Genesis 34:17
ESV
But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone."
NIV
But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go."
NASB
But if you do not listen to us to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go.'
CSB
But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and go."
NLT
But if you don’t agree to be circumcised, we will take her and be on our way.'
KJV
But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
NKJV
But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.”
What does Genesis 34:17 mean?
Dinah's wealthy and powerful rapist has offered to pay any price to be married to her and, presumedly, to not be held accountable for the crime (Genesis 34:1–12). Jacob's sons, however, want nothing but revenge (Genesis 34:13).They pretend to agree to Shechem's proposal on one condition: all males in the community of Shechem must be circumcised, as Jacob's people are. Then the two peoples can freely intermarry and become one. In contrast, they claim, if all the male Shechemites are not circumcised, there would be no wedding and no joining of their peoples. The reference to "taking" Dinah back might have also been a form of a threat. She has not appeared on the scene since being assaulted, and it seems that she is being held by Shechem's people (Genesis 34:26).
Faced with what seems to be a choice between being held accountable, versus increased wealth and status, Hamor and Shechem will fall for this trap (Genesis 34:18).
Genesis 34:13–31 describes the response of Jacob's sons to the rape of his daughter, Dinah. The rapist, Shechem, has asked for her hand in marriage. Dinah's brothers suggest that if the men of the town will be circumcised, they will agree to marriages between the two groups. Shechem and his father, Hamor, gladly agree to these terms. But this is a trap. While the men are still sore from circumcision, Simeon and Levi spring an attack, killing all the men and looting the town. Jacob is afraid this will bring retaliation from the Canaanite and Perizzite people. His sons, however, are adamant that their actions were justified.
Jacob's family has settled within sight of the city of Shechem. Dinah, Jacob's daughter by Leah, is raped by the son of the city's ruler Hamor, also named Shechem. Shechem decides he loves Dinah and wants to marry her. Dinah's brothers are outraged. Hamor and Shechem, however, ask for Dinah to be given to Shechem as a wife and for their people to intermarry. Jacob's sons pretend to agree, provided the men of the city are circumcised. Instead, while the town's men are recuperating, Dinah's brothers by Leah, Levi and Simeon, lead a slaughter of all the men of the city.
