Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 34:30

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 [being] few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.

30. And Jacob, &c.] This and the following verse continue the narrative of Gen 34:26. Jacob reproaches his two sons for the murder, on account of which the people of the land will be infuriated with Jacob and his house. Cf. Gen 49:5-7.

troubled ] The same word used in the story of Achan (Jos 6:18; Jos 7:25; 1Ch 2:7). Jacob’s rebuke turns, not so much upon the dastardly treachery and cruelty of his sons, as upon the evil effects it will produce, and upon the insecurity it will bring upon himself and his house.

make me to stink ] A common Heb. metaphor: cf. Exo 5:21 (“make savour to be abhorred”); 1Sa 13:4 (“had in abomination”), Gen 27:12 (“made abhor”); 1Ch 19:6 (“made odious”).

the Canaanites and the Perizzites ] See note on Gen 13:7.

being few in number ] Cf. 1Ch 16:19.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 30. Ye have troubled me] Brought my mind into great distress, and endangered my personal safety; to make me to stink-to render me odious to the surrounding tribes, so that there is every reason to suspect that when this deed is come abroad they will join in a confederacy against me, and extirpate my whole family. And had he not been under the peculiar protection of God, this in all human probability would have been the case; but he had prevailed with God, and he was also to prevail with men. That Jacob’s resentment was not dissembled we have the fullest proof in his depriving these two sons of the birthright, which otherwise they had doubtless enjoyed. See Ge 49:5; Ge 49:7, where some additional circumstances are related.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

You have not only discomposed my mind, but perplexed my affairs, and brought me into such troubles and dangers as I am never likely to escape. You have made me odious to

the inhabitants of the land, who will impute this perfidious and bloody fact to my contrivance.

Few in number; Heb. men of number, i.e. few; for such can easily be numbered. So this phrase is used Deu 4:27; 33:6, opposite to which are men without number, 2Ch 12:3.

They shall slay me: he could expect no other in human reason, and they were hindered from so doing only by the hand of the great God smiting them with terror, Gen 35:5.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

30. Jacob said . . . Ye havetroubled meThis atrocious outrage perpetrated on thedefenseless citizens and their families made the cup of Jacob’saffliction overflow. We may wonder that, in speaking of it to hissons, he did not represent it as a heinous sin, an atrociousviolation of the laws of God and man, but dwelt solely on the presentconsequences. It was probably because that was the only view likelyto rouse the cold-blooded apathy, the hardened consciences of thoseruffian sons. Nothing but the restraining power of God saved him andhis family from the united vengeance of the people (compare Ge35:5). All his sons had not been engaged in the massacre. Josephwas a boy, Benjamin not yet born, and the other eight not concernedin it. Simeon and Levi alone, with their retainers, had been theguilty actors in the bloody tragedy. But the Canaanites would not bediscriminating in their vengeance; and if all the Shechemiteswere put to death for the offense of their chief’s son, what wonderif the natives should extend their hatred to all the family of Jacob;and who probably equalled, in number, the inhabitants of thatvillage.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi,…. who were the principals concerned in this affair:

ye have troubled me; because of the sin they had committed, because of the dishonour brought upon religion, and because of the danger he and his family were hereby exposed unto; it greatly disquieted him, made him very uneasy, he was at his wit’s end almost, knew not what to do, what course to take to wipe off the scandal, and to defend himself and family; since it served, he says,

to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land; to make him odious and abominable, to be hated and abhorred by all the people round about, and to be looked upon and treated as a deceitful, treacherous, and perfidious man, that had no regard to his word, to covenants and agreements made by him; as a cruel and bloodthirsty man that spared none, made no difference between the innocent and the guilty; and as a robber and plunderer, that stopped at nothing, committing the greatest outrages to get possession of the substance of others:

amongst the Canaanites and the Perizzites: who were the principal inhabitants of the land, the most numerous, and the most rustic and barbarous, and perhaps nearest, and from whom Jacob had most to fear:

and I [being] few in number; or men of number p; he and his sons and servants, in all, making but a small number in comparison of the nations about him:

they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house; not that Jacob was afraid that this would be really the case, for he knew and believed the promises of God to him, of the multiplication of his seed, and of their inheriting the land of Canaan, and of the Messiah springing from him; but this he said to aggravate the sin and folly of his sons, in exposing him and themselves to so much danger, which not only on the face of things appeared probable, but even certain and inevitable, without the interposition of divine power and Providence.

p “viri numeri”, Montanus, Schmidt.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Jacob reproved the originators of this act most severely for their wickedness: “ Ye have brought me into trouble ( conturbare ), to make me stink (an abomination) among the inhabitants of the land;…and yet I (with my attendants) am a company that can be numbered (lit., people of number, easily numbered, a small band, Deu 4:27, cf. Isa 10:19); and if they gather together against me, they will slay me, ” etc. If Jacob laid stress simply upon the consequences which this crime was likely to bring upon himself and his house, the reason was, that this was the view most adapted to make an impression upon his sons. For his last words concerning Simeon and Levi (Gen 49:5-7) are a sufficient proof that the wickedness of their conduct was also an object of deep abhorrence. And his fear was not groundless. Only God in His mercy averted all the evil consequences from Jacob and his house (Gen 35:5-6). But his sons answered, “ Are they to treat our sister like a harlot? ” : as in Lev 16:15, etc. Their indignation was justifiable enough; and their seeking revenge, as Absalom avenged the violation of his sister on Amnon (2Sa 13:22.), was in accordance with the habits of nomadic tribes. In this way, for example, seduction is still punished by death among the Arabs, and the punishment is generally inflicted by the brothers (cf. Niebuhr, Arab. p. 39; Burckhardt, Syr. p. 361, and Beduinen, p. 89, 224-5). In addition to this, Jacob’s sons looked upon the matter not merely as a violation of their sister’s chastity, but as a crime against the peculiar vocation of their tribe. But for all that, the deception they practised, the abuse of the covenant sign of circumcision as a means of gratifying their revenge, and the extension of that revenge to the whole town, together with the plundering of the slain, were crimes deserving of the strongest reprobation. The crafty character of Jacob degenerated into malicious cunning in Simeon and Levi; and jealousy for the exalted vocation of their family, into actual sin. This event “shows us in type all the errors into which the belief in the pre-eminence of Israel was sure to lead in the course of history, whenever that belief was rudely held by men of carnal minds” ( O. v. Gerlach).

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

30. And Jacob said. Moses declares that the crime was condemned by the holy man, lest any one should think that he had participated in their counsel. He also expostulates with his sons, because they had caused him to stink among the inhabitants of the land; that is, they had rendered him so odious, that no one would be able to bear him. If then the neighboring nations should conspire among themselves, he would be unable to resist them, seeing he had so small a band, in comparison with their great number. He also expressly names the Canaanites and Perizzites, who, though they had received no wrong, were yet by nature exceedingly prone to inflict injury. But Jacob may seem to act preposterously, in overlooking the offense committed against God, and in considering only his own danger. Why is he not rather angry at their cruelty? why is he not offended at their perfidy? why does he not reprove their rapaciousness? It is however probable, that when he saw them terror — stricken at their recent crime, he suited miswords to their state of mind. For he acts as if he were complaining that he, rather than the Shechemites, was slain by them. We know that men are seldom if ever drawn to repentance, except by the fear of punishment: especially when they have any specious pretext as a covering for their fault. Besides, we know not whether Moses may not have selected this as a part out of a long expostulation, to cause his readers to understand that the fury of Simon and Levi was so outrageous, that they were more insensible than brute beasts to their own destruction and that of their whole family. This is clear from their own answer, which not only breathes a barbarous ferocity, but shows that they had no feeling. It was barbarous, first, because they excuse themselves for having destroyed a whole people and plundered their city, on account of the injury done by one man; secondly, because they answer their father so shortly and contumaciously; thirdly, because they obstinately defend the revenge which they had rashly taken. Moreover, their insensibility was prodigious, because they were not affected by the thought of their own death, and that of their parents, wives, and children, which seemed just at hand. Thus we are taught, how intemperate anger deprives men of their senses. We are also admonished, that it is not enough for us to be able to lay blame on our opponents; but we must always see how far it is lawful for us to proceed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(30) Ye have troubled me.Jacobs timidity led him to think first of the danger that would result from the conduct of his sons, and only afterwards of the cruelty and treacherousness of their deed. He commented upon this on his dying bed in words of fitting reprobation, but his reproof now is singularly weak, and the retort of his sons just. If the danger were all, this could have no weight when a shameful wrong had been done; but in avenging this wrong they had committed a crime of a deeper dye

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

30. Jacob said to Simeon and Levi His words of reproof partake here largely of worldly policy and prudence . He fears the bad odour in which he will be held by his Canaanitish neighbours, and the danger of their combining together to destroy him . But in the inspiration of his dying psalm, when utterly lifted above all earthly policies and dangers, he cursed the wrath and anger which prompted the bitter cruelties at Shechem.

Gen 49:5-7.

I being few in number Hebrews, I, males of number; that is, the males of my family, capable of fighting, are so few as to be easily numbered .

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, to make me an unpleasant odour among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and I being few in number, they will gather themselves together against me, and smite me, and I will be destroyed, and my household.”

Jacob is not pleased at what his sons have done and had clearly not been expecting it. They had not brought him in on their plans. But his concern is not so much over what has been done as with its consequences. If the surrounding close neighbours gather together to take revenge they are not strong enough to fight them and thus Jacob will lose all he has as well as being in danger of being killed himself. It was not for this that he had built up his wealth. So he rebukes them severely. Was the rape of Dinah worth it?

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Gen 34:30. Jacob said, &c. We can be under no hesitation to condemn this assassination, when we find Jacob himself expressing his abhorrence of it in the strongest terms. And we conceive that no arguments can justify Simeon and Levi, especially since Shechem was desirous of repairing the injury done to Dinah in the most honourable manner possible.

REFLECTIONS.We have here,

1. The cruel and treacherous murder of the men of Shechem. However just it was in God to punish them for their profane abuse of the seals of his covenant, or perhaps for their connivance at the detention at least of Dinah in Shechem’s house, or because they had filled up the measure of their iniquities, yet it takes nothing from the guilt of these murderers. Inflamed with passion, and spurred on by revenge, they sally forth to perpetrate the horrid deed. Though Shechem had made every possible reparation, though restrained by the most solemn engagement, and doubly bound by that holy ordinance they had proposed, no considerations can bind their cursed anger. Hamor and Shechem bleed under their swords. Treacherously surprized, all the male inhabitants of the city fall the victims of their unrelenting cruelty. Not content with the rescue of Dinah, they rush upon the spoil; and, while the men lie weltering in blood, their wives are captives, and their substance devoured.
2. Jacob’s displeasure at the deed. They had cast the highest scandal on his religion: the very Canaanite might justly loath it if this was their way. And how great was their danger also, when surrounded by those who might so justly avenge this shocking action. Note; (1.) Wicked children are a bitter grief and reproach to their parents. (2.) Sin and ruin are nearly allied. The prodigal son fears no consequences, but the wiser father trembles for him.

3. Their insolent reply: no acknowledgment of their fault, but rather a reflection on the tameness of their father. Note; They who are violent themselves are ever ready to reproach the gentle as mean-spirited.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Exo 5:21 . See Pro 29:25 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Gen 34:30 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 [being] few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.

Ver. 30. Are have troubled me. ] In mind and estate, a and many such trouble houses and trouble towns there are abroad. All places are full of them, and so is hell too. There God will trouble them another while, as he did Achan, Jos 7:25 when he will show mercy to such Jacobs in whose families that is committed that they abhor.

I being few in, number. ] So the saints were ever a little flock, a poor few to the many; jewels, nothing so much in bulk as lumber; strangers, few, in respect of home dwellers; sons of God, few, to common subjects. When Christ “came to his own, his own received him not.” Joh 1:12 He wondered at one good Nathanael, and set a “Behold” upon him, as a rare bird. Joh 1:47

a Cum in animo tum in rationibus. – Jun.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)