Parshat Vayishlach8 min read

Dinah Sent Word Out of Shechem's House and Her Brothers Came

She was twelve and she was being held in the prince's house when she overheard what the men downstairs were planning to do to her family.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. A Child of Twelve at the Dance
  2. Twelve Servants Turned Away at the Door
  3. Six Hundred and Forty-Five Men
  4. She Heard Every Word of It
  5. How Could Two Men Do This
Dinah Sent Word Out of Shechem's House and Her Brothers Came Click for full size

A Child of Twelve at the Dance

The women of the district went into Shechem to dance with the daughters of the city, and Rachel and Leah went in to watch, and Dinah went with them. She sat down beside her mother among the local girls with half the town standing around the edges looking on.

Shechem was standing there too. He was the son of Hamor and the prince of the land and he could have anyone in that square.

"Whose daughter is that?" he asked the men beside him. "I do not know her."

They told him. The Hebrew's daughter, from the family camped outside the walls, the ones who had bought a field for five shekels and been living quietly in it for a year and a half.

He sent for her and had her taken by force and brought to his house, and there he lay with her and shamed her, and afterward he could not stop looking at her and kept her. She was a little girl, a child of twelve years.

Twelve Servants Turned Away at the Door

Jacob sent twelve of his servants to go and get her.

Shechem came out with his men and drove them off the property. He would not let them past him to see her. He sat down where they could watch him through the doorway and kissed her and put his arms around her in front of their eyes, and then his men pushed the twelve out into the road.

They came back and told Jacob what they had seen. Jacob said nothing at all. His sons were out with the herds and he sat in the house and waited for them.

Then he did the only thing left to do. He picked two girls from among his servants' daughters and sent them into Shechem's house to look after Dinah and to stay with her.

Meanwhile Shechem sent three friends to his father. "Get me this girl for a wife."

Hamor came and sat down with his son. "Is there no woman among the daughters of your own people, that you want a Hebrew you never knew existed until last week?"

"Her only," Shechem said.

Six Hundred and Forty-Five Men

The brothers came in from the field before the cattle were gathered, already knowing.

They sat in front of their father and said that death was owed here, to this man and to his whole house, because God had commanded Noah and everyone after him that a man does not rob and does not take another man's woman, and Shechem had done both, and not one person in that city had opened his mouth about it.

Then Hamor walked in with an offer. "Give us the girl. Marry into us. The land is wide, settle in it and trade in it and nobody will say a word to you." Shechem came in behind his father and offered to pay any price named.

Simeon and Levi answered them pleasantly. "Everything you have said, we will do. Only leave our sister alone in your house until we send word to our grandfather Isaac, because we can do nothing without his consent."

They needed the days. Simeon had already worked out what to do with them. Tell the city to circumcise every male. If they refuse, we take our sister and go. If they agree, then on the third day, when they are lying down sick with it, we go in with swords.

The city agreed. Six hundred and forty-five grown men and two hundred and forty-six boys were cut over two days, Hamor among them, and Shechem, and Shechem's five brothers.

Seven men refused. Chiddekem, Hamor's own father, and his six brothers walked out of it and would not be touched, and on the second evening they found eight small children whose mothers had hidden them from the knives. When Shechem sent to have those children brought, the seven old men came at them with drawn swords, and they meant to kill Shechem too, and Hamor, and Dinah with them.

Then they cooled down and made a plan instead. "Wait," they told Shechem. "Let your flesh heal. Get what you want out of the Hebrews, and then we go together and finish them."

She Heard Every Word of It

Dinah was in that house, and she heard all of it.

She got up and found one of the two maids her father had sent in to sit with her, and put her out the door with the whole thing: what the seven old men had said, what Shechem and Hamor had answered, and the date they had set.

The maid reached the camp. Jacob went white. Simeon and Levi swore an oath on the living God of the whole earth that by this hour tomorrow there would not be a remnant left in that city.

They went in the next day, two men. Twenty young men who had hidden from the circumcision came out to fight them, armed and healthy; Simeon and Levi killed eighteen and the last two got away into the lime pits and could not be found. After that there was nobody in Shechem who could stand up. They went street by street to the edge of the sword and the noise of it went up out of the city into the sky, the women screaming, the children screaming. They killed Hamor. They killed Shechem. They walked into the house and brought their sister out.

On the way out with the flocks, three hundred men came at them throwing dirt and stones, and Simeon turned around and killed all three hundred.

Jacob was waiting when they came back. "What have you done to me? I had peace here. I am a handful of people and every Canaanite in this country is going to come."

They looked at him. "We live in this land. Was Shechem going to do that to our sister? Why were you silent? Should he treat her like a whore in the street?"

How Could Two Men Do This

The two who hid in the lime pits climbed out after the dust settled and walked back through their own city, and it was empty. No men anywhere. Only women, weeping.

They carried the story to Tapnach, and Jashub the king there refused to believe it and sent his own messengers to look. The messengers came back and told him the town was standing there with nothing alive in it worth counting. Jashub kept repeating the same sentence. How could two men lay waste a town that size. Nothing like it had happened since the days of Nimrod.

He called in seven Amorite kings and ten thousand men with drawn swords.

Jacob heard, and was afraid, and turned on his sons again. Judah answered him this time. "Our God handed us that city, and He will hand us these kings. Stop being afraid and pray." Eleven brothers and their servants went out to meet the coalition, one hundred and twelve men in all, and they sent word to Hebron asking Isaac to pray that the counsel of those kings be turned aside.

Out in the field, the kings' own advisers stood up and told them they were fools. "Two of these men emptied a walled city and nobody stopped them. You are not going out against Hebrews. You are going out against the God who pulled their great-grandfather alive out of Nimrod's furnace."

The kings turned around and went home. The sons of Jacob held their position opposite Mount Sihon until evening, and when nobody came, they walked back to the camp.

Above all of it, on the heavenly tablets, what Levi did that day was entered as righteousness, and there it stays, to be read out for a thousand generations.

SimeonLeviDinahShechemZealPatriarchsJacobWomenDivine JusticeSinIdentityTribesTabernacleWildernessTempleShimonMekhiltaBrotherhood
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From the tradition

Sources

7 sources

The texts behind this telling. Some cards carry a translation of the source; others are our own retelling of it, and each card says which. Every card links out to the original.

Book of Jubilees 30:4Book of Jubilees

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Sefaria Community Translation · CC-BY

In the Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text preserved outside the rabbinic canon, we find a slightly different take on a story many of us know from the Book of Genesis. Specifically, the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob, and her encounter with Shechem, son of Hamor.

The text jumps right into the heart of the matter: "And there they carried off Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, into the house of Shechem, the son of Hamor, the Hivite, the prince of the land, and he lay with her and defiled her." (Jubilees 30:1). No gentle prelude, no building of suspense. Just the raw, brutal act itself.

Then, a detail that makes the tragedy even more poignant: "and she was a little girl, a child of twelve years." Twelve. It’s a stark reminder of Dinah’s vulnerability and the power imbalance at play.

What follows is Shechem's plea. He begs his father and Dinah's brothers "that she might be given to him to wife." It's almost… transactional. As if possession and marriage could somehow erase the initial violation.

Of course, Jacob and his sons are understandably enraged. The Book of Jubilees tells us, "And Jacob and his sons were wroth because of the men of Shechem; for they had defiled Dinah, their sister, and they spake to them with evil intent and dealt deceitfully with them and beguiled them." Their anger is righteous, fueled by the violation of their sister. But what follows next is where things get complicated. The text highlights that they "spake to them with evil intent and dealt deceitfully with them and beguiled them."

The narrative paints a picture of simmering resentment and a calculated plan for revenge – a stark warning about the dangers of unchecked anger and the seductive lure of retribution. It leaves us pondering: Was their response justified, or did it perpetuate a cycle of violence that would haunt their family for generations to come? It's a heavy question, one that continues to resonate today.

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Book of Jubilees 30:8Book of Jubilees

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Sefaria Community Translation · CC-BY

The story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob, and the subsequent actions of her brothers, Simeon and Levi, certainly feels that way. It's a tale of honor, betrayal, and swift, brutal justice that raises some pretty tough questions.

We find this story elaborated upon in the Book of Jubilees, a Jewish apocryphal text of the Second Temple period. While not part of the Hebrew Bible canon, Jubilees offers fascinating expansions and interpretations of biblical narratives. This book really dives into the details of the Dinah incident, and how it reverberated through her family.

So, what happened? As the biblical account in Genesis tells us, Dinah went out to visit the women of the land of Shechem and was defiled by Shechem, the son of Hamor, the prince of the country. Shechem, though, was struck by Dinah and desired to marry her. He asked his father, Hamor, to obtain her for him as a wife. Jacob's sons were furious and, using deception, proposed a condition for giving Dinah in marriage: all the men of Shechem had to be circumcised.

Here’s where the Book of Jubilees picks up the thread, in chapter 30. It recounts how Simeon and Levi, fueled by righteous anger and a fierce sense of family honor, took matters into their own hands. "And Simeon and Levi came unexpectedly to Shechem and executed judgment on all the men of Shechem, and slew all the men whom they found in it, and left not a single one remaining in it."

Wow.

They didn’t just fight; they "slew all in torments because they had dishonoured their sister Dinah." This wasn't a battle; it was a massacre. The text emphasizes the severity of the act, highlighting the brothers' outrage at the dishonor brought upon their family and, more broadly, upon Israel.

Jubilees then lays down a very clear, very strong statement: "And thus let it not again be done from henceforth that a daughter of Israel be defiled; for judgment is ordained in heaven against them that they should destroy with the sword all the men of the Shechemites because they had wrought shame in Israel."

This isn't just a historical recounting; it's a legal and moral pronouncement. The text explicitly states that such a violation of a daughter of Israel should never happen again, and that divine judgment warrants the destruction of those who perpetrate such shame. It's a stark warning, a declaration of zero tolerance.

But does the severity of the response fit the crime? Was the wholesale slaughter justified?

These are uncomfortable questions, and Jewish tradition grapples with them. Some commentators emphasize the brothers' zeal for God's law and the protection of their family's honor. Others, however, see it as an excessive and ultimately flawed act, one that brought further shame upon Jacob's house. The Torah itself, in (Genesis 49:5-7), records Jacob's deathbed condemnation of Simeon and Levi's violence, saying "Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel!"

The story of Dinah and the vengeance of her brothers is a complex and troubling one. It forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about honor, justice, and the potential for violence, even when motivated by seemingly righteous intentions. It leaves us pondering the line between justified anger and excessive retribution, a line that, perhaps, shifts depending on who's drawing it.

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Book of Jubilees 30:28Book of Jubilees

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Sefaria Community Translation · CC-BY

Book of Jubilees turns to Righteousness of Levi.

That Levi’s actions "were reckoned unto them for righteousness, and it is written down to them for righteousness. It wasn't just a fleeting moment of approval, but a permanent inscription, a cosmic record.

Why this singular honor? Because, "the seed of Levi was chosen for the priesthood, and to be Levites, that they might minister before the Lord, as we, continually."

The text goes on to state, "and that Levi and his sons may be blessed for ever; for he was zealous to execute righteousness and judgment and vengeance on all those who arose against Israel." Levi took action. He stood up for what was right, even when it was difficult.

But it's the next line that really makes you pause: "And so they inscribe as a testimony in his favour on the heavenly tables blessing and righteousness before the God of all." Heavenly tables!

And consider what this heavenly inscription actually means. It's not just a pat on the back, a cosmic "good job." It's a validation, a recognition that Levi's actions aligned with divine will.

The passage closes with a poignant reminder: "And we remember the righteousness which the man fulfilled during his life, at all periods of the year; until a thousand generations they will record it."

A thousand generations. That's a legacy that stretches far beyond our comprehension. It suggests that true righteousness isn’t just about following rules, but about acting with zeal and conviction.

Are there "heavenly tables" tracking our own actions? Perhaps not literally. But the idea that our choices resonate far beyond our immediate sphere of influence, that they contribute to a larger narrative, a larger sense of righteousness – that's a powerful concept. It encourages us to consider the long-term impact of our decisions, to strive for a legacy that will be remembered, not for a thousand generations, perhaps, but at least for the positive ripples we leave behind.

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Book of Judith 9:4Book of Judith

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Sefaria Community Translation · CC-BY

It's right at the heart of the Book of Judith.

Judith isn't just any story; it's a powerful tale of courage, faith, and a woman taking matters into her own hands. It's set during a time of crisis for the Jewish people, facing overwhelming odds against an invading army. But before Judith acts, before she even plans, she prays. And it’s in that prayer that we find a raw, unflinching cry for justice.

In Judith 9, she calls out to the "O Lord God of my father Simeon." Why Simeon specifically? Well, this is a direct reference to a troubling episode in Genesis 34, the story of Dinah. Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, was defiled by Shechem, and Simeon, along with his brother Levi, exacted a brutal revenge on the entire city. It’s a complicated story, to say the least, raising questions about honor, vengeance, and the limits of justifiable force.

Judith reminds God that he empowered Simeon to avenge the wrong done to his sister. She recounts the violence: "You gave a sword to take vengeance on the strangers, who loosened the girdle of a maid to defile her, and uncovered the thigh to her shame, and polluted her virginity to her reproach; for you said, 'It will not be so,' and yet they did so. She's not shying away from the harsh realities of the situation or the actions taken in the past. She's reminding God of the precedent, of the promise that such acts wouldn't stand.

And she continues, "Therefore you gave their rulers to be slain, so that they dyed their bed in blood, being deceived, and you struck the servants with their lords and the lords upon their thrones; and you have given their wives for a prey and their daughters to be captives and all their spoils to be divided among your dear children, who were moved with your zeal and abhorred the pollution of their blood and called upon you for aid."

This isn't just a plea; it's a reckoning. Judith is reminding God of his power, of his past interventions, and of the covenant between God and his people. She emphasizes the consequences that followed the actions against Dinah – consequences divinely ordained, in her view. She frames the current crisis as a similar moment, a time when God's people are threatened with defilement and destruction.

The phrase "moved with your zeal and abhorred the pollution of their blood" is key. It speaks to the intensity of feeling, the righteous anger that fuels action. Judith aligns herself and her people with that same zeal, that same abhorrence of injustice.

It's more than just a request for help. It’s a demand for justice rooted in historical precedent and unwavering faith. And it sets the stage for Judith's own audacious act, an act that will become a legend in its own right. And how do we find that same fierce courage within ourselves?

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Jasher 33Book of Jasher

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Book of Jasher, J. H. Parry edition (1887) · Public Domain

Jacob, after leaving his previous location, arrives in the land of Shalem, near the city of Shechem – a place in Canaan. He buys a piece of land for five shekels (a type of ancient currency), builds a house, sets up his tent, and makes booths for his livestock. He even names the place Succoth (סֻכּוֹת), meaning "booths" in Hebrew. Jacob and his family settle in for a year and a half.

One day, the women of the land head to Shechem to celebrate with the local girls. Rachel and Leah, Jacob's wives, and their families decide to join them. Their daughter, Dinah, goes along, too. She ends up catching the eye of Shechem, the son of Hamor, the prince of the land.

That Shechem sees Dinah sitting with her mother among the daughters of the city, and he's immediately smitten. He asks his friends who she is, and they tell him she's the daughter of Jacob the Hebrew. in the story, Shechem is so captivated by Dinah that he sends for her, takes her by force, and, well, "humbles her." The text is pretty direct. Afterward, though, he falls deeply in love with her and keeps her in his house.

Can you imagine how Jacob must have felt when he heard about this? The text says he sends twelve servants to retrieve Dinah from Shechem's house, but Shechem and his men drive them away. The servants return to Jacob with the news. Jacob, knowing what has happened, remains silent, waiting for his sons to return from tending the cattle.

Before the sons arrive, Jacob sends two maidservants to care for Dinah in Shechem’s house. Meanwhile, Shechem sends three friends to his father, Hamor, to ask him to get Dinah for him as a wife. Hamor questions his son's desire for a Hebrew woman, but Shechem insists, saying, "Her only must thou get for me, for she is delightful in my sight." Hamor, being a devoted father, agrees to help.

Hamor goes to Jacob to discuss the matter, but before he can reach him, Jacob’s sons arrive, furious about what Shechem has done to their sister. They see it as a grave violation, reminding their father that the Lord God commanded Noah and his children against robbery and adultery. They argue that Shechem deserves death for his actions.

Just then, Hamor arrives and proposes a deal: give Dinah to Shechem in marriage, and they'll intermarry, becoming one people living together in the land. He says, "Our land is very extensive, so dwell ye and trade therein and get possessions in it, and do therein as you desire, and no one shall prevent you by saying a word to you." Shechem himself then appears, pleading for Dinah and offering any dowry or gift they desire.

Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, respond deceptively. They say they need to consult their father, Isaac, before agreeing to anything, as they can’t act without his consent, as he knows the ways of their father, Abraham. This is all a ruse, of course, as they’re already plotting revenge.

After Shechem and Hamor leave, Jacob's sons discuss their options. They believe death is due to Shechem and his city because they violated God's commandments and defiled their sister. Simeon suggests a cunning plan: they will tell Shechem and Hamor that they can only marry Dinah if every male in their city gets circumcised. If they refuse, the brothers will simply take Dinah back. But if they agree, then while they're recovering from the procedure, Simeon and Levi will attack the city and kill every male.

But that's the world they lived in, or at least as the Book of Jasher portrays it.

The next morning, Shechem and Hamor return to hear Jacob's sons' answer. The brothers deceitfully tell them that Isaac agreed to the marriage, but only on the condition that every male in the city be circumcised, as Abraham commanded. The brothers emphasize that they can’t give their sister to an uncircumcised man, as it would be a disgrace. If they agree, they can intermarry and become one people. If not, they will take Dinah and leave.

Shechem and Hamor, blinded by Shechem's love for Dinah, agree to the condition. They rush back to the city and convince all the men to undergo circumcision, promising them that they will become one people with Jacob's family and that their land will prosper.

The next day, Shechem and Hamor gather all the men of the city, and Jacob's sons circumcise every male, including Shechem and Hamor themselves, and Shechem's five brothers. The deed is done. The text then concludes by saying that "this thing was from the Lord against the city of Shechem, and from the Lord was Simeon's counsel in this matter, in order that the Lord might deliver the city of Shechem into the hands of Jacob's two sons."

Wow.

What do we make of a story like this? It's a complex narrative filled with love, lust, deception, and violence. It raises questions about honor, revenge, and the lengths people will go to for family and love. It's a reminder that the stories we inherit are rarely simple, and often challenge us to confront difficult moral questions. And perhaps, it’s a reminder that human nature, in all its complexity, hasn't changed all that much over the millennia.

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Jasher 34Book of Jasher

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Book of Jasher, J. H. Parry edition (1887) · Public Domain

The familiar story is this: from Genesis 34 – how Shechem, son of Hamor, defiled Jacob's daughter, Dinah, and how Jacob's sons, particularly Simeon and Levi, exacted a brutal revenge. But what happened after that? Did the dust simply settle? Did Jacob and his family just move on?

Well, the Book of Jasher, a non-canonical Jewish text referenced in the Bible itself (Joshua 10:13 and (2 Samuel 1:1)8), gives us a much more detailed and, frankly, harrowing account. Following the circumcision of the men of Shechem – a condition set by Jacob's sons for allowing Shechem to marry Dinah, a condition used as a ruse for revenge, a group of brothers, led by Chiddekem, object. They see the whole idea as repulsive. They question why Shechem and Hamor would even want to marry Hebrew women, especially when there are plenty of Canaanite women available. "What is this thing that you have done?" they ask, according to Jasher. "Are there no women amongst the daughters of your brethren the Canaanites?"

More than just objecting to the intermarriage, they're worried about the repercussions. What will the other Canaanites think? Will they see this act as just and good? And if not, what will happen to Shechem and his people? They fear that the Canaanites will unite against them, saying, "On account of a Hebrew woman did Shechem and Hamor his father, and all the inhabitants of their city, do that with which they had been unacquainted and which their ancestors never commanded them."

Shechem and Hamor, now circumcised and weakened, try to appease Chiddekem and his brothers. They claim they only agreed to the circumcision to get what they wanted – Dinah. Once they have her, they promise to join Chiddekem and his brothers in dealing with the Hebrews. A delay tactic, if ever there was one!

Of course, Dinah overhears all this scheming and sends word to her father, Jacob, and her brothers. Unsurprisingly, Jacob is furious. Simeon and Levi, already seething, swear vengeance. As the text says, "Simeon and Levi swore and said, As the Lord liveth, the God of the whole earth, by this time tomorrow, there shall not be a remnant left in the whole city."

What follows is a brutal massacre. Simeon and Levi, along with other young men, slaughter the men of Shechem, sparing no one. They kill Hamor and Shechem. They rescue Dinah. They plunder the city, taking livestock, possessions, and women and children as captives.

But it doesn't end there. As they’re leaving, a group of three hundred men attack them, throwing dust and stones. Simeon, in a rage, slaughters them all. They return to Jacob with their spoils and captives.

Jacob is, understandably, appalled. "What is this that you have done to me?" he cries. He's worried about the repercussions. He's a small, vulnerable group living among powerful Canaanite tribes. This act of violence, he fears, will make them a target. He laments, "Now you have done to make me obnoxious to the inhabitants of the land, amongst the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and I am but of a small number, and they will all assemble against me and slay me when they hear of your work with their brethren, and I and my household will be destroyed."

Simeon and Levi, however, are unrepentant. They retort, "Behold we live in the land, and shall Shechem do this to our sister? why art thou silent at all that Shechem has done? and shall he deal with our sister as with a harlot in the streets?"

Among the captives is a beautiful young woman named Bunah, who Simeon takes as his wife. The captives become servants to Jacob’s sons and their descendants, remaining so until the Exodus from Egypt, according to the Book of Jasher.

Two young men who had hidden during the massacre escape and spread the word to the surrounding kingdoms. Jashub, king of Tapnach, investigates and discovers the devastation. He's astonished that two men could wreak such havoc. Jashub then rallies the other Amorite kings to join him in attacking Jacob and his sons, leading to a gathering of about ten thousand men.

Hearing of the approaching Amorite army, Jacob is terrified. He again rebukes Simeon and Levi. But Judah steps forward, defending his brothers' actions. He argues that Shechem had violated God's command by defiling Dinah and that the inhabitants of Shechem did nothing to stop him. Judah confidently proclaims that God, who delivered Shechem into their hands, will also deliver the Amorite kings.

Judah rallies his brothers and their servants, a force of one hundred and twelve men, and they prepare for battle. Jacob sends word to his father, Isaac, requesting his prayers. Isaac prays to God to protect his descendants, reminding God of his promises to multiply their seed. Isaac asks God to instill terror in the hearts of the Amorite kings and to deliver his children.

While the text doesn't detail the ensuing battle, it sets the stage for a divine intervention, mirroring the plea made by Isaac.

So, what do we take away from this expanded narrative? The Book of Jasher offers a darker, more complex perspective on the events surrounding Dinah's defilement and the subsequent revenge. It highlights the potential consequences of violence, the complexities of intertribal relations, and the challenges of maintaining faith and security in a hostile world. And it begs the question: at what point does righteous anger turn into something far more destructive?

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Jasher 35Book of Jasher

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Book of Jasher, J. H. Parry edition (1887) · Public Domain

They were definitely outnumbered, and not exactly popular with the neighbors. But then, something amazing happened.

Chapter 35 of the Book of Jasher opens with all the kings of the Amorites gathering. They're trying to figure out what to do about these sons of Jacob. Remember, just a couple of them took down the entire city of Shechem! (Jasher 35:1). Understandably, the Amorites are a little nervous.

Then, a fascinating twist occurs. The Book of Jasher tells us that God heard the prayers of Isaac and Jacob. (Jasher 35:2). And what did He do? He filled the hearts of the kings' advisors with fear! Suddenly, these advisors are saying, "Wait a minute, are you guys crazy? Why would we fight these Hebrews?" (Jasher 35:3).

They remind their kings, "Two of them wiped out Shechem, and no one could stand against them! How are we going to fight all of them?" (Jasher 35:4). It’s almost comical.

The advisors then launch into a litany of reasons why fighting the sons of Jacob is a terrible idea. "Surely you know that their God is exceedingly fond of them," they say, "and has done mighty things for them!" (Jasher 35:5). They recount the miracles of Abraham: his deliverance from Nimrod (Jasher 35:6-7), his victory over the kings of Elam (Jasher 35:8-9), and of course, the Akedah, the binding of Isaac.

They say, "Behold through his love toward his God, Abraham took his only and precious son and intended to bring him up as a burnt offering to his God, and had it not been for God who prevented him from doing this, he would then have done it through his love to his God." (Jasher 35:11)

The advisors remind their kings about the stories of Pharaoh and Abimelech, who both ran into trouble when they messed with Abraham and Sarah (Jasher 35:13). And what about Esau coming after Jacob with four hundred men? (Jasher 35:14). "Who delivered him from his hands but his God in whom he trusted?" (Jasher 35:15).

They even bring up the Shechem incident! "Who does not know that it was their God who inspired them with strength to do to the town of Shechem the evil which you heard of?" (Jasher 35:16). It's like they're saying, "Don't you get it? This isn't just about fighting some guys; it's about fighting their God!" (Jasher 35:19).

The advisors’ arguments are persuasive. The kings of the Amorites are terrified. "When the kings of the Amorites heard all the words of their advisers, their hearts were filled with terror, and they were afraid of the sons of Jacob and would not fight against them." (Jasher 35:21). They turn around and go home (Jasher 35:23). Crisis averted!

The chapter concludes by emphasizing that this all happened because God heard the prayers of Isaac and Jacob. (Jasher 35:24). The sons of Jacob, seeing that no one was coming to fight, also went home (Jasher 35:25).

What’s so striking about this chapter isn’t just the miraculous intervention. It's the way the miracle happens. God doesn't smite the Amorites with lightning bolts. Instead, He works through their own advisors, planting seeds of doubt and fear in their hearts. It's a reminder that sometimes, the greatest miracles come in the form of a change of heart, a shift in perspective, or a sudden realization that maybe, just maybe, fighting isn't always the answer.

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