Genesis 34:25 (KJV)

What does Genesis 34:25 mean?

Genesis 34:25 describes how Simeon and Levi attacked a city while its men were recovering from circumcision, a procedure that removed the foreskin from the penis. The brothers used the men’s painful recovery as an opportunity to kill all the males in the city.

The attack follows the agreement reached after Shechem had seized and raped their sister Dinah. Calling Simeon and Levi “Dinah’s brethren” connects their action directly to her, though the verse describes an attack on the whole male population rather than on Shechem alone.

The Hebrew behind Genesis 34:25

• “sore” — כָּאַב (kaʾav): This word carries the sense of being in pain. Here it points to the men’s condition on the third day after the procedure, when they were vulnerable to attack.
• “boldly” — בֶּטַח (bétaḥ): This word can carry a sense of security or confidence. In the KJV, it describes how the brothers approached the city as they began their attack.

Why Genesis 34:25 matters

• The verse distinguishes these two brothers from Jacob’s sons as a group. It names Simeon and Levi as the attackers, though the other sons act later in the passage.
• The killing reaches beyond the man who had harmed Dinah. The phrase “all the males” makes the scope of the attack clear.
• The brothers’ action overturns the peaceful arrangement presented to the city. In verse 24, the men had accepted circumcision as part of that arrangement; in verse 25, their recovery becomes the moment of attack.