To recap, in Bereishit 34:25-31:
וַיְהִי בַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בִּהְיוֹתָם כֹּאֲבִים, וַיִּקְחוּ שְׁנֵי-בְנֵי-יַעֲקֹב שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי אֲחֵי דִינָה אִישׁ חַרְבּוֹ, וַיָּבֹאוּ עַל-הָעִיר, בֶּטַח; וַיַּהַרְגוּ, כָּל-זָכָר.
וְאֶת-חֲמוֹר וְאֶת-שְׁכֶם בְּנוֹ, הָרְגוּ לְפִי-חָרֶב; וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת-דִּינָה מִבֵּית שְׁכֶם, וַיֵּצֵאוּ.
בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב, בָּאוּ עַל-הַחֲלָלִים, וַיָּבֹזּוּ, הָעִיר--אֲשֶׁר טִמְּאוּ, אֲחוֹתָם.
אֶת-צֹאנָם וְאֶת-בְּקָרָם, וְאֶת-חֲמֹרֵיהֶם, וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר-בָּעִיר וְאֶת-אֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׂדֶה, לָקָחוּ.
וְאֶת-כָּל-חֵילָם וְאֶת-כָּל-טַפָּם וְאֶת-נְשֵׁיהֶם, שָׁבוּ וַיָּבֹזּוּ; וְאֵת, כָּל-אֲשֶׁר בַּבָּיִת.
וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל-שִׁמְעוֹן וְאֶל-לֵוִי, עֲכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי, לְהַבְאִישֵׁנִי בְּיֹשֵׁב הָאָרֶץ, בַּכְּנַעֲנִי וּבַפְּרִזִּי; וַאֲנִי, מְתֵי מִסְפָּר, וְנֶאֶסְפוּ עָלַי וְהִכּוּנִי, וְנִשְׁמַדְתִּי אֲנִי וּבֵיתִי.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ: הַכְזוֹנָה, יַעֲשֶׂה אֶת-אֲחוֹתֵנוּ.
"And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city unawares, and slew all the males.
And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went forth.
The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
They took their flocks and their herds and their asses, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field;
and all their wealth, and all their little ones and their wives, took they captive and spoiled, even all that was in the house.
And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: 'Ye have troubled me, to make me odious unto the inhabitants of the land, even unto the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and, I being few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and smite me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.'
And they said: 'Should one deal with our sister as with a harlot?'"
(Perhaps the sheep they took were they very sheep they grazed in Shechem in this week's parsha.)
Then, Yaakov and sons left Shechem toward Bet-El and were not pursued by their now-hostile neighbors. Bereishit 35:5:
וַיִּסָּעוּ; וַיְהִי חִתַּת אֱלֹהִים, עַל-הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבוֹתֵיהֶם, וְלֹא רָדְפוּ, אַחֲרֵי בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב.
"And they journeyed; and a terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. "
In this week's parsha, they graze the sheep in Shechem. In Bereishit 37:12-13
וַיֵּלְכוּ, אֶחָיו, לִרְעוֹת אֶת-צֹאן אֲבִיהֶם, בִּשְׁכֶם.
וַיֹּאמֶר יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל-יוֹסֵף, הֲלוֹא אַחֶיךָ רֹעִים בִּשְׁכֶם--לְכָה, וְאֶשְׁלָחֲךָ אֲלֵיהֶם; וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ, הִנֵּנִי.
וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ, לֶךְ-נָא רְאֵה אֶת-שְׁלוֹם אַחֶיךָ וְאֶת-שְׁלוֹם הַצֹּאן, וַהֲשִׁבֵנִי, דָּבָר; וַיִּשְׁלָחֵהוּ מֵעֵמֶק חֶבְרוֹן, וַיָּבֹא שְׁכֶמָה.
"And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
And Israel said unto Joseph: 'Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them.' And he said to him: 'Here am I.'
And he said to him: 'Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me back word.' So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem."
Not only are they willing to grze in Shechem, Yaakov feels confident enough to send young Yosef to check up after them.
Further, in the next psukim, Yosef feels confident confiding in a stranger that he is seeking his brothers - for all he knows, the man might be an enemy. Bereishit 37:15-17:
וַיִּמְצָאֵהוּ אִישׁ, וְהִנֵּה תֹעֶה בַּשָּׂדֶה; וַיִּשְׁאָלֵהוּ הָאִישׁ לֵאמֹר, מַה-תְּבַקֵּשׁ.
וַיֹּאמֶר, אֶת-אַחַי אָנֹכִי מְבַקֵּשׁ; הַגִּידָה-נָּא לִי, אֵיפֹה הֵם רֹעִים.
וַיֹּאמֶר הָאִישׁ, נָסְעוּ מִזֶּה--כִּי שָׁמַעְתִּי אֹמְרִים, נֵלְכָה דֹּתָיְנָה; וַיֵּלֶךְ יוֹסֵף אַחַר אֶחָיו, וַיִּמְצָאֵם בְּדֹתָן.
"And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying: 'What seekest thou?'
And he said: 'I seek my brethren. Tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding the flock.'
And the man said: 'They are departed hence; for I heard them say: Let us go to Dothan.' And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan."
Then, as I looked through Tg Yonatan, he makes a related point. The Targum seems to have two messages regarding the episode of the sale of Yosef - 1) that it was ordained by Hashem, as Hashem told Avraham that his descendants would be exiled to Egypt and that this was the appointed day for it to begin, and 2) that it was related in some way to the destruction of Shechem.
For example, when Yaakov asks Yosef to check up on his brothers in Shechem:
וַיֹּאמֶר יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל-יוֹסֵף, הֲלוֹא אַחֶיךָ רֹעִים בִּשְׁכֶם--לְכָה, וְאֶשְׁלָחֲךָ אֲלֵיהֶם; וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ, הִנֵּנִי.
The Targum Yonatan translates:
והוה לזמן יומין ואמר ישראל ליוסף הלא אחך רען בשכם ודחיל דילמא ייתון חיואי וימחינון על עיסק די מחו ית חמור וית שכם וית יתבי קרתא איתא כדון ואשלחינך לותהון ואמר ליה הא נא
(though I suspect the last words should be as in Onkelos הא אנא.)
And it was after a time of days (preceding phrase not a translation of any words in the pasuk) and Yisrael said to Yosef, "are not your brothers grazing in Shechem, and I fear that perhaps the Chivites came and wiped them out because of the matter that they wiped out Chamor and Shechem and the residents of the city; come now and I will send you to them", and Yosef said "here I am."
The next pasuk's translation highlights how this was preordained by Hashem.
וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ, לֶךְ-נָא רְאֵה אֶת-שְׁלוֹם אַחֶיךָ וְאֶת-שְׁלוֹם הַצֹּאן, וַהֲשִׁבֵנִי, דָּבָר; וַיִּשְׁלָחֵהוּ מֵעֵמֶק חֶבְרוֹן, וַיָּבֹא שְׁכֶמָה.
The Targum Yonatan translates:
ואמר ליה איזול כדון חמי ית שלם אחך וית שלם ענא ואתיבני פתגמא ושדריה על עיטא עמיקתא דאתמלל עם אברהם בחברון ובההוא יומא הוה שרוי גלותא דמצרים ואתא יוסף לשכם
And he said to him go now and see how fare your brothers and how fare the sheep, and bring me back word, and he send him on the deep counsel (eitza) that was spoken (by Hashem) with Avraham in Chevron, and on that day began the exile of Egypt, and Yosef came to Shechem.
When Yosef arrives in Shechem, he sees his brothers are gone, but meets a man who tells him they have gone to Dotan. Once again the dual message of Shechem and preordination surface. According the Tg Yonatan, this man is Gavriel is human guise.
וַיֹּאמֶר הָאִישׁ, נָסְעוּ מִזֶּה--כִּי שָׁמַעְתִּי אֹמְרִים, נֵלְכָה דֹּתָיְנָה; וַיֵּלֶךְ יוֹסֵף אַחַר אֶחָיו, וַיִּמְצָאֵם בְּדֹתָן.
Tg Yonatan translates:
ואמר גברא נטלן מיכן ארום שמעית מבתר פרגודא דהא אשתרי מן יומא דין שעבוד מצראי ואתאמר להום בנבואה דחיואי בען למסדרא עמהון סדרא קרבא בגין כן הוו אמרין ניזל לדותן ואזל יוסף בתר אחוי ואשכחינון בדותן
And the man said "they left from here, for I heard from behing the Curtain that indeed from this day begins the Egyptian servitude, and {so} it was said to them in prophecy that the Chivites wish to wage with them waging of war. Because of this they said 'Let us go to Dotan.' And Yosef went after his brothers and found them in Dotan.
Thus, preordination of the exile on this day factors in, as well as fear/wishing to avoid conflict with the Chivites, a repercussion of the destruction of the city of Shechem, as we saw before regarding Yaakov's fear. Is this one midrash, with Hashem gicing them this nevuah in order to send them to Dotan, or are these two midrashim, one in a Shechem trend and the other in a preordination trend. If the former, did the Chivites really wish to wage war, or is Hashem leading them astray, right where He wants them?
Finally, when the brothers propose to slay Yosef, they begin with pasuk 37:19:
וַיֹּאמְרוּ, אִישׁ אֶל-אָחִיו: הִנֵּה, בַּעַל הַחֲלֹמוֹת הַלָּזֶה--בָּא.
"And they said one to another: 'Behold, this dreamer cometh."
Targum Yonatan designates this אִישׁ and אָחִיו as Shimon and Levi, who were אחין בעיטתא, brothers in counsel. They were also the ones who wiped out Shechem.
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