But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
Jacob's sons answer their father's rebuke with a question of their own, and Jacob says nothing back. Did their sister's dishonour justify the massacre at Shechem? If not, why did God let it pass without punishment?
The excuse weighed
The brothers' reply sounds like a defence of family honour. One writer weighs it against the facts, and it fails twice over.
L. M. GrantJacob's sons only answered with defiance: "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?" This was not fair-mindedness. Shechem had not treated her that way. And even if he had, did that justify Simeon and Levi in killing all the men of that city and plundering their houses? Their dealings with the city were far worse than Shechem's sin.
What the question was covering
Their question puts their sister's honour first. One writer names the motive under it, and sets Jacob's blunt words beside it.
The Bible TreasurySimeon and Levi say, "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?" They use her honour to cover their greed. At least Jacob is honest, for he says, "You have brought trouble on me by making me stink … and I shall be destroyed, both I and my household."
Jacob's share
Jacob's complaint dwells on his reputation and safety. Some read that as proof he felt nothing about the crime. One writer says that goes too far, and points to what Jacob said years later.
William KellyScripture tells this whole affair of corruption and violence with a solemn calm. Hateful hypocrisy covered it and carried it through. The chosen family were the offenders, and the Canaanites were the victims. Still, it goes too far to say that Jacob felt only the consequences and not the appalling wickedness… Alarm no doubt filled Jacob, so that he forgot God's promise. But who can forget the words of prophetic power he spoke on his dying bed about this dark and hateful day?
Where it started
The killing was not the first wrong step. One writer traces it back to Jacob's settled ease.
F. W. GrantHe is hardly a pilgrim now, and as he loses his separateness Dinah is defiled. The slaughter of the Shechemites follows. That judgment was so cruel, and so full of deceit, that the Spirit of God in Jacob later calls it accursed. And now he is shaken out of his ease and security, and plunged into distress and fear once more. God's grace will not comfort those who will not use it in a holy way.
Why no punishment followed
No punishment falls on Simeon and Levi. That silence troubles readers, and one writer answers it.
Leslie M. GrantThis whole action was so cruel and unjust that we wonder why no punishment or correction followed… Yet why was there no repayment? The answer seems to be this: God does not always settle His accounts quickly. The wheels of His government grind slowly. But He misses nothing, and in His own time He will take care of every detail of our ways. As to Simeon, see Genesis 42:24. The other brothers went through a painful ordeal at the same time. God did not allow others to attack Jacob then, but He will deal with His people in His own time and way.
The reckoning, and the grace in it
Jacob settles the account on his deathbed. He tells the two brothers they will be divided and scattered. Yet that scattering did not stay a punishment.
F. B. HoleSo the shameful story of Genesis 34 made Jacob "stink to 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. And the story also brought judgment on the two who promoted the violence. Later the tribe of Levi acted in a way that gained a special blessing. So we get to see how God can turn what was once a curse into a blessing. The word had been, "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." They were divided — but the dividing came through Levi's call to special service, spread out among all the tribes.
The excuse that runs out
Their self-defence closes the chapter, but not the story. One writer carries it forward to the day they face their part in the death of Messiah.
An Outline of Sound WordsSimeon and Levi were both guilty, as Jacob recalled at the end of his days. They excused themselves for their guilt at that time. But they have no excuse when they realise their part in the killing of Messiah.
Summary
- Excuse. The closing question defends family honour. But Shechem had not treated Dinah that way, and killing a city and looting it was far worse than his sin.
- Cover. They used their sister's honour to cover their own greed.
- Cause. The violence grew out of Jacob's settled ease and lost separateness. Grace does not comfort those who refuse to use it in a holy way.
- Delay. No punishment falls in the chapter. God's government grinds slowly, but He misses nothing.
- Grace. The sentence came at last: divided and scattered. Yet God turned Levi's curse into a calling, and one day the excuse will give way to repentance.