Simeon and Levi are brothers: these two are associated here, not because they are blood brothers, but because of the crime they committed together in the slaughter of Shechem (34.25-30). If this is correct, the word brothers should be expressed by a term that associates them as two people who do the same kind of thing rather than by the literal word for brothers. Anchor Bible translates “Simeon and Levi are a pair.” In English the thought is perhaps better expressed as “two of a kind.” In some languages an expression like “brothers in crime” is used and will be appropriate in this context.

Weapons of violence are their swords: Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recognizes two textual problems here. First, it uses other vowels with the Hebrew consonants to revise weapons to a term used with agreeing to a covenant, “decided” or “agreed” (rated with some uncertainty as a {B} decision). Similarly their swords are given different vowels, yielding “their destructions” (rated with even less certainty as a {C} decision). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project‘s combined recommendation for the two problems is “they decided upon violent destructions,” or “they determined to destroy violently.” Some modern versions follow Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, some follow Revised Standard Version, while others follow a mixture of the two. Bible en français courant says “they agree to act with violence,” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “their arms are instruments of violence,” New English Bible “their spades become weapons of violence” (with a note that the Hebrew is uncertain), Revised English Bible “weapons of violence are their counsels,” New Jerusalem Bible “in carrying out their malicious plans” (some editions of New Jerusalem Bible, which follows the Latin and Septuagint, have a note that says the Hebrew is “corrupt”). Anchor Bible calls the problem regarding weapons here “an old and stubborn puzzle.” He derives his understanding from a verb meaning “to sell” or “to trade” and translates “their wares are the tools of lawlessness.”

In light of the uncertainty the Handbook recommends following Hebrew Old Testament Text Project or adapting Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation. For example, we may adjust Good News Translation‘s rendering to say “you [plural or dual] use your weapons to destroy things.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .