Dinah’s brothers had come into the tent and had heard all that was said. They saw that the young prince was handsome. His eyes were hazel, his hair clean and shaped to his head with a slight curl that at times hid the gold headband that showed he was the prince. His hands were covered with rings; they had no callouses from well digging and shearing sheep. Immediately they hated him. “Where is our sister now?” they demanded.
“She is at my home in the city,” the prince said, looking at them for the first time.
The brothers whispered together and then Levi spoke. “I suppose you have had your way with her.”
“She loves me and gave herself to me freely. I want to make her my wife and will pay any price.”
This made the brothers furious. They again whispered together and Simeon said, “It’s obvious he has raped our sister and is forcefully holding her prisoner in his rooms. He has disgraced the skirt of our father and the head of our mother, but we must move carefully. They are obviously a powerful family.”
They came back and sat beside their father, facing Hamor and Shechem. “We can’t possibly give you our sister since you are not circumcised. It would be a great disgrace for our sister to marry such a man.”
Shechem’s face fell. “What can we do?”
Hamor looked at Jacob. “My son really loves your daughter. She has given herself to him willingly.”
There was a moment of silence. Jacob could tell his sons were barely hiding their hostility under smiles that were too polite and gestures that were deceptively casual. “Of course,” Simeon said, “if you would consent as a people to be circumcised …”
“Then we could intermarry with you and become one family,” Levi added.
“If not,” Simeon continued, “we will take our sister by force and be on our way.” The last words were said with such hostility Jacob was afraid that Hamor and Shechem would be turned away. To his surprise, they seemed not to have noticed.
“My son is very popular with our people,” the king said. “I’m sure if he goes before the council and presents such a plan, they will all be willing to do whatever is necessary.”
* * *
Shechem and Hamor convinced the council. “These people have flocks and herds,” Shechem said. “They have already dug a well with fresh, clear water. If we can get them to stay, and we intermarry, it won’t be long until all that they have will be ours.”
The men agreed. Jacob’s sons came and went through the city, circumcising every man, including Hamor and Shechem.
Jacob felt the matter was settled. He had not expected the grown men of the city to agree so readily to being circumcised. He did feel a bit uneasy that the young prince had gone about things in such a high-handed way. Granted he had said she loved him and had given herself to him willingly. But that was not the way such things should be done. The joining of families and producing children was a matter of greater importance than the chance attraction of two young people. He wished he could see Dinah and be sure she had not been forcefully raped.
* * *
All seemed to have gone well. The men of Shechem had been circumcised, and plans for a marriage feast were being made. It was only necessary for them to wait until the men of Shechem were healed. Three days had passed when all of Jacob’s bright hopes came to a tragic and sudden end. In the midst of what had been a sunny, quiet day, shocking news reached Jacob.
It was Joseph who came with the news. He was breathless from running and his eyes were wide with the horror of what he had seen. At first Jacob could not make sense of what he was being told. “Levi and Simeon,” Joseph said, “have killed all the men of Shechem.”
“What do you mean ‘killed all the men of Shechem’?” Jacob tried to appear calm while his heart was pounding and his knees felt weak. At mention of Levi and Simeon, he feared the worst. For some time he had noticed a brash cruelty exhibited by these sons of Leah, and it had disturbed him. He had felt that sooner or later some tragedy would take place, and they would be at the center of it.
“They have been over in Shechem all morning wielding their swords and killing every man they could find,” Joseph said.
Jacob struggled to comprehend what he was hearing. “Why would they do such a thing? How could they even manage it?”
“This is the third day since the men have been circumcised,” Joseph said, “and they are so sore they can’t fight. They went to rescue Dinah but they became so angry …”
“How do you know all this?”
“I heard them planning. Then they strapped on their swords and started out for Shechem. They are coming now all bloodied, but they have Dinah.”