Genesis 34:21
These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
These words belong to the dark history at Shechem, a story that ends in disgrace and bloodshed and the ruin of a city. They stand within a chain of terrible results that began when Dinah ventured out to mingle with ungodly companions. That unwise association opened the way for defilement, and then for deceit and slaughter in return.
The proposal of peaceful dwelling and trading and intermarriage was not honest, for Simeon and Levi used it to deceive the people of Shechem before falling upon them. Their revenge, though provoked by the wrong done to their sister, was a cruel act and grievously sinful. Calling these men peaceable only masked a violent intent to destroy them.