Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Genesis 34:18-31 comments: Simeon and Levi's revenge


Genesis 34:18 ¶  And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor’s son. 19  And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father. 20  And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying, 21  These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22  Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. 23  Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us. 24  And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
Now, Shechem, the man who assaulted Dinah, is said to be the most honorable man in his father’s family. This shows you how, by Christian standards, depraved the Canaanite culture was. He was very fond of Dinah, though, and wanted to ‘do the right thing’ because of his affection for her and not discard her like garbage as some cultures of men in America so easily do today. We understand and most of us accept today that rape is rape and a woman can say, “no,” at any time and it must be respected or the act is considered a crime. Offering to marry the girl doesn’t change anything today.
Father and son encourage the men of their city to make this treaty of peace with Jacob’s sons and what must have been a rather large army of servants to care for their flocks. They would have been a formidable force. Hamor and Shechem, as part of their argument, say that this will signify a union between the family of Israel and themselves making them both one people.
Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) are made one people at the Cross. Pay attention to Paul’s argument again.
Ephesians 2:14 ¶  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
There is another hint here at self-interest. Hamor and Shechem want the men of their city to believe that with this union the wealth of Israel and his sons will be their wealth as well.
…all that went out of the gate of his city refers to the residents of the city, in context, the male residents who held political power. These are the men who could also defend the city. In this somewhat bizarre agreement based on questionable thinking on every side all of the men of the city consent to be circumcised.
It does not say that Jacob’s sons and servants did the circumcision, but it is certain that Jacob’s sons would have been there to verify that it was done. This would not have been too strange, as we think of it.
Cultural standards were much different in the past than in the last century or two. My point is that people were must less concerned about such things between men in the past. For instance, the Greeks worked out in their gymnasiums naked and their athletic events were conducted in the nude. Presumably Hamor and Shechem did the circumcising as it was the custom for the leaders or priests to perform the act and we know the king of a city was also its high priest from past references. First, with Abraham, father to his children and master to his servants, to Joshua, leader of his people;
Genesis  17:23  And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
Joshua 5:3  And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
The very idea that the authority of governmental or even tribal leaders extends to our reproductive organs is appalling to us today. We cannot even imagine it. Imagine the local mayor or the patriarch of your extended family doing this. Imagine you letting them. We have relegated such things to doctors or, in the case of parts of the Jewish culture, a person called a ‘Mohel’ does this.
If by this point you don’t know what circumcision is you’ll have to look it up. I’m not going into the grisly details here.
Genesis 34:25 ¶  And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. 26  And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out. 27  The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28  They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, 29  And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house. 30  And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. 31  And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?
Simeon and Levi were the two who did the slaughter. You might assume that they had the help of their many servants, as Abraham did in his rescue of Lot. The third day is a recurrent thread throughout the Bible as a significant time elapsing between two things.
On the third day God created dry land and plant life, food for man and beast, in Genesis 1. Abraham saw where he thought he was supposed to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22. It on that day that Laban realized Jacob had escaped in chapter 31. So, while it is hard to connect these four events as having a relationship with each other we do know that God separated land from ocean in chapter 1, that God separated Abraham for Himself in chapter 22 by his willingness to obey, and Jacob’s separation from Laban, a type of the world and a type of antichrist, was revealed on the third day. Here, in this chapter, there is no going back. Jacob’s sons will not become merged with the Canaanites. This act forever seals their separation and the understanding of them as a dangerous people.
In this regard the third day shows an action which separates one from the other, as Christ rises on the third day forever separating His own people from the fate of unbelieving mankind.
But here we also see that Simeon and Levi steal the wealth and the families of the men they’ve killed as plunder. This has not been commanded by God and is condemned, but not very strongly, by Jacob. Certainly, this city would have been of no more size than a small town by our standards today but, nevertheless, circumstances and the young men’s lust for revenge have placed Jacob’s family in grave peril. Jacob fears a union of Canaanite city-states that could wipe out his family and servants. His sons demanded revenge for a wrong done to them as a proud family.
Please note that these Canaanite children and women are now added to the servants that Jacob and his family have with them.

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