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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter XXXIV].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC01033.HTM">Previous</A>]
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page200"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXIV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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At this chapter begins the story of Jacob's afflictions in his children,
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which were very great, and are recorded to show,
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1. The
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vanity of this world. That which is dearest to us may prove
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our greatest vexation, and we may meet with the greatest crosses
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in those things of which we said, "This same shall comfort us."
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2. The common griefs of good people. Jacob's children were
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circumcised, were well taught, and prayed for, and had very
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good examples set them; yet some of them proved very untoward.
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"The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the
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strong." Grace does not run in the blood, and yet the interrupting
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of the entail of grace does not cut off the entail of profession
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and visible church-privileges: nay, Jacob's sons, though
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they were his grief in some things, yet were all taken into covenant
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with God. In this chapter we have,
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I. Dinah debauched,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
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II. A treaty of marriage between her and Shechem who
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had defiled her,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:6-19">ver. 6-19</A>.
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III. The circumcision of the Shechemites,
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pursuant to that treaty,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:20-24">ver. 20-24</A>.
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IV. The perfidious
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and bloody revenge which Simeon and Levi took upon
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them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:25-31">ver. 25-31.</A></P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge34_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Dinah Dishonoured.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1732.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah,
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which she bare unto Jacob, went
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out to see the daughters of the land.
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2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor
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the Hivite, prince of the country,
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saw her, he took her, and lay with her,
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and defiled her.
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3 And his soul clave
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unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob,
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and he loved the damsel, and spake
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kindly unto the damsel.
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4 And Shechem
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spake unto his father Hamor,
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saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
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5 And Jacob heard that he had
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defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons
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were with his cattle in the field: and
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Jacob held his peace until they were
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come.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Dinah was, for aught that appears, Jacob's
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only daughter, and we may suppose her
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<A NAME="Page201"> </A>
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therefore the mother's fondling and the darling
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of the family, and yet she proves neither
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a joy nor a credit to them; for those children
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seldom prove either the best or the happiest
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that are most indulged. She is reckoned
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now but fifteen or sixteen years of age when
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she here occasioned so much mischief. Observe,
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1. Her vain curiosity, which exposed
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her. She went out, perhaps unknown to her
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father, but by the connivance of her mother,
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<I>to see the daughters of the land</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>);
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probably it was at a ball, or on some public day.
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Being an only daughter, she thought herself
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solitary at home, having none of her own
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age and sex to converse with; and therefore
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she must needs go abroad to divert herself,
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to keep off melancholy, and to accomplish
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herself by conversation better than she could
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in her father's tents. Note, It is a very
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good thing for children to love home; it is
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parents' wisdom to make it easy to them,
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and children's duty then to be easy in it.
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Her pretence was <I>to see the daughters of the
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land,</I> to see how they dressed, and how they
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danced, and what was fashionable among
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them. She went to <I>see,</I> yet that was not all,
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she went to be <I>seen</I> too; she went to see the
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daughters of the land, but, it may be, with
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some thoughts of the sons of the land too. I
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doubt she went to get an acquaintance with
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those Canaanites, and to learn their way.
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Note, The pride and vanity of young people
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betray them into many snares.
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2. The loss
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of her honour by this means
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>Shechem,
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the prince of the country,</I> but a slave to his
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own lusts, took her, and lay with her, it
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should seem, not so much by force as by
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surprise. Note, Great men think they may
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do any thing; and what more mischievous
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than untaught and ungoverned youth? See
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what came of Dinah's gadding: young
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women must learn to be <I>chaste, keepers at
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home;</I> these properties are put together,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Tit+2:5">Tit. ii. 5</A>,
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for those that are not keepers at home
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expose their chastity. Dinah went abroad
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to look about her; but, if she had looked
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about her as she ought, she would not have
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fallen into this snare. Note, The beginning
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of sin is as the letting forth of water. How
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great a matter does a little fire kindle! We
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should therefore carefully avoid all occasions
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of sin and approaches to it.
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3. The court
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Shechem made to her, after he had defiled
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her. This was fair and commendable, and
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made the best of what was bad; he loved her
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(not as Amnon,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:15">2 Sam. xiii. 15</A>),
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and he engaged
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his father to make a match for him
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with her,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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4. The tidings brought to
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poor Jacob,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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As soon as his children
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grew up they began to be a grief to him.
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Let not godly parents, that are lamenting the
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miscarriages of their children, think their
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case singular or unprecedented. The good
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man <I>held his peace,</I> as one astonished, that
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knows not what to say: or he said nothing,
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for fear of saying amiss, as David
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+39:1,2">Ps. xxxix. 1, 2</A>);
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he smothered his resentments, lest, if
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he had suffered them to break out, they
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should have transported him into any indecencies.
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Or, it should seem, he had left the
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management of his affairs very much (too
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much I doubt) to his sons, and he would do
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nothing without them: or, at least, he knew
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they would make him uneasy if he did, they
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having shown themselves, of late, upon all
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occasions, bold, forward, and assuming.
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Note, Things never go well when the authority
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of a parent runs low in a family. Let
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every man <I>bear rule in his own house, and
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have his children in subjection with all gravity.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Ge34_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Treachery of Dinah's Brethren.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1732.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 And Hamor the father of Shechem
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went out unto Jacob to commune with
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him.
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7 And the sons of Jacob came
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out of the field when they heard <I>it:</I>
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and the men were grieved, and they
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were very wroth, because he had
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wrought folly in Israel in lying with
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Jacob's daughter; which thing ought
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not to be done.
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8 And Hamor communed
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with them, saying, The soul of
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my son Shechem longeth for your
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daughter: I pray you give her him
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to wife.
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9 And make ye marriages
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with us, <I>and</I> give your daughters unto
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us, and take our daughters unto you.
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10 And ye shall dwell with us: and
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the land shall be before you; dwell
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and trade ye therein, and get you possessions
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therein.
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11 And Shechem said
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unto her father and unto her brethren,
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Let me find grace in your eyes, and
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what ye shall say unto me I will give.
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12 Ask me never so much dowry and
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gift, and I will give according as ye
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shall say unto me: but give me the
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damsel to wife.
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13 And the sons of Jacob
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answered Shechem and Hamor his
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father deceitfully, and said, because he
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had defiled Dinah their sister:
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14 And they said unto them, We cannot
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do this thing, to give our sister to one
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that is uncircumcised; for that <I>were</I>
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a reproach unto us:
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15 But in this
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will we consent unto you: If ye will
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be as we <I>be,</I> that every male of you
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be circumcised;
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16 Then will we give
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our daughters unto you, and we will
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take your daughters to us, and we will
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dwell with you, and we will become
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one people.
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17 But if ye will not
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hearken unto us, to be circumcised;
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then will we take our daughter, and we
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will be gone.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Jacob's sons, when they heard of the
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<A NAME="Page202"> </A>
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injury done to Dinah, showed a very great
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resentment of it, influenced perhaps rather
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by jealousy for the honour of their family
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than by a sense of virtue. Many are concerned
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at the shamefulness of sin that never
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lay to heart the sinfulness of it. It is here
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called <I>folly in Israel</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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according to the
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language of after-times; for Israel was not
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yet a people, but a family only. Note,
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1. Uncleanness is folly; for it sacrifices
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the favour of God, peace of conscience, and all
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the soul can pretend to that is sacred and
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honourable, to a base and brutish lust.
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2. This folly is most shameful in <I>Israel,</I> in a
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family of Israel, where God is known and
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worshipped, as he was in Jacob's tents, by
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the name of <I>the God of Israel.</I> Folly in
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Israel is scandalous indeed.
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3. It is a good
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thing to have sin stamped with a bad name:
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uncleanness is here proverbially called <I>folly
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in Israel,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:12">2 Sam. xiii. 12</A>.
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Dinah is here
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called <I>Jacob's daughter,</I> for warning to all
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the daughters of Israel, that they betray not
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themselves to this folly.</P>
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<P>
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Hamor came to treat with Jacob himself,
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but he turns him over to his sons; and here
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we have a particular account of the treaty, in
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which, it is a shame to say, the Canaanites
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were more honest than the Israelites.</P>
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<P>
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I. Hamor and Shechem fairly propose this
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match, in order to a coalition in trade. Shechem
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is deeply in love with Dinah; he will
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have her upon any terms,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>.
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His
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father not only consents, but solicits for him,
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and gravely insists upon the advantages that
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would follow from the union of the families,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
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He shows no jealousy of Jacob,
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though he was a stranger, but rather an
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earnest desire to settle a correspondence with
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him and his family, making him that generous
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offer, <I>The land shall be before you, trade you
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therein.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. Jacob's sons basely pretend to insist
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upon a coalition in religion, when really they
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designed nothing less. If Jacob had taken
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the management of this affair into his own
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hands, it is probable that he and Hamor
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would soon have concluded it; but Jacob's
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sons meditate only revenge, and a strange
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project they have for the compassing of it--the
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Shechemites must be circumcised; not to
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make them holy (they never intended that),
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but to make them sore, that they might become
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an easier prey to their sword.
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1. The
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pretence was specious. "It is the honour of
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Jacob's family that they carry about with
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them the token of God's covenant with
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them; and it will be a reproach to those
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that are thus dignified and distinguished to
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enter into such a strict alliance with those
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that are <I>uncircumcised</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>);
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and therefore,
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<I>if you will be circumcised, then we will become
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one people with you,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:15,16"><I>v.</I> 15, 16</A>.
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Had they
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been sincere herein their proposal of these
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terms would have had in it something commendable;
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for Israelites should not intermarry
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with Canaanites, professors with profane;
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it is a great sin, or at least the cause
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and inlet of a great deal, and has often been
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of pernicious consequence. The interest we
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have in any persons, and the hold we have
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of them, should be wisely improved by us,
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to bring them to the love and practice of religion
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(<I>He that winneth souls is wise</I>); but
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then we must not, like Jacob's sons, think it
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enough to persuade them to submit to the
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external rites of religion, but must endeavour
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to convince them of its reasonableness,
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and to bring them acquainted with the power
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of it.
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2. The intention was malicious, as
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appears by the sequel of the story; all they
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aimed at was to prepare them for the day of
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slaughter. Note, Bloody designs have often
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been covered, and carried on, with a pretence
|
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of religion; thus they have been accomplished
|
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most plausibly and most securely:
|
|
but this dissembled piety is, doubtless,
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|
double iniquity. Religion is never more
|
|
injured, nor are God's sacraments more profaned,
|
|
than when they are thus used for a
|
|
cloak of maliciousness. Nay, if Jacob's sons
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|
had not had this bloody design, I do not see
|
|
how they could justify their offering the
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sacred sign of circumcision, the seal of God's
|
|
covenant, to these devoted Canaanites, who
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had no part nor lot in the matter. Those
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had no right to the seal that had no right to
|
|
the promise. <I>It is not meet to take the children's
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bread, and cast it to dogs:</I> but Jacob's
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|
sons valued not this, while they could make
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it serve their turn.</P>
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|
|
<A NAME="Ge34_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_20"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Ge34_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge34_24"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>18 And their words pleased Hamor,
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and Shechem Hamor's son.
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19 And
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the young man deferred not to do the
|
|
thing, because he had delight in Jacob's
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|
daughter: and he <I>was</I> more honourable
|
|
than all the house of his father.
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20 And Hamor and Shechem
|
|
his son came unto the gate of
|
|
their city, and communed with the men of
|
|
their city, saying,
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21 These men <I>are</I>
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peaceable with us; therefore let them
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dwell in the land, and trade therein;
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for the land, behold, <I>it is</I> large enough
|
|
for them; let us take their daughters
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to us for wives, and let us give them
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our daughters.
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22 Only herein will
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the men consent unto us for to dwell
|
|
with us, to be one people, if every male
|
|
among us be circumcised, as they <I>are</I>
|
|
circumcised.
|
|
23 <I>Shall</I> not their cattle
|
|
and their substance and every beast
|
|
of theirs <I>be</I> 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;
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page203"> </A>
|
|
|
|
and every male was circumcised, all
|
|
that went out of the gate of his city.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here,
|
|
|
|
1. Hamor and Shechem gave consent
|
|
themselves to be circumcised,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:18,19"><I>v.</I> 18, 19</A>.
|
|
To this perhaps they were moved, not only
|
|
by the strong desire they had to bring about
|
|
this match, but by what they might have
|
|
heard of the sacred and honourable intentions
|
|
of this sign, in the family of Abraham,
|
|
which, it is probable, they had some confused
|
|
notions of, and of the promises confirmed by
|
|
it, which made them the more desirous to
|
|
incorporate with the family of Jacob,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+8:23">Zech. viii. 23</A>.
|
|
Note, Many who know little of
|
|
religion, yet know so much of it as makes
|
|
them willing to join themselves with those
|
|
that are religious. Again, If a man would
|
|
take upon him a form of religion to gain a
|
|
good wife, much more should we embrace the
|
|
power of it to gain the favour of a good God,
|
|
even circumcise our hearts to love him, and,
|
|
as Shechem here, <I>not defer to do the thing.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. They gained the consent of the men of
|
|
their city, Jacob's sons requiring that they
|
|
also should be circumcised.
|
|
|
|
(1.) They themselves
|
|
had great influences upon them by their
|
|
command and example. Note, Religion
|
|
would greatly prevail if those in authority,
|
|
who, like Shechem, are more honourable than
|
|
their neighbours, would appear forward and
|
|
zealous for it.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They urged an argument
|
|
which was very cogent
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
|
|
<I>Shall
|
|
not their cattle and their substance be ours?</I>
|
|
They observed that Jacob's sons were industrious
|
|
thriving people, and promised themselves
|
|
and their neighbours advantage by an
|
|
alliance with them; it would improve ground
|
|
and trade, and bring money into their
|
|
country. Now,
|
|
|
|
[1.] It was bad enough to
|
|
marry upon this principle: yet we see covetousness
|
|
the greatest matchmaker in the
|
|
world, and nothing designed so much, with
|
|
many, as the laying of house to house, and
|
|
field to field, without regard had to any other
|
|
consideration.
|
|
|
|
[2.] It was worse to be circumcised
|
|
upon this principle. The Shechemites
|
|
will embrace the religion of Jacob's
|
|
family only in hopes of interesting themselves
|
|
thereby in the riches of that family. Thus
|
|
there are many with whom gain is godliness,
|
|
and who are more governed and influenced
|
|
by their secular interest than by any principle
|
|
of their religion.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge34_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge34_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge34_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge34_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge34_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge34_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge34_31"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Murder of the Shechemites.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1732.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>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
|
|
<I>was</I> in the city, and that which <I>was</I> in
|
|
the field,
|
|
29 And all their wealth,
|
|
and all their little ones, and their
|
|
wives took they captive, and spoiled
|
|
even all that <I>was</I> 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 <I>being</I> 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?
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here, we have Simeon and Levi, two of
|
|
Jacob's sons, young men not much above
|
|
twenty years old, cutting the throats of the
|
|
Shechemites, and thereby breaking the heart
|
|
of their good father.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Here is the barbarous murder of the
|
|
Shechemites. Jacob himself was used to the
|
|
sheep-hook, but his sons had got swords by
|
|
their sides, as if they had been the seed of
|
|
Esau, who was to live by his sword; we have
|
|
them here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. Slaying the inhabitants of Shechem--<I>all
|
|
the males,</I> Hamor and Shechem particularly,
|
|
with whom they had been treating in
|
|
a friendly manner but the other day, yet with
|
|
a design upon their lives. Some think that
|
|
all Jacob's sons, when they wheedled the Shechemites
|
|
to be circumcised, designed to take
|
|
advantage of their soreness, and to rescue Dinah
|
|
from among them; but that Simeon and Levi,
|
|
not content with that, would themselves avenge
|
|
the injury--and they did it with a witness.
|
|
Now,
|
|
|
|
(1.) It cannot be denied but that God
|
|
was righteous in it. Had the Shechemites
|
|
been circumcised in obedience to any command
|
|
of God, their circumcision would have
|
|
been their protection; but when they submitted
|
|
to that sacred rite only to serve a
|
|
turn, to please their prince and to enrich
|
|
themselves, it was just with God to bring
|
|
this upon them. Note, As nothing secures
|
|
us better than true religion, so nothing exposes
|
|
us more than religion only pretended
|
|
to.
|
|
|
|
(2.) But Simeon and Levi were most unrighteous.
|
|
|
|
[1.] It was true that Shechem
|
|
had <I>wrought folly against Israel,</I> in defiling
|
|
Dinah; but it ought to have been considered
|
|
how far Dinah herself had been accessory to
|
|
it. Had Shechem abused her in her own
|
|
mother's tent, it would have been another
|
|
matter; but she went upon his ground, and
|
|
perhaps by her indecent carriage had struck
|
|
the spark which began the fire: when we are
|
|
severe upon the sinner we ought to consider
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page204"> </A>
|
|
|
|
who was the tempter.
|
|
|
|
[2.] It was true that
|
|
Shechem had done ill; but he was endeavouring
|
|
to atone for it, and was as honest and
|
|
honourable, <I>ex post facto--after the deed,</I> as
|
|
the case would admit: it was not the case of
|
|
the Levite's concubine that was abused to
|
|
death; nor does he justify what he has done,
|
|
but courts a reconciliation upon any terms.
|
|
|
|
[3.] It was true that Shechem had done ill;
|
|
but what was that to all the Shechemites?
|
|
Does one man sin, and will they be wroth
|
|
with all the town? Must the innocent fall
|
|
with the guilty? This was barbarous indeed.
|
|
|
|
[4.] But that which above all aggravated the
|
|
cruelty was the most perfidious treachery that
|
|
was in it. The Shechemites had submitted
|
|
to their conditions, and had done that upon
|
|
which they had promised to become one
|
|
people with them
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>);
|
|
yet they act as sworn
|
|
enemies to those to whom they had lately
|
|
become sworn friends, making as light of
|
|
their covenant as they did of the laws of
|
|
humanity. And are these the sons of Israel?
|
|
<I>Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce.</I>
|
|
|
|
[5.] This also added to the crime, that they made
|
|
a holy ordinance of God subservient to their
|
|
wicked design, so making that odious; as if
|
|
it were not enough for them to shame themselves
|
|
and their family, they bring a reproach
|
|
upon that honourable badge of their religion;
|
|
justly would it be called a bloody ordinance.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Seizing the prey of Shechem, and plundering
|
|
the town. They rescued Dinah
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>),
|
|
and, if that was all they came for, they
|
|
might have done that without blood, as appears
|
|
by their own showing
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>);
|
|
but they aimed at the spoil; and, though Simeon and
|
|
Levi only were the murderers, yet it is intimated
|
|
that others of the sons of Jacob <I>came
|
|
upon the slain and spoiled the city</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>),
|
|
and
|
|
so became accessory to the murder. In them
|
|
it was manifest injustice; yet here we may
|
|
observe the righteousness of God. The Shechemites
|
|
were willing to gratify the sons of
|
|
Jacob by submitting to the penance of circumcision,
|
|
upon this principle, <I>Shall not their
|
|
cattle and their substance be ours?</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
|
|
and
|
|
see what was the issue; instead of making
|
|
themselves masters of the wealth of Jacob's
|
|
family, Jacob's family become masters of
|
|
their wealth. Note, Those who unjustly
|
|
grasp at that which is another's justly lose
|
|
that which is their own.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Here is Jacob's resentment of this
|
|
bloody deed of Simeon and Levi,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>.
|
|
Two
|
|
things he bitterly complains of:--
|
|
|
|
1. The reproach
|
|
they had brought upon him thereby:
|
|
<I>You have troubled me,</I> put me into a disorder,
|
|
for you have made me <I>to stink among the inhabitants
|
|
of the land,</I> that is, "You have
|
|
rendered me and my family odious among
|
|
them. What will they say of us and our
|
|
religion? We shall be looked upon as the
|
|
most perfidious barbarous people in the
|
|
world." Note, The gross misconduct of
|
|
wicked children is the grief and shame of
|
|
their godly parents. Children should be the
|
|
joy of their parents; but wicked children are
|
|
their trouble, sadden their hearts, break their
|
|
spirits, and make them go mourning from
|
|
day to day. Children should be an ornament
|
|
to their parents; but wicked children are
|
|
their reproach, and are as dead flies in the
|
|
pot of ointment: but let such children know
|
|
that, if they repent not, the grief they have
|
|
caused to their parents, and the damage religion
|
|
has sustained in its reputation through
|
|
them, will come into the account and be
|
|
reckoned for.
|
|
|
|
2. The ruin they had exposed
|
|
him to. What could be expected, but that
|
|
the Canaanites, who were numerous and
|
|
formidable, would confederate against him,
|
|
and he and his little family would become
|
|
an easy prey to them? <I>I shall be destroyed,
|
|
I and my house.</I> If all the Shechemites must
|
|
be destroyed for the offence of one, why not
|
|
all the Israelites for the offence of two?
|
|
Jacob knew indeed that God had promised
|
|
to preserve and perpetuate his house; but
|
|
he might justly fear that these vile practices
|
|
of his children would amount to a forfeiture,
|
|
and cut off the entail. Note, When sin is in
|
|
the house, there is reason to fear ruin at the
|
|
door. The tender parents foresee those bad
|
|
consequences of sin which the wicked children
|
|
have no dread of. One would think
|
|
this should have made them to relent, and
|
|
they should have humbled themselves to their
|
|
good father, and begged his pardon; but,
|
|
instead of this, they justify themselves, and
|
|
give him this insolent reply, <I>Should he deal
|
|
with our sister as with a harlot?</I> No, he
|
|
should not; but, if he do, must they be their
|
|
own avengers? Will nothing less than so
|
|
many lives, and the ruin of a whole city,
|
|
serve to atone for an abuse done to one
|
|
foolish girl? By their question they tacitly
|
|
reflect upon their father, as if he would have
|
|
been content to let them deal with his daughter
|
|
as with a harlot. Note, It is common for
|
|
those who run into one extreme to reproach
|
|
and censure those who keep the mean as if
|
|
they ran into the other. Those who condemn
|
|
the rigour of revenge shall be misrepresented,
|
|
as if they countenanced and
|
|
justified the offence.</P>
|
|
|
|
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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