Genesis 34:13

Attractive as these offers of the Hivite prince and his son were, they were declined by Jacob's sons, who had the chief voice in the question of their sister's marriage (vid., Gen 24:50). And they were quite right; for, by accepting them, they would have violated the sacred call of Israel and his seed, and sacrificed the promises of Jehovah to Mammon. But they did it in a wrong way; for "they answered with deceit and acted from behind" (וידבּרוּ בּמרמה: דּבּר) is to be rendered dolos struxit; דּברים דּבּר would be the expression for "giving mere words," Hos 10:4; vid., Ges. thes.), "because he had defiled Dinah their sister." They told him that they could not give their sister to an uncircumcised man, because this would be a reproach to them; and the only condition upon which they would consent (נאות imperf. Niph. of אוּת) was, that the Shechemites should all be circumcised; otherwise they would take their sister and go.

At this chapter begins the story of Jacob's afflictions in his children, which were very great, and are recorded to show, 1. The vanity of this world. That which is dearest to us may prove our greatest vexation, and we may meet with the greatest crosses in those things of which we said, "This same shall comfort us." 2. The common griefs of good people. Jacob's children were circumcised, were well taught, and prayed for, and had very good examples set them; yet some of them proved very untoward. "The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong." Grace does not run in the blood, and yet the interrupting of the entail of grace does not cut off the entail of profession and visible church-privileges: nay, Jacob's sons, though they were his grief in some things, yet were all taken into covenant with God. In this chapter we have, I. Dinah debauched (Gen 34:1-5). II. A treaty of marriage between her and Shechem who had defiled her (Gen 34:6-19). III. The circumcision of the Shechemites, pursuant to that treaty (Gen 34:20-24). IV. The perfidious and bloody revenge which Simeon and Levi took upon them (Gen 34:25-31.

34:13-17 Dinah’s brothers responded to the proposal without waiting for Jacob to respond, and they acted deceitfully. They may not have thought that Shechem and his people would ever agree to the rite of circumcision, but they knew what they would do if the Canaanites accepted (34:25).