Bible Strands
Genesis 34:26
They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Simeon and Levi act as the narrative agents three days after Dinah’s defilement, targeting Hamor and his son Shechem specifically to execute retribution.
The words — The Hebrew verb הָרְגוּ (ha.re.Gu) literally means “they slew,” paired with חָרֶב (Cha.rev) “sword” to specify the instrument of death.
The thread — The sword motif appears in Deuteronomy 32:42, 2 Samuel 2:26, and Isaiah 31:8, where divine or human violence is repeatedly framed through martial imagery.
Why it lands — The text records a calculated act of vengeance and the recovery of Dinah, leaving the moral and covenantal implications for the surrounding narrative to resolve.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood, while My sword devours flesh—the blood of the slain and captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”
- 2 Samuel 2:26 Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”
- Isaiah 31:8 “Then Assyria will fall, but not by the sword of man; a sword will devour them, but not one made by mortals. They will flee before the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor.