When Simon and Levi had gone from the city, the two young men who had
concealed themselves in the lime pits, and were not slain amongst the
people of the city, rose up, and they found the city desolate, without
a man, only weeping women, and they cried out, saying, "Behold, this is
the evil which the sons of Jacob did who destroyed one of the Canaanite
cities, and were not afraid of all the land of Canaan."
They left the city and went to Tappuah, and told the inhabitants all
that the sons of Jacob had done to the city of Shechem. Jashub, the
king of Tappuah, sent to Shechem to see whether these young men told
the truth, for he did not believe them, saying, "How could two men
destroy a large city like Shechem?" The messengers of Jashub returned,
and they reported, "The city is destroyed, not a man is left there,
only weeping women, neither are there flocks and cattle there, for all
that was in the city was taken away by the sons of Jacob."
Jashub wondered thereat, for the like had not been heard from the days
of Nimrod, and not even from the remotest times, that two men should be
able to destroy so large a city, and he decided to go to war against
the Hebrews, and avenge the cause of the people of Shechem. His
counsellors said to him: "If two of them laid waste a whole city,
surely if thou goest against them, they all will rise up against us,
and destroy us. Therefore, send to the kings round about, that we all
together fight against the sons of Jacob, and prevail against them."
The seven kings of the Amorites, when they heard the evil that the sons
of Jacob had done to the city of Shechem, assembled together, with all
their armies, ten thousand men, with drawn swords, and they came to
fight against the sons of Jacob. And Jacob was greatly afraid, and he
said to Simon and Levi, "Why have you brought such evil upon me? I was
at rest, and you provoked the inhabitants of the land against me by
your acts."
Then Judah spoke to his father: "Was it for naught that Simon and Levi
killed the inhabitants of Shechem? Verily, it was because Shechem
dishonored our sister, and transgressed the command of our God to Noah
and his children, and not one of the inhabitants of the city interfered
in the matter. Now, why art thou afraid, and why art thou displeased at
my brethren? Surely, our God, who delivered the city of Shechem and its
people into their hand, He will also deliver into our hands all the
Canaanitish kings who are coming against us. Now cast away thy fears,
and pray to God to assist us and deliver us."
Judah then addressed his brethren, saying: "The Lord our God is with
us! Fear naught, then! Stand ye forth, each man girt with his weapons
of war, his bow and his sword, and we will go and fight against the
uncircumcised. The Lord is our God, He will save us."
Jacob, his eleven sons, and one hundred servants belonging to Isaac,
who had come to their assistance, marched forward to meet the Amorites,
a people exceedingly numerous, like unto the sand upon the sea-shore.
The sons of Jacob sent unto their grandfather Isaac, at Hebron,
requesting him to pray unto the Lord to protect them from the hand of
the Canaanites, and he prayed as follows: "O Lord God, Thou didst
promise my father, saying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of
heaven, and also me Thou didst promise that Thou wouldst establish Thy
word to my father. Now, O Lord, God of the whole world, pervert, I pray
Thee, the counsel of these kings, that they may not fight against my
sons, and impress the hearts of their kings and their people with the
terror of my sons, and bring down their pride that they turn away from
my sons. Deliver my sons and their servants from them with Thy strong
hand and outstretched arm, for power and might are in Thy hands to do
all this."
Jacob also prayed unto God, and said: "O Lord God, powerful and exalted
God, who hast reigned from days of old, from then until now and
forever! Thou art He who stirreth up wars and causeth them to cease. In
Thy hand are power and might to exalt and to bring low. O may my prayer
be acceptable unto Thee, that Thou mayest turn to me with Thy mercies,
to impress the hearts of these kings and their people with the terror
of my sons, and terrify them and their camps, and with Thy great
kindness deliver all those that trust in Thee, for Thou art He who
subdues the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet."
God heard the prayers of Isaac and Jacob, and He filled the hearts of
all the advisers of the Canaanite kings with great fear and terror, and
when the kings, who were undecided whether to undertake a campaign
against the sons of Jacob, consulted them, they said: "Are you silly,
or is there no understanding in you, that you propose to fight with the
Hebrews? Why do you take delight in your own destruction this day?
Behold, two of them came to the city of Shechem without fear or terror,
and they put all the inhabitants of the city to the sword, no man stood
up against them, and how will you be able to fight with them all?"
The royal counsellors then proceeded to enumerate all the mighty things
God had done for Abraham, Jacob, and the sons of Jacob, such as had not
been done from days of old and by any of the gods of the nations. When
the kings heard all the words of their advisers, they were afraid of
the sons of Jacob, and they would not fight against them. They turned
back with their armies on that day, each to his own city. But the sons
of Jacob kept their station that day till evening, and seeing that the
kings did not advance to do battle with them in order to avenge the
inhabitants of Shechem whom they had killed, they returned home.[289]
The wrath of the Lord descended upon the inhabitants of Shechem to the
uttermost on account of their wickedness. For they had sought to do
unto Sarah and Rebekah as they did unto Dinah, but the Lord had
prevented them. Also they had persecuted Abraham when he was a
stranger, and they had vexed his flocks when they were big with young,
and Eblaen, one born in his house, they had handled most shamefully.
And thus they did to all strangers, taking away their wives by
force.[290]