And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
The men of Shechem heard their prince's proposal and agreed to it. Every male in the city accepted circumcision, the sign of God's covenant. Two questions press here. Why would a whole city accept such a condition? And what did Jacob's sons want from it?
Why the city agreed
The proposal reached the men of Shechem through their own leaders. It came wrapped in both religion and profit:
L. M. GrantEveryone no doubt recognised that circumcision had a religious meaning. They would not suspect any hidden plan against them at all. On top of that, the wealth of Jacob's family would be a welcome addition to the area. Everyone would benefit from them.
A sign sold for gain
On the other side of the bargain, Jacob's sons were handing over something that was never theirs to trade. The sign they put on the table carried a weight of meaning:
The Bible TreasuryIn crafty malice and greed for gain, Israel's sons give men God's title to possess the land. He counted it so worthless that he based his own claim on another man's rights. So he would hardly hesitate to barter circumcision away for treasure in this world. Yet circumcision was the reproach of Christ, separation from the world of the ungodly, the seal of faith, and the sign of God's inheritance.
The trap behind the condition
No one should read this verse as a mass conversion. The brothers never meant to bring these men into God's covenant:
William KellyNot the smallest thought or wish did they have of inviting the Shechemites into the covenant. It was the basest treachery, meant to trap them and massacre them. Jacob had nothing to do with the cruel secret. Their pride and revenge ignored God just as it ignored their father. Shechem was guilty of a great wrong, but Dinah was at fault too. Hamor and Shechem fell into the trap. They had enough influence to persuade all their townsmen to join them in the painful ritual, and in its unexpected danger.
Circumcised outside, uncircumcised inside
The irony of the verse is sharp. The uncircumcised city obeyed; the family that held the sign had already given away what it stood for:
J. G. BellettSurely it is rather an uncircumcised Jacob we see here, and not circumcised Shechemites. It is all miserable. Is this a son of Abraham? Is this a saint of God? Is this one of God's strangers in a world that has revolted from Him? This is like the religious energy of Christendom. It has put the name of Christ in the company of the world that is under His judgment. It is as if Israel had agreed with Pharaoh and promised to give the Lord an altar in Egypt. But such altars are no altars.
The offer to be "one people"
The terms accepted at the gate aimed at making the two peoples one. One writer hears the same offer in the world today:
G. C. WillisJust like the world of today — they want Christians to be one with them, with no difference. Christians, be careful! The Lord says, "Go out from their midst, and be separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17). The world says, "We may be one." The Lord says, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity" (2 Timothy 2:19).
What the bargain cost
The circumcision of verse 24 opened the way to the slaughter in the next verses. The damage did not stop with Shechem. Yet God can reverse a sentence:
F. B. HoleThe shameful story of Genesis 34 made Jacob "stink among the inhabitants of the land." That was a dreadful position for him, since he was the only man in the land with the true knowledge of God. It also brought judgment on the two who led the violence. Later the tribe of Levi acted in a way that gained a special blessing. In this we see how God can turn what began as a curse into a blessing. The word had been, "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel" (49:7). They were divided — but God divided them by calling Levi to special service and scattering that tribe through all the others.
Summary
- Persuade — circumcision sounded religious and Jacob's wealth sounded profitable, so no one at the gate suspected a trap.
- Mingle — the world still makes Shechem's offer: be one with us, no difference. God's word answers, "Go out from their midst, and be separate."
- Barter — circumcision was the seal of faith and separation from the ungodly world, and Jacob's sons traded it for gain. What we see is an uncircumcised Jacob, not circumcised Shechemites.
- Reap — the city's obedience opened the door to its massacre. Jacob's name stank in the land, and judgment fell on the two who led the violence.
- Redeem — God turned the curse "I will divide them" into Levi's calling, a blessing scattered through every tribe.