 16:22). Reuben may have been asserting himself as the true heir of Jacob, but it backfired.

Bilhah had her own reasons for getting involved. After Rachel’s death, she probably wanted to take Rachel’s place as Ya’akov’s main wife. When he failed to respond to her, she may have tried to bypass Jacob’s authority and go directly to the eventual heir, which would have been Reuben. In the last analysis, they were both using each other for family positioning. The loss of the birthright could occur if a grave offense was committed and for Reuben, the attempt to seize his father’s position ended up destroying his own position because it would cost him his birthright.

In addition, this section serves a literary purpose, providing a foreshadowing to the conflict between Reuben and the sons of the concubines in Chapter 37. Reuben wants to have compassion on Joseph, whereas the other brothers want to have him murdered.⁵⁴⁰

The rabbis teach that Reuben did not actually do this, but removed her couch from his tent, and Scripture stigmatized his action as evil as though he had lain with her. For during Rachel’s lifetime Jacob’s couch was always in her tent; on her deathbed he removed it to Bilhah’s, Rachel’s handmaid. Reuben resented this, saying, “If my mother, Leah, was subordinate to Rachel, must she also be subordinate to Rachel’s handmaid?” Therefore, he removed Bilhah’s couch and substituted Leah’s.

Isra’el heard of it. That is to say, he heard the terrible news in quiet strength of the new name and power implied and guaranteed by his recent revelation from God. He wouldn’t say anything at the time, but he would never forget it (49:3-4). This is the only real way to meet sorrow and pain: In the strength of ADONAI (Micah 5:4). Whatever emergency, we may rest on the divine assurance: My grace is sufficient for you (Second Corinthians 12:9).⁵⁴¹

The Birth of Benjamin and the Death of Rachel
35: 16-20

No sooner had Ya’akov finished burying Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse (35:8), than he had to bury Rachel. Then, after fulfilling Jacob’s vow, they moved on from Bethel, and while they were on the road to Bethlehem, his beloved Rachel died in childbirth (35:16a). The family was now complete with the birth of Benjamin. Interestingly enough, eleven of Jacob’s twelve sons were born outside the Promised Land in Paddan Aram.

According to First Samuel 10:2 she died on the border of Benjamin and Zelzah. And we know from First Samuel 7:17 that Samuel lived up in Ramah, a Benjaminite city. Therefore, Rachel’s burial place was in the city of Ramah, which is north of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 31:15). The site that tour guides point to as Rachel’stomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem, which is south of Jerusalem, is not the actual location of Rachel’s tomb. The rabbis follow tradition and teach that Rachel’s tomb is south of Yerushalayim in Beit-Lechem.

In Ramah, on the road to Bethlehem, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty (35:16b). Rachel must have been over one hundred years old by this time. And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, at the point of greatest pain, the midwife tried to encourage her by saying: Don’t be afraid, for you have another son. Fifteen years earlier, she had prayed for another son when Joseph was born. Finally, she became pregnant again, but it cost Rachel her life. As she breathed her last, for she was dying, she named her son Ben-Oni, which means the son of my sorrow (the word for sorrow and birth pangs are synonymous), because he is causing her death. But his father renamed him Benjamin, which means the son of my right hand or son of my strength (35:17-18). From the start of his life Benjamin had two things that set him apart from his brothers. First, he was the only son born in the Promised Land, and secondly, he was the only son named by his father.

Jacob’s love for Rachel was timeless. Many years afterwards, her death was still fresh in his mind. On his deathbed, when he was preparing to bless his sons, he remembered that he had buried her with great sorrow (48:7). So Rachel died and was buried in Ramah, north of Jerusalem (35:19). Over her tomb Ya’akov set up a pillar, and Moses comments that the pillar that marked Rachel’s tomb was visible even until his time (35:20). To this Samuel referred when he sent Sha’ul home after anointing him (First Samuel 10:2). It might have been visible during Jeremiah’s day as the Jews were being taken into the Babylonian captivity. But it is no longer visible today, which is why the location of the tomb has been lost and misplaced in Beit-Lechem.

The birth of Benjamin also points forward to the Yosef narrative (Chapters 37-50), and ultimately to the fuller story of the nation of Isra’el. As such, Chapter 35 serves as a transition from the patriarchal period of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to the beginnings of the people of Isra’el.⁵³⁹

After Jacob Returned from Paddan Aram,
God Appeared to Him Again at Bethel
35: 9-15

After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel DIG: Review the promises God made to Abraham (12:1-3, 15:17-21, 17:1-8, and 22:15-18). How do these compare to the promises God makes to Jacob? Observe what God told Jacob (35:1) and how Jacob responded here. How would you characterize God’s directive and Jacob’s response?

REFLECT: How can El Shaddai meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Yeshua Messiah today? What are some promises that God has made to you in His Word? How do these promises influence your daily life? What are some ways people commemorate significant spiritual commitments today? How do these compare to the actions taken by Jacob? List things that get in the way of strengthening your relationship with God. What steps do you need to take to remove these things from your life? 

After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him (35:9). He was back home again. It was here at Bethel, that God once again appeared to Jacob (Hebrew: Ya’akov), renewing the promises that He had made some thirty years before. Reconciliation was complete.

Then, because of the terrible episode at Shechem, God reaffirmed Jacob’s new name. He said: Your name is Ya’akov, but you will no longer be called Ya’akov; your name will be Israel.” So He named him Isra’el (35:10). From this point on, God only calls him by his new name Isra’el. His name does appear in the narrative as Jacob, but whenever God personally addresses him, He calls him Isra’el. He was a prince of God and he took comfort in that, and lived as one who possessed such a holy calling.

And so, of course, should it be so with us today. As those who have been made co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17) of all things (Hebrews 1:2), we have a noble calling and therefore, great responsibilities. The strongest incentive to holy living is the understanding of our holy calling. Rabbi Sha’ul said: As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the holy calling you have received (Ephesians 4:1).⁵³⁵

And then God reconfirmed the Abrahamic Covenant upon Isra’el when He said: I am God Almighty or El Shaddai. This is how God referred to Himself to Abraham (17:1) and Isaac (28:3). The name comes from the idea that all might and power is expressed in the term God or El. The word Almighty comes from a root word meaning strong and powerful, meaning that God is able to meet all our needs. He was able to fulfill all the promises He had made to Abraham and to Isaac. Pray today that God will meet your needs (not wants, but needs). God’s Word says: And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

God said: Be fruitful and increase in number. He was not thinking of more sons or daughters. Instead, God was thinking of a nation. The nation of Isra’el, and the congregation or kahal of twelve tribes will come from Isra’el. In fact, this version of the patriarchal promises contains an element unheard of since the days of Abraham (17:6,16); kings will come from Jacob’s body. This promise foreshadows the coming Messiah, the centerpiece in God’s ultimate plan of salvation.⁵³⁶ The Land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this Land to your descendants after you (35:11-12).

Then God went up the heavenly ladder back to heaven from Ya’akov at the place where He had talked with him. And just as he had done some thirty years ago when God had spoken to him at Bethel, Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it (35:13-14). The pillar and the pouring of oil were a repetition of the actions he performed the first time he was here (28:18-22). This is the first mention of the drink offering in the Scriptures. In 29:22 Ya’akov promised to make this place the house of God; now here he fulfills that promise. By pouring out a drink offering here, he treats it as such. Later, such drink offerings, though not a primary part of the Levitical sacrificial system, were offered frequently as supplementary gifts of devotion and dedication, and it was no doubt with such a motive that Jacob acted here.⁵³⁷

Ya’akov called the place where God had talked with him Bethel (35:15). He had already done this (28:19, 35:3 and 7); the point is that now it was the house of God, not only in honor of an event (as when he fled Esau), but now a place of true worship and offering.

The grace of God is truly amazing. This is especially true for a repentant believer. We suffer loss in our lives because of our own sin, but God’s overriding grace can work wonders. We think of Manasseh after his idolatry (Second Kings 21:1-16), of David after his adultery (see the commentary on the Life of David, to see link click Dc – David and Bathsheba), of Peter after his denial (John 18:15-18, 25-26); and while we cannot say that we are all we might have been, we, along with Ya’akov, can say with absolute certainty that we are something that we should never otherwise have been.⁵³⁸

Jacob’s Journey to Bethel
35: 1-8

Jacob’s journey to Bethel DIG: What memories or feelings would Jacob associate with Bethel (see 28:10-22)? What finally made Jacob realize that he needed to be a spiritual leader to his family?

REFLECT: Idolatry is substituting what is created for the Creator, and quite frankly idolatry dominates our culture. Is there anything that you need to bury and leave behind to worship God? Do you need to get back to your Bethel to be renewed? Where has God met you in times of stress? What actions might a person take today in preparation for meeting God? What things show that you are purifying your life? Which is more difficult – obeying God in the big stuff or the small stuff? How is your fellowship with God? What message do you need to hear from Him right now? 

Jacob(Hebrew: Ya’akov) had allowed twenty years (31:38) to pass since his return from Haran, without making good on the vow he had made at Bethel when fleeing from Esau (28:20). Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there until you fulfill your vow.” The rabbis teach that because Jacob had delayed going up to Bethel, he was punished by what had happened to Dinah. Bethel was about fifteen miles south of Shechem, but its elevation was a thousand feet higher. It is referenced much like Jerusalem in the B’rit Chadashah. Because its elevation is two thousand five hundred feet above sea level, no matter the direction of your approach, the Bible always says: go up to Jerusalem, and Bethel is twelve miles north of Jerusalem.

Although Bethel was a very special place for Jacob, he had evidently never returned there after coming back from Haran. And what makes it even stranger is that Bethel is located almost directly between Shechem and Hebron where Isaac lived. We know that Jacob visited his father, so it almost seems that he had deliberately avoided Bethel. It could be that he knew he had not kept the promise he had made to God at Bethel about twenty years before (28:10-22). So once he got there, he was to build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau (35:1). This is the fourth divine revelation that God had given to Jacob. God wanted Jacob to settle there because the goal was fellowship. And fellowship with God should be our number one goal also.

However, without even realizing it, Jacob’s family had been spiritually devastated by living for ten years in the Canaanite city of Shechem. Above all this was true of his children, who were especially vulnerable during their teenage years. So it is with our children today. Even if we bring them to church or temple every week, the life of worldliness during six days is far too powerful for anything that happens during the seventh day to counteract it. Then to make things worse, Dinah was raped, the men of Shechem were slaughtered and the town looted. This had brought more foreign gods into his household. If God was going to bless them again, if they were going to have a fresh start, then the foreign gods must go.

So Jacob did what he should have done long ago. He regained the spiritual leadership of his household and said to all who were with him from the slaughter of Shechem: Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you and purify yourselves and change your clothes (35:2). This was considered necessary in preparing to meet ADONAI. The purifying included getting rid of the foreign gods that Rachel had stolen from her father Laban. Jacob’s love for her had led him to tolerate what he knew was wrong. Washing and changing their clothes symbolized the pure worship of God. Then Ya’akov said: Come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress over both Esau and Laban, and who has been with me wherever I have gone (35:3). Because they realized that they were in serious danger of attack from other Canaanite cities, they were afraid, and surrendered to Jacob’s commands. Likewise, we must surrender to God before He can bless us. There are some things that we must bury and leave behind because they cannot possibly be devoted to the service of God.

The change in Jacob was dramatic. In the previous chapter he was weak and spiritually impotent. But now even his savage sons, who had once lost respect for him and went their own way, now follow him and accept his position without question. Even they could not help being impressed with the fact that their father was back on the right path with God.

So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, which were used for magical purposes (Hosea 2:13), and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem (35:4). This may have been the same great oak under which his grandfather Abraham had pitched his tent when he arrived at Shechem (12:6). Later, under the Torah, the Israelites were instructed to destroy such objects (Deut 7:5 and 25). Notice they didn’t sell their foreign gods to feed the poor. They got rid of them. Scripture seems to indicate that you can’t reroute the things of Satan and use them for the service of God. You need to get rid of them (Acts 19:19). We need to remember that anything that hinders us on our spiritual journey is useless, no matter how valuable it appears to the world (Hebrews 12:1).⁵³³ Then after purifying themselves, they set out.

All his life Jacob has had to contend with his own fears: the fear of God (28:17), the fear of Laban (31:31), and the fear of Esav (32:7 and 11). Nobody had been in fear of him. Angry, yes; fearful, no. But as Ya’akov traveled from Shechem to Bethel, all that changed. The terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them (35:5). What prevented them from being pursued was not the terror of Jacob’s sons, but the supernatural terror of God. In some way, God prevented them from coming after Ya’akov and his family for revenge. Ya’akov and all the people with him arrived safely at Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan (35:6). It is significant that Luz is mentioned here because it means separation, while Bethel, its new name, means the House of God. Jacob was gaining a new chance to be separate from the world, and in leaving Shechem he was entering God’s house.

Having safely arrived, Jacob built an altar, and he renamed the place El Bethel, meaning the God of the House of God, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother Esau (35:7). Here in the Hebrew text we have another implication of the plurality in the Godhead in Genesis. The Hebrew word for Elohim is a plural noun. When the word Elohim is used of pagan gods, then the adjective or verb that goes with it is also in the plural. But when Elohim is used of the one true God, then the adjective or verb is normally in the singular. However, there are exceptions. Sometimes the plurality of the Godhead is revealed because the adjective or verb as it relates to Elohim is also in the plural, and here is a good example because in Hebrew the word revealed is plural. The plural verb is used with the plural noun. Therefore, literally it means, the Gods they revealed themselves to him. This clearly points to a plurality in the Godhead. The rabbis, who did not believe in the plurality of the Godhead, rationalized this verse by saying that the word God in this verse refers to angels.

At that time a very precious link to the past was broken, Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse (24:59), died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. She would have been about one hundred and eighty years old at that time. Her family loved her so the oak under which she was buried was renamed Allon Bacuth, meaning the oak of weeping (35:8). Jacob had known Deborah all his life. She had come with Rebekah from Mesopotamia when Rebekah had left to marry Isaac (24:59), and no doubt had cared for Jacob from the time he was born. She had not, of course, accompanied him when he fled from Esau to Haran, but she, as well as Rebekah must have grieved to see him go. We don’t know when she rejoined Ya’akov, but it was probably on the occasion of one of his visits to Isaac while living at Shechem. In fact, her presence in Jacob’s household is the reason we know that he did visit his father during those years.

In addition, the fact that she was now with Ya’akov was proof that Rebekah herself had died. She never saw her son again after sending him off to her brother Laban. When Jacob returned to Hebron and found that his mother had died, and Deborah really wasn’t needed any longer in his father’s home, he probably urged her to come and live with his own family. She might have served as some sort of “senior advisor” to his other servants, as well as “grandmother” to his own children. It must have grieved her greatly to see the things that took place at Shechem. In addition, the arduous trip up to Bethel was too much for her and she died.⁵³⁴

Jacob’s Spiritual Renewal at Bethel
35: 1-15

After his mountaintop experience at Peniel, Jacob had inexplicably fallen away from God. Instead of immediately returning to Bethel, he had lingered at the city of Shechem. His grandfather Abraham had also been disobedient. He stayed in Haran when he should have gone on to the Promised Land (11:31b). Then he went to Egypt when he should have stayed in Palestine. Jacob would go to Bethel, but only after God had commanded him to go (35:1).

Ya’akov was in the world (First John 2:15-17) and the time spent in Shechem was disastrous. It revealed a spiritual vacuum in the hearts of his family.⁵³¹ The only cure for worldliness is holiness . . . to be set apart. As for Jacob, he needed to be alone again with Elohim and be spiritually renewed. So God commanded him to go to Bethel. It was there, twenty years previous (31:38), that Ya’akov first met the LORD and agreed to walk with Him. While there was no mention of God’s name in Chapter 34, here in Chapter 35 His name is mentioned twelve times.

God’s patient work in Jacob’s life offers a lesson as we learn how the LORD can bring us each along step by step in the process of spiritual maturity. We may look at where we are in our spiritual walk and feel as if we haven’t gotten anywhere. We can feel overwhelmed by our failures and our inability to master life with Yeshua. Those are the times when we need to pause and look back so that we can gain an appreciation of how far ADONAI has brought us. As is clearly seen by His dealings with Ya’akov, God does not demand instant perfection, but He leads us little by little, making inroads into our self-centeredness and doing His work in our lives one step at a time.⁵³²

Jacob’s Rebuke of Simeon and Levi
34: 30-31

Jacob’s rebuke of Simeon and Levi DIG: Why was this account included in the Bible? How does Jacob rebuke his sons? How do Jacob’s sons rebuke him? How does the slaughter and plunder of Shechem affect the birthright in Jacob’s family? Who ends up with the birthright?

REFLECT: Jacob got to a point in his life where he was spiritually dull. He was a passive father. How can you guard against that in your own life?

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed’ (34:30). It seems that his concern wasn’t for Dinah but for his own reputation. His outburst suggests more concern for public relations than his daughters honor.

Jacob was a passive father, and a passive father is destructive to the development of his children. Passive fathers destroy their children by refusing to discipline them and change their course of direction. Passive fathers produce insecure and angry children. Without a game plan for life, teenagers perish. God killed Eli the High Priest because he would not discipline his sons (First Samuel 2:22 and 4:4-11). David was a passive father. While Absalom was trying to get his attention, David was chasing Bathsheba and plotting to kill her husband. Where did Absalom learn to lie, cheat and murder? He did exactly what his father taught him to do. However, God is not a passive Father. He says: Have you forgotten the counsel that speaks with you as sons: My son, don’t despise the discipline of ADONAI or become despondent when He corrects you. For ADONAI disciplines those He loves and whips everyone He accepts as a son (Hebrews 12:5-6 CJB).

But Jacob’s sons seemed to have the last word. They said: Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute (34:31)? They believed that Jacob’s concern is misplaced and they were offended by it. When Shechem offered to pay for Dinah, in their eyes that turned Dinah into a prostitute and these hot heads couldn’t tolerate that. They felt that their father had been too willing to compromise, and they believed that their actions of avenging their sister were justified.⁵²⁹ But they did evil in the name of good.

Their instincts were correct for not wanting to assimilate with the Canaanites. The fact is that if they would have intermarried with them, Isra’el’s distinctive identity would have been destroyed and God’s covenant with Abraham would have been negated. Later, the nation of Isra’el was instructed by God to avoid defilement with the Canaanites and Isra’el’s foreign policy was to destroy them completely before they could defile the Israelites. God would say: Do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them, the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Otherwise they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). But even though their instincts were correct in this matter, their actions were evil. They lied and acted carelessly in carrying out vengeance because God hadn’t told them to do anything. On his deathbed when Ya’akov was giving the patriarchal blessing, Simeon and Levi were cursed by not receiving their own territory in the Promised Land (49:5-7).

In addition, the slaughter of Shechem would have far reaching implications with the birthright of Jacob’s family. As the birthright had been an issue between Abraham’s children Ishmael and Isaac, and as it had been an issue in Isaac’s family between Esau and Jacob, it would also be an issue in Jacob’s family. Reuben, who was actually the firstborn, would forfeit his birthright by sleeping with Jacob’s concubine Bilhah (35:21). Then Simeon and Levi, who were next in line for the birthright, would also lose it over this incident. The next in line would be Judah, and he would become the Seed son, the one through whom the Messiah would be born.

When Jacob’s evil sons, justifying their own treachery, asked: “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?” Ya’akov had no reply. He had indeed failed. He had opened the door to this, and now he was in desperate need of revival in his own soul, as well as a fresh word of guidance from Elohim. Though Scripture does not clearly say so, it seems most likely that Jacob went to his altar and cried out to God for forgiveness and for instruction. And God, who is gracious and long-suffering, answered him once again.⁵³⁰

One of the biggest questions we can ask about this account is, “Why was it told to us?” On the one hand, it does not seem to have much to do with the continuously progressive revelation of the history of redemption. We could leave this account out of the Bible and we would never seem to miss it. On the other hand, the knowledge of this account is extremely critical for our understanding of Jacob’s blessing and cursing which he uttered on his deathbed (to see link click Ld – The Blessing and Cursing of Jacob’s Sons). Knowing the actions of Levi and Simeon helps us to know why they not granted a geographical inheritance among the tribes of Isra’el (see Lf – Simeon and Levi are Brothers, Their Swords are Weapons of Violence). Unless we had realized the sin which they committed, we would not have been able to understand Jacob’s rebuke.

The Slaughter at Shechem by Simeon and Levi
34: 25-29

The slaughter at Shechem by Simeon and Levi DIG: What does the slaughter and looting of the city tell us about the spiritual condition of Jacob’s family?

REFLECT: Where do you need to make sure that anger does not get the best of you? How does a desire for revenge affect you and your faith in God?

The result of the plot was tragic and cruel. Three days later, while all of them were in the greatest amount of pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and went from one house to the next, attacked the unsuspecting city, killing each and every male until they were all dead. Adult circumcision is painful and would virtually incapacitate the men of Shechem for several days. In addition, the fever that would develop as a result of the cutting would only make them more vulnerable. The men of the city couldn’t really defend themselves. The brothers came upon them like vultures landing on lifeless corpses.⁵²⁸ They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left (34:25-26). They reasoned that because Shechem had taken Dinah to his house by force, they were prepared to take her from his house by force. They avenged sin by greater sin.

Simeon and Levi further reasoned that if their father was not going to defend the honor of his daughter, they would defend the honor of their sister. It was bad enough that she was raped and treated like a prostitute, but their father’s indifference about the whole situation made them even more furious. They all felt slighted because Leah was their mother. Jacob’s favoritism towards Rachael and her children was wearing very thin on Leah’s side of the family. Once again, Jacob’s favoritism was causing much pain.

Archaeological excavations have discovered that Shechem was a city of about six acres and therefore was probably occupied by between five hundred to a thousand people. The two brothers could not have possibly slaughtered everyone by themselves so their servants probably assisted them.  Looting followed the killing.

The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been raped. Only Simeon and Levi did the slaying, but all the other sons probably helped in the looting. They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. It was ironic because the men of Shechem had planned on seizing all of Jacob’s wealth, however now all their wealth belonged to the Hebrews! They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in their houses (34:27-29). So the combination of a passive father and vengeful, cruel brothers was a deadly combination for the men of Shechem.

Ya’akov probably didn’t realize what had happened until he saw the captives and the plunder coming back from Shechem with his sons. Dinah accompanied them and was no doubt in a state of shock. Although he must have been horrified with the magnitude of what had happened, Jacob’s lack of leadership had given the opportunity for Simeon and Levi to demonstrate that they were really men of treachery and not justice. Jacob would never forget it. On his deathbed he would say to them, “Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Ya’akov and disperse them in Isra’el” (49:7).

The Circumcision at Shechem
34: 18-24

The circumcision at Shechem DIG: What does the deception of Jacob’s sons say about the spiritual condition of the family? What does it say about Jacob’s spiritual leadership?

REFLECT: When we act like the world acts, what does this do to our testimony?

Their plan was to incapacitate the city. Taking the lead in the negotiations, Simeon and Levi had gambled that Hamor and his son Shechem were desperate to join with the Hebrews for commercial advantage, and they were right. They swallowed the bait, hook, line and sinker! The unsuspecting royal family eagerly agreed to the condition of circumcision, beginning with Shechem himself. The young prince, who was the most honored of all his father’s household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was greedy for financial gain like his father, plus he really was delighted with Jacob’s daughter (34:18-19). Shechem was so respected that the others were sure to follow his lead.

So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen and lay the whole proposition before them. The city gate was where official business was always discussed. They said: These men are friendly toward us, let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. In other words, let them become citizens of our city-state. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. But the Hebrews will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are (34:20-22).

The fact that the men of the city agreed to the proposal set before them demonstrated how eager they were to reap the economic benefit of intermarriage with the Hebrews even though it would require a certain amount of pain.⁵²⁶ They reasoned that their pain would be for their gain: Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? This was not brought up in the negotiations with the brothers, and they left out the little detail about Shechem raping Dinah. But why bother them with the details! The motivation was purely financial. Hamor and Shechem concentrated entirely on the financial gain intermarriage would provide for their fellow townsmen . So they asked: Let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us (34:23).

It seems strange that neither Reuben nor Judah took part in this plot. Reuben, especially as Dinah’s eldest brother, should have taken charge if Jacob didn’t. Later developments show that both Reuben and Judah were much less willing to kill than the rest of their brothers (37:21 and 26). They were not cruel and probably didn’t want to participate in the killing after realizing what Simeon and Levi were really planning, though not to the extent of doing anything to prevent them from carrying out their plan. Jacob’s other sons were probably still too young to take an active part in the killing, but all the brothers probably did participate in the looting. In any case, Simeon and Levi took the lead.

Their treachery was cloaked in honor. I am sure that they were partly motivated to honor the good name of their sister, and their rejection of intermarriage with the Canaanites was admirable, but they were completely wrong in taking the law into their own hands in such a cruel and violent way.⁵²⁷

All the men who went out of the city gate were easily persuaded and readily agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. As a result, every male in the city was circumcised and unable to protect themselves (34:24). Ready for vengeance, these two hotheads were ready to finish what they had started.

Because Their Sister Dinah Had Been Defiled,
Jacob’s Sons Replied Deceitfully
34: 8-17

Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully DIG: Why was Jacob silent during these negotiations? We hear nothing from him.

REFLECT: What does God think about intermarrying with the Canaanites in your city (Second Corinthians 6:14-18)? Why doesn’t the end justify the means here?

The royal family of Shechem approached the Hebrews with a proposal. At first King Hamor did all the talking and said to them: My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Hamor offers enticement to Jacob’s family by saying that this marriage will only be the beginning of a close and prosperous relationship between the people of Shechem and Jacob’s family. The marriage between Shechem and Dinah, in other words, will be the first in the right to intermarry. Hamor said: Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves (34:8-9).

You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it (34:10). This was an offer of city-state citizenship to Jacob and his family, something that the nomads of this period wanted badly. Abraham and Isaac never received such an offer. As far as the land went, God had already given it to Ya’akov, he didn’t need Hamor to offer it to him. Hamor couldn’t be trusted anyway; he gave a completely different story to his own people later (34:23). He was lying to Jacob and his sons in order to ultimately acquire everything they had. Clearly, nothing good could come from this proposal.

If Shechem had requested his father make the official contact with Ya’akov, it would have been out of place for Shechem to go by himself. So he went with his father and spoke as soon as he had the opportunity.⁵²⁴ Then Shechem, who had been standing quietly beside Hamor, said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask” (34:11). For such a barbaric beginning to their relationship, Shechem now appears so proper. But he has no sense of remorse or repentance regarding the rape. No apology was offered. It seems as though he expected them to welcome him with open arms. He was totally clueless. It is as if he expected Dinah’s brothers to say, “Yes, we favor you. All you did was rape our sister. Why should we hold that against you?”

Shechem continued his hopeless appeal: Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask of me. This was payment that the husband paid to the parents for their daughter. In the Near East, the bride price comes not with the bride, but for the bride. Normally, there was a going rate set by the community, but Shechem was willing to go way beyond it. Even though the rape of a prospective bride may have been the norm in the Canaanite civilization, the spoiled prince seemed to think he could buy anything: Only give me the girl as my wife (34:12). He really was romantically attracted, but from the Hebrew perspective, was showing it the wrong way. He had dishonored her and them at every turn.

Shechem must have assumed that he was negotiating from a position of strength. After raping Dinah, he kept her hostage in his house (35:26). The stakes were high. Clearly, this was a very dangerous situation for everyone involved. But Jacob is completely absent from these negotiations. Where was the spiritual leader of the family?

The brothers took the lead in the negotiations, which was not unusual in that society. Earlier, Laban had taken the lead in the negotiations for Rebekah (24:50, 55-59). But instead of taking charge of what was clearly a dangerous situation, Ya’akov allowed his sons to negotiate with the royal family of Shechem.⁵²⁵ Because their sister Dinah had been raped, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor (34:13). The brothers were careful not to show their hand, and as they walked back together from the fields they developed an evil plan.

Not content to leave the city’s judgment to God, as with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Simeon and Levi resolve to take matters into their own hands. They said to the men of the city: We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us for all time. We will give our consent to you on one condition only; that you become like us by circumcising all your males in the city. That would be the condition of intermarriage. Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you. This demand was very believable because at the time some pagans made circumcision a condition of marriage. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go (34:14-17).

Via the marriage of Dinah, the royal family of Shechem wanted to make a financial offer to the Hebrews that they couldn’t refuse. But they had no idea who they were dealing with, or how much danger they were really in. The conditions set by Jacob’s sons sounded quite fair and upfront, but their proposal dripped with treachery. Their real intent was murder.

The Rape of Dinah
34: 1-7

The rape of Dinah DIG: Where is Jacob’s outrage at the rape of his daughter? Why is it left to his sons to be filled with grief and fury? Why doesn’t he do something? Anything? Where is his responsibility as a parent? His spiritual leadership?

REFLECT: How do you deal with separation from the world (First John 2:15-17)? Can you be in the world, but not of the world (John 17:6-19)? What are the consequences of ignoring the world (Matthew 28:18-20)? What are the consequences of immersing yourself in the world (First Corinthians 5:1-13)? How can you find a balance between the two?

Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the young women of the land (34:1). This action loosened the stone that caused a landslide. Dinah was probably just a girl of fourteen to sixteen years old at the time. Jacob’s sons could keep themselves company, but Dinah needed the company of other girls her own age. So it is not surprising that she went into Shechem to find some girlfriends. This was not unreasonable, but in doing so she put herself at risk. The moral condition of Shechem was shameful. Not only was promiscuity common, but it was also part of their religious system itself. Young girls traveling alone were considered fair game at that time. Didn’t Ya’akov and Leah know this? Did they warn Dinah? Did they try to prevent her from going and she rebelled? Did Dinah feel like she could look out for herself and resented her parent’s overprotective attitude? We just don’t know. At any rate, she went and while visiting some of the girls of Shechem, she was noticed by the prince of the city.

There is much unsaid here. God had commanded Jacob to go back to Canaan. But how would his children find suitable mates? It seemed impossible to insist that they marry from their own people as Abraham and Isaac had done. And he certainly wasn’t going to send any of his children back to Laban! How could they stay totally separate from the Canaanites? How could they and their children stay morally clean in the spiritual toilet of Shechem? Was this why God wanted Jacob to take his family to Bethel and avoid these influences?

When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that Canaanite area, saw her, he grabbed her and raped her (34:2). I am sure that even as common as rape was amongst the godless Canaanites, little was denied Shechem, being the prince of the city. The word for raped is taken from the word defiled (Psalm 79:1). Defiled is used in the TaNaKh to describe a person who has contacted impurity through such things as skin diseases, bodily emissions, or touching something dead.⁵²⁰ So the rape of Dinah and the defilement of the Tabernacle are regarded with the same feelings and described by the same word.⁵²¹

His heart was drawn to Dinah, daughter of Jacob (Hebrew: Ya’akov), and he loved her and spoke tenderly to her trying to appease his own guilt. He knew what he did was wrong. After a woman was raped in this culture, she could not expect to ever have a valid marriage. She was normally relegated to the status of an outcast, so I am sure that Shechem thought he was doing a noble thing by marrying Dinah. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife” (34:3-4). He had no idea of the moral standard that he had violated or the moral line he had crossed, especially with her brothers.

Somehow this message got back to Jacob very quickly. When he heard that his daughter Dinah had been raped, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home (34:5). But we never get the feeling that Jacob is distraught over the rape of his daughter. Later, when hearing of Joseph’s supposed death, Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days, he refused to be comforted and wept for him (37:34-35). We see none of that here. He made no attempt to send word to his sons about the tragedy. While waiting for his sons to come home, Shechem and his father Hamor went out to talk with Ya’akov about Dinah (34:6).

Word traveled fast and one way or another Jacob’s sons heard of the rape and they came in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Isra’el by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing that should not be done (34:7). The rabbis teach that people had renounced rape since the Flood. The phrase, a thing that should not be done is similar to Tamar’s pleading prior to her rape by her half brother Amnon. She said to him: Don’t my brother, don’t force me. Such a thing should not be done in Isra’el. Don’t do this wicked thing (Second Samuel 13:12). There was no nation of Isra’el at the time of the rape. Yet Moses is writing Genesis for the people of Isra’el and, thus, there must be an application to the nation. So this defilement was not only against Dinah, but against Ya’akov, her brothers and, ultimately, against the people of God.⁵²²  But Jacob was passive and showed no spiritual leadership in this situation. Perhaps if Dinah were his daughter by Rachel rather than Leah, he would have acted differently.⁵²³

Dinah was Raped by Shechem
34: 1-31

Dinah was the daughter of Leah (to see a video about Dinah click here), and therefore, a member of the less appreciated portion of Laban’s family. Jacob had never loved Leah as much as he did Rachel (29:30), and eventually he favored Rachel’s children, Joseph and Benjamin, more than those of Leah. Such favoritism had plagued the family since the days when Isaac favored Esau and Rebekah favored Jacob, and preferential treatment would continue to be the source of considerable trouble throughout the rest of Genesis.

In addition, the hazards of intermarriage with the pagan Canaanites are always an issue in Genesis. Abraham had been concerned that Isaac might marry outside the patriarchal family, like Ishmael had (21:21, 24:3-4), and Esau had disappointed his parents with marriages to unbelieving Hittites (26:34-35, 27:46, 28:8). The danger of Jacob’s prolonged stay at Shechem, so near to his ultimate destination of Bethel, was not very wise.

Bad things can happen to anyone. Even good people are victimized or affected by disaster. But how people respond to the difficulty exposes their true character. Unfortunately Jacob’s response revealed indifference toward Dinah, and his leadership as the head of the family was missing in action.⁵¹⁸ By not going to Bethel as ADONAI had commanded, Jacob (Hebrew: Ya’akov) was endangering others far more vulnerable than himself.⁵¹⁹ It is no accident that the name of God is completely absent from this section.

Jacob’s Disobedience at Shechem
33: 18-20

Jacob’s disobedience at Shechem DIG: Instead of immediately returning to Bethel as God had commanded (31:3,13), Jacob lingered at the city of Shechem. How did this put his family needlessly at risk?

REFLECT: Whether it has been your sinful cravings, the lust of your eyes, or the boasting of what you have and do (First John 2:16), when have you stopped to linger in your life? How do you catch yourself or get out of that trap before it’s too late?

Jacob probably stayed longer in Succoth than he had originally planned, but he eventually moved on and arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan. It was not very far from Succoth, directly west of the Jabbok River and about twenty miles from the River Jordan. God had said that He would be with Ya’akov (28:15, 31:3), and the fact that he arrived safely back in Canaan was the fulfillment of that promise. According to the Canaanite society of that day he was a non-citizen, so he camped within sight of the city (33:18).

For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent (33:19). God had promised him the whole Promised Land, but this was the only part that Jacob actually owned. The land was excellent for his flocks and herds to graze. In addition, he dug a well that became known as the well of Sychar (John 4:6, 11-12). Years later, this was where the bones of Joseph would be reburied (Joshua 24:32). Shechem became an important city in biblical history. Located on Mount Gerizim, it would later become the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. It was very close to the city of Samaria, which became the capital of the northern kingdom of Isra’el. When Jacob arrived there, the city was controlled by the Hivites, a Canaanite tribe, which was ruled by a man named Hamor. He had a son named Shechem, which the city was eventually named after. Although the text does not mention it, Ya’akov must have visited Isaac and Esau several times during his stay in Shechem.⁵¹⁷

There Jacob set up an altar and called it El Elohei Isra’el, literally meaning God, the God of Israel (33:20). This was the first use of his new name. But God didn’t want the altar in Shechem; He wanted it in Bethel, as we shall see shortly.

Awesome God, thank You for revealing Yourself  to Your people, Isra’el. Thank You for continuing to reveal Yourself to all who call upon Your name.

The Results of Disobedience
33:18 to 34:31

God had commanded Jacob to go back to Bethel (31:3 and 13) and Ya’akov had vowed to do so (28:20). But when he crossed back into the Promised Land he decided to linger in Succoth and Shechem for several years. Nowhere did Jacob seek God about his decision, and indeed, there is no mention of ADONAI in this entire section. The pastures of Succoth and Shechem were green, and his possessions had increased to the point where movement was difficult. So Jacob settled down to what he thought was the simple life, having either put off or put aside the fulfillment of God’s promise to him. But there was a worldly cancer that spread into his family that was not seen in the family of Abraham or of Isaac. The two previous patriarchs had their problems, but nothing like we see in Jacob’s family.⁵¹⁵

Sometimes when we come off of a mountaintop experience, we meet the cruel cold reality of the world and we are unprepared for it. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, the people had molded a golden calf to worship; after Elijah defeated the prophets of Ba’al on Mount Carmel, he fell into a deep depression and after David defeated the Philistines and the Ammonites, reigning over all of Isra’el, and doing what was right for all his people, he became an adulterer and a murderer. King Solomon was the wisest man in the world and built God’s Temple; however, later in his life he became convinced that all was meaningless after his heart was turned to the gods of his many wives. Likewise, Jacob had wrestled with God and had finally received his blessing in the right way, but then he put God on the back burner.

This was the man who had seen the face of God! This was the man through whom God had promised that all the peoples of the earth would be blessed! This was the man who wanted the patriarchal blessing, which included being the spiritual leader of the family. And this was the man whom God’s goodness and mercy had followed all the days of his life! But he was also the man who was in spiritual decline at Shechem.⁵¹⁶ It is always the same. There is only one way to coast spiritually, that’s downhill, and Jacob was coasting.