What Does Genesis 34:15 Mean?

Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem. And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. He was the most honored of all his father's house. The response to the sons' proposal is enthusiastic: both Hamor and Shechem are pleased. The explanation for Shechem's immediate willingness comes from his desire: "he delighted in Jacob's daughter." His emotional attachment, established in verse 3, drives his acceptance of the physical condition. He will pay any price, including communal circumcision, to obtain the marriage.

The note that Shechem was "the most honored of all his father's house" explains his influence in convincing the community (verses 20-24): he has the social capital to persuade the Shechemite men to accept the condition. The most honored son of the leading family has the platform and the relational authority to make the circumcision argument effectively. His social position, which enabled the violation of Dinah, is the same position that will enable the massacre: Shechem's honor gathers the men together and makes them vulnerable in a single location at a single time.

The irony of Shechem's honor is a thread running through the chapter. He is the most honored man in his extended family; his honor is what makes his violation of Dinah particularly egregious (power corrupts, and honored men should be the protectors of the vulnerable, not their violators); and his honor is what makes the massacre of verse 25 possible because all the influential men of the city were circumcised in deference to his desire. An entire community paid the ultimate price for one man's act and another man's honor.