Study Notes Week 34

Read
Aloud together to hear the Word (Leviticus 23:1-3; Nehemiah 8:1-4; Luke 4:16-17)

Bereshiyt (Genesis) 34:1-31

34:1 Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and afflicted her. 3 His soul clung to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke upon the heart of the young lady. 4 Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, “Get me this young lady as a wife.” 5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk with him. 7 The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had done a foolish [indecent]^(LXX) act in Israel in lying with the daughter of Jacob, and so it will not be done. 8 Hamor talked with them, saying, “The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You will dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it.” 11 Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give. 12 Ask me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife.” 13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit when they spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister, 14 and said to them, “We can't do this word, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us. 15 Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised, 16 then will we give our daughters to you; and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our sister, and we will be gone.” 18 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, the son of Hamor. 19 The young man didn't wait to do this word, because he had delight in the daughter of Jacob, and he was honored above all the house of his father. 20 Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let's take their daughters to us for wives, and let's give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people, if every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised. 23 Won't their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let's give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Shimon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of the house of Jacob, and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field, 29 and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house. 30 Jacob said to Shimon and Levi, “You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house.” 31 They said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a whore?”

Torah Portion Summary
Context and coherence (Nehemiah 8:8)

Review

1. 1. Genesis 33:6-10 Then the servants came near with their children, and they bowed themselves. 7 Leah also and her children came near, and bowed themselves. After them, Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed themselves. 8 Esau said, “What do you mean by all this camp which I met?” Jacob said, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” 10 Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; let that which you have be yours.” 10 Jacob said, “Please, no, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present at my hand, because I have seen your face, as one sees the face of Elohim, and you were pleased with me.
      1. What is Favor (Grace)?
         1. חֵן chen (H2580) is most commonly translated as grace (38 times in the KJV) or favor (26 times in the KJV). By english definition, “grace” means courteous goodwill as an attractively polite manner of behaving and “favor” is approval, support, or liking for someone or something or an act of kindness beyond what is due or usual. In legal terms, grace means “to pardon” which is to release an offender from the legal consequences of an offense or conviction, and often implicitly from blame. Thus, in Christian belief, grace has been defined as “the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.” puts it this way, “Grace is an essential part of God’s character. Grace is closely related to God’s benevolence, love, and mercy. Grace can be variously defined as “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving.” In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us abundantly, in spite of the fact that we don’t deserve to be treated so well or dealt with so generously.”
         2. This concept is not wholly unbiblical and is actually related to multiple verses in the Apostolic Scriptures:
            1. Romans 5:18-21 18 So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous. 20 The Torah came in that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly, 21 that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Yeshua the Messiah our Lord.
            2. John 1:14-17 The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 Yochanan witnessed about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’ ” 16 From his fullness we all received grace upon grace. 17 For the Torah was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Yeshua the Messiah.
            3. Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were immersed into Messiah Yeshua were immersed into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him through immersion into death, that just as Messiah was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
            4. 2 Corinthians 9:1-8 9 It is indeed unnecessary for me to write to you concerning the service to the holy ones, 2 for I know your readiness, of which I boast on your behalf to those of Macedonia, that Achaia has been prepared for the past year. Your zeal has stirred up very many of them. 3 But I have sent the brothers so that our boasting on your behalf may not be in vain in this respect, that, just as I said, you may be prepared, 4 lest by any means, if anyone from Macedonia comes there with me and finds you unprepared, we, to say nothing of you, would be disappointed in this confident boasting. 5 I thought it necessary therefore to entreat the brothers that they would go before to you and arrange ahead of time the generous gift that you promised before, that the same might be ready as a matter of generosity, and not of greediness. 6 Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for Elohim loves a cheerful giver. 8 And Elohim is able to make all grace abound to you, that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound to every good work.
               1. 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, 15 Now concerning the collection for the holy ones: as I commanded the assemblies of Galatia, you do likewise. 2 On the first day of every week one of the Sabbaths, let each one of you save as he may prosper, that no collections are made when I come. 3 When I arrive, I will send whoever you approve with letters to carry your gracious gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it is appropriate for me to go also, they will go with me…15 Now I beg you, brothers—you know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have set themselves to serve the holy ones…
                  1. μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων mia ton sabbaton (G1520 + G3588 + G4521) literally means “one of the Sabbaths.” The Greek word mia (G1520) is commonly translated as “one.” It is a cardinal and therefore can be translated as “one” or “first.” The Greek word ta and the ending of sabbaton are plural genitives. That is, they are plural possessives implying ownership. Normally, the Greek word sabbaton is translated as “Sabbath.” But its general meaning is “sevens” or “weeks.” Greeks did not have separate words for the individual days of the week.
                  2. Leviticus 23:15-22 You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 The next day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days; and you shall offer a new grain offering to YHWH. 17 You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, for first fruits to YHWH…21 You shall make proclamation on the same day that there shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall do no work of service. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 22 When you reap the harvest of your land, you must not wholly reap into the corners of your field. You must not gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am YHWH your Elohim.’ ”
         3. The Hebrew word חֵן chen (H2580) is equivalent to the Greek word χάρις charis (G5485) and defined as “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness”. However, this is an abstract definition, meaning it exists in thought or as an idea but does not have a physical or concrete existence. Hebrew words, on the other hand, have concrete definitions meaning they exist in a material or physical form and can be experienced through one or more of the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell.
         4. Next, we’ll talk about John, the most famous Baptist of all time (joke).
            1. The Hebrew name Yochanan (יוֹחָנָן) means “God is gracious” or “God has shown favor”
         5. Can anyone tell me, or guess, what the concrete definition of חֵן chen might be from Luke 1:11-17: An angel of YHWH appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah, because your request has been heard. Your wife, Elisheva, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Yochanan. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of YHWH, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the sons of Israel to YHWH their Elohim. 17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons,’ (cf. Malachi 4:6) and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for YHWH.”:
            1. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth (Luke 1:14)
            2. He will be great in the sight of YHWH (Luke 1:15)
            3. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15)
            4. He will turn many of the sons of Israel to YHWH their Elohim (Luke 1:16)
            5. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just (Luke 1:17)
               1. Malachi 4:6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the hearts of the sons to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
            6. He will prepare a people prepared for YHWH (Luke 1:17)
         6. חֵן chen (H2580) literally means “to camp in a camp with a continual wall” But why? “A nomads camp consisted of many family tents, which make up the clan camp. The camp can have as many as fifty tents or more in it. The tents are placed in a circular configuration, forming one continuous wall surrounding the camp. Within this wall is the family clan, a place of freedom, compassion, and beauty.” – Jeff Benner of the Ancient Hebrew Research Center
         7. Repentance from sin allows us to be brought back in, or welcomed for the first time, into the camp and into the fold where we find freedom, compassion, and beauty.
            1. John 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own; 15 even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep which are not of this fold (cf. Isaiah 56:8). I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.
         8. What does this have to do with Jacob?
            1. Genesis 32:1-2 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of Elohim met him. 2 When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is the camp of Elohim.” He called the name of that place Machanaim.
            2. Josephus Now as Jacob was proceeding on his journey to the land of Canaan, angels appeared to him, and suggested to him good hope of his future condition; and that place he named the Camp of Elohim.
   2. Genesis 33:18-20 Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan Aram; and encamped before the city. 19 He bought the parcel of ground where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem , for one hundred pieces of money. 20 He erected an altar there, and called it El Elohe Israel (Elohim, the Eloah or Israel).

Genesis 34:1-31

1. Genesis 34:1 Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
   1. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan And Dinah the daughter of Leah whom she bare to Jakob, went forth to see the manners of the daughters of the people of the land And Shekem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the land, saw her, and took her by force, and lay with her and afflicted her. And his soul delighted in Dinah the daughter of Jakob; and he loved the girl, and spake kindly to the heart of the girl. And Shekem spake to Hamor his father, saying, Take for me this damsel to wife. But Jakob had heard that he had polluted Dinah his daughter, And his sons were with the flocks in the field, and Jakob was silent until they came.
   2. Josephus 1.21.1. Hereupon Jacob came to the place, till this day called Tents [Sukkot]; from whence he went to Shechem, which is a city of the Canaanites. Now as the Shechemites were keeping a festival Dina, who was the only daughter of Jacob, went into the city to see the finery of the women of that country.
2. Genesis 34:2-4 Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and afflicted her. 3 His soul clung to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke upon the heart of the young lady. 4 Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, “Get me this young lady as a wife.”
   1. Exodus 22:16-17 If a man entices a virgin who isn’t betrothed, and lies with her, he will surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he will pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
   2. Deuteronomy 22:28-29 If a man finds a lady who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, grabs her and lies with her, and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her will give to the lady’s father fifty shekels of silver. She will be his wife, because he has humbled her. He may not put her away all his days.
3. Genesis 34:5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came.
4. Genesis 34:6 Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk with him.
5. Genesis 34:7 The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had done a foolish [indecent]^(LXX) act in Israel in lying with the daughter of Jacob, and so it will not be done.
   1. Some translations say “because he had disgraced Israel”
6. Genesis 34:8-12 Hamor talked with them, saying, “The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You will dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it.” 11 Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give. 12 Ask me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife.”
   1. Jubilees 25:1, 4-5  And in the second year of this week in this jubilee, [2109 A.M.] Rebecca called Jacob her son, and spake unto him, saying: “My son, do not take thee a wife of the daughters of Canaan, as Esau, thy brother, who took him two wives of the daughters of Canaan, and they have embittered my soul with all their unclean deeds: for all their deeds are fornication and coveting, and there is no righteousness with them, for (their deeds) are evil…” … 4. And then spake Jacob to Rebecca, his mother, and said unto her: “Behold, mother, I am nine weeks of years old, and I neither know nor have I touched any woman, nor have I betrothed myself to any, nor even think of taking me a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 5. For I remember, mother, the words of Abraham, our father, for he commanded me not to take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, but to take me a wife from the seed of my father’s house and from my kindred.
7. Genesis 34:13-17 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit when they spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister, 14 and said to them, “We can’t do this word, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us. 15 Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised, 16 then will we give our daughters to you; and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our sister, and we will be gone.”
8. Genesis 34:18-24 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, the son of Hamor. 19 The young man didn’t wait to do this word, because he had delight in the daughter of Jacob, and he was honored above all the house of his father. 20 Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let’s take their daughters to us for wives, and let’s give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people, if every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised. 23 Won’t their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let’s give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
9. Genesis 34:25-29 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Shimon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of the house of Jacob, and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field, 29 and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house.
10. Genesis 34:30-31 Jacob said to Shimon and Levi, “You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house.” 31 They said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a whore?”
    1. Leviticus 21:9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, she profanes her father. She will be burned with fire.
    2. Leviticus 20:1-5 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Moreover, you will tell the sons of Israel, ‘Anyone of the sons of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners in Israel, who gives any of his seed to Molek will surely be put to death. The people of the land will stone that person with stones. 3 I also will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given of his seed to Molek, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. 4 If the people of the land all hide their eyes from that person when he gives of his seed to Molek, and don’t put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his family, and will cut him off, and all who whore after him to whore with Molek, from among their people.
    3. Revelation 20:11-15 I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the land and the heavens fled away. There was found no place for them. 12 I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Sheol gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Death and Sheol were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
    4. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan And Jakob said to Shimeon and Levi, You have made my name to go forth as evil among the inhabitants of the land, among the Kenaanites and Phezerites. And I am a people of (small) number, and they will gather together against me, and destroy me and the men of my house. And Shimeon and Levi answered, It would not have been fit to be said in the congregations of Israel that the uncircumcised polluted the virgin, and the worshippers of idols debased the daughter of Jakob: but it is fit that it should be said, The uncircumcised were slain on account of the virgin, and the worshippers of idols on account of the daughter of Jakob. Shekem bar Hamor will not (now) deride us with his words; for as a whorish woman and an outcast who hath no avenger would he have made our sister, if we had not done this thing.
    5. Jerusalem Targum The two sons of Jakob answered together, and said to Israel their father, It would not be fit to be said in the congregations of Israel, in their house of instruction, that the uncircumcised polluted the virgin, and the worshippers of idols the daughter of Jakob; but it is fit that it be said in the congregations of Israel and in their house of instruction, that the uncircumcised were put to death for the sake of the virgin, and the worshippers of idols because they had defiled Dinah the daughter of Jakob. And Shekem bar Hamor will not boast in his heart and say, As a woman who hath no man to avenge her injury, so hath Dinah the daughter of Jakob been made. And they said, As an impure woman and an outcast would he have accounted our sister.]
    6. Josephus 1.21.2. Now while Jacob was astonished at the greatness of this act, and was severely blaming his sons for it, Elohim stood by him, and bid him be of good courage; but to purify his tents, and to offer those slaughters which he had vowed to offer when he went first into Mesopotamia, and saw his vision.
    7. Jubilees 30:4-26 And Shimon 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: they slew all in torments because they had dishonoured their sister Dinah. 5. And thus let it not again be done from henceforth that a daughter of Israel be defiled; for judgment is ordained in the heavens against them that they should destroy with the sword all the men of the Shechemites because they had wrought shame in Israel. 6. And the Lord delivered them into the hands of the sons of Jacob that they might exterminate them with the sword and execute judgment upon them, and that it might not thus again be done in Israel that a virgin of Israel should be defiled. 7. And if there is any man who wisheth in Israel to give his daughter or his sister to any man who is of the seed of the Nations he will surely die, and they will stone him with stones; for he hath wrought shame in Israel; and they will burn the woman with fire, because she hath dishonoured the name of the house of her father, and she will be rooted out of Israel. 8. And let not an adulteress and no uncleanness be found in Israel throughout all the days of the generations of the land; for Israel is holy unto the Lord, and every man who hath defiled (it) will surely die: they will stone him with stones. 9. For thus hath it been ordained and written in the heavenly tables regarding all the seed of Israel: he who defileth (it) will surely die, and he will be stoned with stones. 10. And to this law there is no limit of days, and no forgiveness, nor any atonement: but the man who hath defiled his daughter will be rooted out in the midst of all Israel, because he hath given of his seed to Moloch, and wrought impiously so as to defile it. 11. And do thou, Moses, command the sons of Israel and exhort them not to give their daughters to the Nations, and not to take for their sons any of the daughters of the Nations, for this is abominable before the Lord. 12. For this reason I have written for thee in the words of the Law all the deeds of the Shechemites, which they wrought against Dinah, and how the sons of Jacob spake, saying: “We will not give our daughter to a man who is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us.” 13. And it is a reproach to Israel, to those who give, and to those who take the daughters of the Nations; for this is unclean and abominable to Israel. 14. And Israel will not be free from this uncleanness if it hath a wife of the daughters of the Nations, or hath given any of its daughters to a man who is of any of the Nations. 15. For there will be plague upon plague, and curse upon curse, and every judgment and plague and curse will come (upon him): if he do this thing, or hide his eyes from those who commit uncleanness, or those who defile the sanctuary of the Lord, or those who profane His holy name, (then) will the whole nation together be judged for all the uncleanness and profanation of this (man). 16. And there will be no respect of persons [and no consideration of persons], and no receiving at his hands of fruits and offerings and burnt offerings and fat, nor the fragrance of sweet savour, so as to accept it: and so fare every man or woman in Israel who defileth the sanctuary. 17. For this reason I have commanded thee, saying: “Testify this witness to Israel: see how the Shechemites fared and their sons: how they were delivered into the hands of two sons of Jacob, and they slew them under tortures, and it was (reckoned) unto them for righteousness, and it is written down to them for righteousness. 18. And the seed of Levi was chosen for the priesthood, and to be Levites, that they might minister before the Lord, as we, continually, 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. 19. And so they inscribe as a witness in his favour on the heavenly tables blessing and righteousness before the Elohim of all: 20. 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, and it will come to him and to his descendants after him, and he hath been recorded on the heavenly tables as a friend and a righteous man. 21. All this account I have written for thee, and have commanded thee to say to the sons of Israel, that they should not commit sin nor transgress the ordinances nor break the covenant which hath been ordained for them, (but) that they should fulfill it and be recorded as friends. 22. But if they transgress and work uncleanness in every way, they will be recorded on the heavenly tables as adversaries, and they will be destroyed out of the book of life, and they will be recorded in the book of those who will be destroyed and with those who will be rooted out of the land. 23. And on the day when the sons of Jacob slew Shechem a writing was recorded in their favour in the heavens that they had executed righteousness and uprightness and vengeance on the sinners, and it was written for a blessing. 24. And they brought Dinah, their sister, out of the house of Shechem, and they took captive everything that was in Shechem, their sheep and their oxen and their donkeys, and all their wealth, and all their flocks, and brought them all to Jacob their father. 25. And he reproached them because they had put the city to the sword; for he feared those who dwelt in the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 26. And the dread of the Lord was upon all the cities which are around about Shechem, and they did not rise to pursue after the sons of Jacob; for terror had fallen upon them.