Genesis 34:25

And it came to pass In this verse the Compiler has combined the two versions: (1) that which ascribes the treacherous deed to the sons of Jacob generally; and (2) that in which Simeon and Levi alone are the perpetrators of the massacre.

when they were sore The effects of the operation rendered the Shechemite males powerless to defend themselves. In this version there is a vein of coarse and repulsive humour. The Canaanites were not only put to the sword, but by their submission to the Israelite rite they had been outwitted. At the time of the attack, they were unable to offer any resistance.

unawares Better than R.V. marg. boldly. LXX ἀσφαλῶς = "safely," Lat. confidenter. The meaning is that the people of Shechem were secure and unsuspecting, when the attack was made. Not the courage of the assailants, but the sense of security on the part of their victims, is indicated. Cf. "the careless Ethiopians" (Ezekiel 30:9).