Bible Strands
Genesis 34:27
Jacob’s other sons came upon the slaughter and looted the city, because their sister had been defiled.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jacob’s surviving sons arrive at Shechem immediately after Simeon and Levi have killed Hamor and his son Shechem. They act in direct response to the violation of their sister Dinah.
The words — The Hebrew phrase בָּ֚אוּ (Ba'u) literally means "they came," while וַ/יָּבֹ֖זּוּ (va/i.ya.Vo.zu) translates to "and they plundered." These verbs mark the sons' transition from mourning to violent seizure of the city.
The thread — The looting of Shechem directly fulfills the aftermath of Genesis 34:26 and expands into the seizure of all livestock and property in Genesis 34:28. The moral justification for this violence is later voiced by the sons in Genesis 34:31.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that familial violation triggers collective retaliation and economic devastation. It requires the reader to weigh the sons' stated defense against the brutal reality of their actions without excusing the slaughter.
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
The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
Cross-references
- Genesis 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.
- Genesis 34:31 But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
- Exodus 2:14 But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become known.”
- Joshua 7:1 The Israelites, however, acted unfaithfully regarding the things devoted to destruction. Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart. So the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites.
- Joshua 7:13 Get up and consecrate the people, saying, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.
- Joshua 7:21 When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
- Esther 9:10 They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
- Esther 9:16 The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces also assembled to defend themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
- 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.