"Simeon And Levi Are Brothers"

Genesis chapter 34 is devoted in its entirety to the episode of Simeon and Levi in Shechem. In general, the Tanach conveys a negative judgment in one of two ways: Directly, by indicating that the act was bad, such as in the story of David and Bathsheba: "The thing that David did was bad in YHVH's eyes." (II Samuel 11:27) or indirectly, through mention of a punishment, as in the death of Judah's sons after the sale of Joseph. In this story theres no direct punishment for Simeon and Levi, and only a minimal show of personal displeasure by their father, Jacob.

"You have brought trouble upon me to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land and since I am few in number they will gather against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, both I and my household." Gen 34:30

Even after Jacob's statement Simeon and Levi had the final word on the matter:

"They said: Shall he treat our sister as a harlot?" Gen 34:31

Surprisingly, just before his death, Jacob expressed much harsher criticism of Simeon and Levi, extending beyond the danger that their act could have brought upon him:

"Simeon and Levi are brothers; vessels of cruelty are their swords. Let my soul not enter their council; let my honor not be united with their assembly. For in their anger they killed a man, and in their self-will they lamed an ox. Cursed is their anger, for it is severe, and their wrath, for it is harsh; I shall divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." Gen 49:5-7

The 'Destroyed City' - Deut 13:13-19

The story of the Destroyed City sheds additional light on the events that took place in Shechem. Let us look at the parallels between the two stories:

1. Both concerned individuals who set out to convince the people of their city:

"Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city and they spoke to the men of their city, saying" Gen 34:20
"Good-for-nothing people will go out from among you and brainwash the inhabitants of their city, saying" Deut 13:14

These are the only two instances in Torah where the expression "the men/inhabitants of their city" is used.

2. Both instances describe a serious act that took place in the city:

"For he had committed a disgrace in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter; such an act should not be done." Gen 34:7

"This abomination was committed among you." Deut 13:15

3. In both cases, the people of the city were punished by the sword for their grievous act:

"They came upon the city unhindered, and they slew every male. And they put Hamor and Shechem, his son, to death by the sword." Gen 34:25-26

"You shall surely smite the inhabitants of that city by the sword." Deut 13:15

There are also differences between the two stories: Let us look at some of the differences.

First, the account of the "condemned city" deals with a case in which all the people of the city were idolators, while in Shechem, the people of the city "had done them no harm at all." Second, there was an obvious difference concerning the spoils.

In Dinahs case, Simeon and Levi took the spoils.

"It was on the third day, when they were in pain, that Jacob's two sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took each man his sword and they came upon the city unhindered, and they killed every male. And they put Hamor and his son, Shechem, to death by the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem's house, and they departed." Gen 34:25-27

But then they returned to the city for the spoils:

"Jacob's sons came upon the slain men and they plundered the city whose inhabitants had defiled their sister. They took their sheep and their cattle and their donkeys, whatever was in the city and whatever was in the fields. And all their wealth and all their children and their wives they took captive and plundered, and all that was in the house." Gen 27-29

This was in complete contrast to the story of the Condemned City, which concluded with a clear warning:

"You shall destroy the city and all that is in it, and its livestock, by the sword. You shall gather all of its spoils into its open place and you shall burn with fire the city and its spoils, in their entirety, to Yahveh your Elohim. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be rebuilt. Nothing at all shall remain in your hand, in order that Yahveh may turn back from His fierce anger and grant you mercy, and be merciful towards you, and multiply you as He promised to your fathers." Deut 13:16-18

Why did the Torah emphasize the importance of not taking from the spoils of the Condemned City?

The Torah promises that if a person acts in accordance with Yahveh's will, Yahveh will be merciful to him and cancel the moral damage caused by the act of killing. However, it had to be undertaken solely for the sake of Yahveh, and not to further any personal gain. Mercy was needed because destroying the condemned city hardened the hearts of the people. Therefore Yahveh promised that by not deriving any benefits from the Condemned City, "He will turn back from His fierce anger and give you (the killers) the attribute of Mercy."

The sin of Jacob's sons was revealed in all of its severity. Even if the killing of Shechem and Hamor was justified, the plundering of the city and killing all the inhabitants was completely uncalled for.

Now it is easier for us to understand why, just befor his death, Jacob was prompted by the Holy Spirit to give this strong rebuke:

"Simeon and Levi are brothers; vessels of cruelty are their swords. Let my soul not enter their council; let my honor not be united with their assembly. For in their anger they killed a man... Cursed is their anger for it is severe, and their wrath, for it is harsh."

What spoils were actually taken by Simeon and Levi?

"Yahveh said to Jacob: Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make there an altar to the Elohim who appeared to you when you were fleeing from Esau, your brother. Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him: Remove the foreign gods that are among you; purify yourselves and change your clothes, for we shall arise and go up to Bethel, and there I shall make an altar to Yahveh who answers me in my time of distress, and who was with me in the way on which I went." Gen 35:1-3

Right after Jacob expressed his concern and fear, "You have brought trouble upon me..." he received a Divine Command to return to the Land. He understood that there was a precondition ~ the removal of the foreign gods. From where could Jacob's household have obtained foreign gods?

"The foreign gods that are among you, which they took from Shechem ~ 'And all that was in the house' ~ refers to idolatry." (Gen 34:29)

Before returning to the Holy Land, Jacob's children had to cleanse themselves of all that they took. They had to get rid of the spoils. The act of taking them was in itself wrong, and all the more so because it included idols. All of it had to be buried in the place from which it was taken.

"They gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hands and all the earrings that were in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak tree that was by Shechem. And they journeyed, and the fear of Yahveh was upon the cities around them, and they did not pursue after the children of Jacob."

Only then was "the fear of YHVH" upon the inhabitants of the land assured. Had Jacob's children not rid themselves of the spoils which they should not have taken in the first place, Jacob would have been correct in his prediction that "I shall be destroyed, I and my household."

In another incident: "They saw him (Joseph) from afar, and before he could approach them, they conspired against him to kill him. They said to each other: Behold, here comes the dreamer." Gen 37:18-19

Who are the 'They' in these verses? It could not be Reuben or Judah, since they did not agree to killing Joseph. It could not be the children of the concubines, for they did not hate Joseph, ("The lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah.") Issachar and Zebulun would not speak before their elder brothers. They - the speakers, were Simeon and Levi, the 'cruel' brothers.

Simeon and Levi, who not long ago cried indignantly, "Shall he treat our sister as a harlot" did not stop here to ask themselves, Shall we treat our brother as a murderer. In their haste to pass the death sentence on Joseph, another stain was cast on their behavior, as in the episode of Shechem.

"For in their anger they killed a man" - refers to Hamor and the men of Shechem. "And in their self-will they lamed an ox" - they wished to uproot Joseph, who is called 'an ox' - in Deuteronomy 33:17 - "His glory is like the firstborn of his ox (bullock)." The fact that in their anger they killed the men of Shechem, and in their self-will they wished to uproot Joseph, proved that Jacob viewed these two acts in an equally grave light, and that their motives were illegitimate.

Immediately after their shameful act in Shechem, Jacob's rebuke was rather mild ~ from a moral perspective his sons could still claim that they had acted with proper motives. Their treatment of Joseph, their brother, proved retroactively that it was not moral considerations that drove them to action in Shechem, and their character flaws would no longer be tolerated.