Genesis 4:11

4:11 So now, you are banished ¹  from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

Genesis 34:5

34:5 When ²  Jacob heard that Shechem ³  had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent ⁴  until they came in.

Genesis 34:7

34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ⁵  They ⁶  were offended ⁷  and very angry because Shechem ⁸  had disgraced Israel ⁹  by sexually assaulting ¹⁰  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ¹¹ 

Genesis 34:13

34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem ¹²  had violated their sister Dinah.

Genesis 34:27

34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them ¹³  and looted the city because their sister had been violated. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 34:30

34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin ¹⁵  on me by making me a foul odor ¹⁶  among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I ¹⁷  am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!”

[4:11]  ¹ tn Heb “cursed are you from the ground.” As in Gen 3:14, the word “cursed,” a passive participle from אָרָר (’arar), either means “punished” or “banished,” depending on how one interprets the following preposition. If the preposition is taken as indicating source, then the idea is “cursed (i.e., punished) are you from [i.e., “through the agency of”] the ground” (see v. 12a). If the preposition is taken as separative, then the idea is “cursed and banished from the ground.” In this case the ground rejects Cain’s efforts in such a way that he is banished from the ground and forced to become a fugitive out in the earth (see vv. 12b, 14).

[34:5]  ² tn The two disjunctive clauses in this verse (“Now Jacob heard…and his sons were”) are juxtaposed to indicate synchronic action.

[34:5]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:5]  ⁴ sn The expected response would be anger or rage; but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results.

[34:7]  ³ tn Heb “when they heard.” The words “the news” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “the men.” This sounds as if a new group has been introduced into the narrative, so it has been translated as “they” to indicate that it refers to Jacob’s sons, mentioned in the first part of the verse.

[34:7]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic nuances depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain; to be depressed emotionally; to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed; to be insulted; to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself; Gen 6:6; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 6:6). The third category fits best in Gen 34:7 because Jacob’s sons were not merely wounded emotionally. On the contrary, Shechem’s action prompted them to strike out in judgment against the source of their distress.

[34:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “a disgraceful thing he did against Israel.”

[34:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “by lying with the daughter of Jacob.” The infinitive here explains the preceding verb, indicating exactly how he had disgraced Jacob. The expression “to lie with” is a euphemism for sexual relations, or in this case, sexual assault.

[34:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “and so it should not be done.” The negated imperfect has an obligatory nuance here, but there is also a generalizing tone. The narrator emphasizes that this particular type of crime (sexual assault) is especially reprehensible.

[34:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Shechem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “came upon the slain.” Because of this statement the preceding phrase “Jacob’s sons” is frequently taken to mean the other sons of Jacob besides Simeon and Levi, but the text does not clearly affirm this.

[34:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “because they violated their sister.” The plural verb is active in form, but with no expressed subject, it may be translated passive.

[34:30]  ⁶ tn The traditional translation is “troubled me” (KJV, ASV), but the verb refers to personal or national disaster and suggests complete ruin (see Josh 7:25, Judg 11:35, Prov 11:17). The remainder of the verse describes the “trouble” Simeon and Levi had caused.

[34:30]  ⁷ tn In the causative stem the Hebrew verb בָּאַשׁ (ba’ash) means “to cause to stink, to have a foul smell.” In the contexts in which it is used it describes foul smells, stenches, or things that are odious. Jacob senses that the people in the land will find this act terribly repulsive. See P. R. Ackroyd, “The Hebrew Root באשׁ,” JTS 2 (1951): 31-36.

[34:30]  ⁸ tn Jacob speaks in the first person as the head and representative of the entire family.