In Rofé's analysis, the "defilement" refers to interracial sex rather than rape.[5]. The tumultuous Dinah affair also occurred during Jacob’s stay at Shechem. He is only concerned for his own skin.” [Note: Wenham, Genesis 16-50 , p316. He does not condemn them for the massacre, for abusing the rite of circumcision, or even for breach of contract. Shechem and his father arrived asking for Dinah's hand in marriage; Jacob's sons heard about it and returned from the field. Yet, she fell into his trap because Every time Dinah was mentioned, the scholars explained how old she was at the time she was ‘raped’ by Shechem. Scholars Johann Buxtorf and Franz Delitzsch write on the word Na’ar: “2. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away. Prophet Jacob is seen in the Bible happily giving his daughter Dinah away in marriage at such an age. Shechem’s attention blinded Dinah to the reality of the evil human nature lurking inside his mind. We aim to focus on the Hebrew text of Genesis 34, “3 He became very fond of Jacob’s daughter Dinah. She could not have been born before year thirteen or so of Jacob’s twenty years in Paddan-aram (29:18–27; 30:20–21; 31:38) and was therefore about seven when Jacob left for Canaan. The novel The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is a fictional autobiography of the biblical Dinah. Genesis 34 New King James Version (NKJV) The Dinah Incident 34Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. They slew Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went away." New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Genesis 34 says they, and possibly more of Dinah's brothers, attack the city, kill all the men, rescue their sister and despoil the town. Eliyahu Munk, 1998. – Hith. נַעֲרָ (na’ar) m, w.s. The word naar refers to a VERY YOUNG PERSON, INCLUDING A BABY. Even though Shechem violated Dinah, he pursues her as his bride. The fact that Dinah was found in the house of Shechem implies that the agreement to the pact of circumcision was considered as a formal acceptance of the marriage. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.” – 2 Kings 2:23 -24 (King James Bible), Tagged as: Bible, CHILD BRIDE, Child Marriage, Dinah, marriage, NA'AR, PREPUBESCENT, Also genesis 46:10 tells us Dinah she had a son called Shaul this is also mentioned on Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers, Thanks. 13:33. [3] Kirsch argues that the narrative combines a Yahwist narrator describing a rape, and an Elohist speaker describing a seduction. Bible: How Old Was Dinah When She Was Married To Shechem? His sons were with his livestock out in the open country, so Jacob kept quiet until they came home.” – Genesis 34:3-5 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW), Katan (minor) and yeled (child are Hebrew terms used interchangeable. “The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with guile, and spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.” And on the third day … Oriental custom considers a marital contract to be binding from the time of engagement, though cohabi-tation was to await the final marriage ceremony. Jacob learns what happened, but waits until his sons come in from the fields. The attack on the citizens of Shechem was an act of revenge by the brothers of Dinah after her rape. In Genesis 34, Dinah went out to visit the women of Shechem, where her people had made camp and where her father Jacob had purchased the land where he had pitched his tent. Shechem was a place of man’s sin. In this, Jacob learned Dinah had been defiled (laid with the boy), but he held his peace. Exod. [3] And: Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. Someone who has not hit puberty i.e., a prepubescent. Hamor came to Jacob and asked for Dinah for his son: "Make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. They said 'Dinah, we're fightin' to free you and get you out from under bondage'. A ... avenged their sister Dinah's rape by "Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land" of Shechem. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. About the marriage well it is in question ….. ותדבק נפשו בדינה, “His soul became attached to Dinah.” At that time Dinah was eight years and one month old. Katan (minor) and yeled (child are Hebrew terms used interchangeable. By Ahuva Balofsky (Moderator) Despite Jacob’s hope that he could settle peacefully in the land of his fathers, tragedy strikes his family when his daughter, Dinah, is kidnapped and raped by the eponymous prince of the city. Dinah, also spelled Dina, in the Old Testament (Genesis 30:21; 34; 46:15), daughter of Jacob by Leah; Dinah was abducted and raped near the city of Shechem, by Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite (the Hivites were a Canaanitish people). Genesis 24:50). “They’re holding Dinah captive, and now Shechem, may he die a hundred deaths, wants to marry her. ( Log Out / Dinah, also spelled Dina, in the Old Testament (Genesis 30:21; 34; 46:15), daughter of Jacob by Leah; Dinah was abducted and raped near the city of Shechem, by Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite (the Hivites were a Canaanitish people). Here it seems likely that Shechem is offering both a “marriage present” to Jacob and “a gift” to Dinah.” [Note: Wenham, Genesis 16-50 , pp312-13.] Jacob was troubled by the slaughter and feared for the lives of his family when the Canaanites heard about what had taken place. Yet they were wrong in adopting the means they selected to achieve their end. – Ni. This story was used to demonstrate the danger to women in the public sphere as contrasted with the relative security of remaining in private. [7][8], Early Christian commentators such as Jerome likewise assign some of the responsibility to Dinah, in venturing out to visit the women of Shechem. Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 72,6) arrive at this conclusion by assuming that Leah’s prayer… that her fetus should be a girl was offered when she was in a state of advanced pregnancy. Naphtali (half brother) Excellent article and providing more insight about this marriage incident. Describing her fear when the Union army arrived, she said: "We was so scared we run under the house and the Yankees called 'Come out Dinah' (didn't call none of us anything but Dinah). “The crafty character of Jacob degenerated into malicious cunning in Simeon and Levi; and jealousy for the exalted vocation of their family, into actual sin.” [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 1:315.] In Genesis 34, Dinah went out to visit the women of Shechem, where her people had made camp and where her father Jacob had purchased the land where he had pitched his tent. He also offers compensation to her family. … to shake oneself from. You shall dwell with us; and the land shall be open to you." 13:17. And his soul was drawn to Dinah ... he loved the maiden and spoke tenderly to her", and Shechem asked his father to obtain Dinah for him, to be his wife. A Detailed Historical Examination Of Numbers 31:18, Age of Consent in European & American History, King David’s Marriage To 12-Year-Old Abishag – Bible. [7] When she died, Simeon buried her in the land of Canaan. I will add the little info later IA. [4], On the other hand, another critical scholar, Alexander Rofé, assumes that the earlier authors would not have considered rape to be defilement in and of itself, and posits that the verb describing Dinah as "defiled" was added later (elsewhere in the Bible, only married or betrothed women are "defiled" by rape). Dinah in Shechem Genesis 34:1-31. Shechem (the son of Hamor, the prince of the land) "took her and lay with her and humbled her. 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Shechem and Dinah - in the light of non-biblical and biblical sources by: Flaišman, Yôsēf 1947- Published: (2004) ; The silence in Dinah's cry by: Clark, Ronald R. Published: (2007) ; The silence of Dinah (Genesis 34) by: Van Seters, John 1935- Published: (2001) 34 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. lxxx.). The careful examination we took of the verse in Gen. 34, we found that Dinah at the time of her marriage was no older than 7-years-old. “And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel” (Genesis 34:3). That is, he argued that Simeon and Levi acted lawfully insofar as they carried out a military operation as an act of vengeance or retribution for the rape of Dinah.[10]. This word is also there in the next verse. Because of Shechem’s action, Dinah is an outcast. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. ( Log Out / DEFINITION OF THE TERM But "the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah"; they said they would accept the offer if the men of the city agreed to be circumcised. (Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable – Genesis 34 – online source https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/genesis-34.html ) Jud. And his soul was drawn to Dinah ... he loved the maiden and spoke tenderly to her", and Shechem asked his father to obta… (Genesis 34:31). This implies that since Jacob had not showed enough concern for Dinah her blood brothers felt compelled to act in her defense. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. For the Israelites, the punishment for defiling women was harsh. "[13] After the end of the war in 1865 The New York Times exhorted the newly liberated slaves to demonstrate that they had the moral values to use their freedom effectively, using the names "Sambo" and "Dinah" to represent male and female former slaves: "You are free Sambo, but you must work. Simon and Levi, Jacob's sons, instigate the discord between Jacob and the men of the King of Shechem out of fear for their own prosperity, even though Dinah tells them the truth. Dinah was seven months older than he (Joseph was born at the end of a seven month pregnancy) so that made Dinah eight years and one month when she was raped. He falls in love with Dinah and offers to marry her. Shechem, the son of Chamor, the Hivite, saw her, took her, lay with her and violated her. Genesis 34: Jacob’s Response to Dinah’s Rape. The Hivites negotiated in good faith, but the Jacobites renegotiated treacherously (vv13-17; cf. Here are some of the Hebrew manuscripts which have the word Naar in there: “Masoretic Text 34:3 Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics defines the word as someone who is a “minor”, “very young person, including a baby”: “MINOR* Not long ago we published an article on Genesis 34, where we showed that Dinah was married off to Shechem. In the meanwhile, Hamor and Shechem show up. Be virtuous too, oh Dinah! Since marriage was arranged by parents even in pagan cultures, he asks his dad to approach Jacob in the matter. The story of Shechem and Dinah begins with the words: »Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to gaze at the daughters of the land. Dinah defiled by Shechem. "Persistent Myths about the Afro-American Family" in, "Table D Source Analysis: Revisions and Alternatives", "Defilement of Virgins in Biblical Law and the Case of Dinah (Genesis 34)", “Dinah’s Rage - the Retelling of Genesis 34 in Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent and Thomas Mann’s Joseph and his Brothers.”, Canadian Review of Comparative Literature, Dinah's Abduction from a Jewish perspective, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim, Current Ummah of Islam (Ummah of Muhammad), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dinah&oldid=1010188895, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2015, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia without a Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Mother Abiona or Amtelai the daughter of Karnebo, Slayers of Saleh's she-camel (Qaddar ibn Salif and Musda' ibn Dahr). Shechem also offered to pay whatever dowry they requested. [7] When she died, Simeon buried her in the land of Canaan. However, Nachmanides disagreed, partly because he viewed the seventh law as a positive commandment that was not punishable by death. [citation needed]. Prophet Jacob is seen in the Bible happily giving his daughter Dinah away in marriage at such an age. Finally, the Lord’s intent for Jacob is made clear in 35:1–15, but this is probably only a direct confirmation of what Isaac’s son already knew to be God’s will. Johann Buxtorf connects na’ar with n’r II, ‘shake off.’ A na’ar is a ‘LITTLE BOY, AN INFANT,’ IN THAT HE HAS BEEN ‘FORCED OUT OF HIS MOTHER’S WOMB.’ Franz Delitzsch takes as his starting point the striking use of n’r in the Pentateuch to refer to a FEMALE, concluding that ‘originally it denoted a NEW-BORN INFANT OF EITHER SEX,’ since it ‘is an ancient derived noun with the meaning ‘shaking off, bringing forth’ (cf. Joseph (half brother), In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (/ˈdiːnə/; Hebrew: .mw-parser-output .script-hebrew,.mw-parser-output .script-Hebr{font-family:"SBL Hebrew","SBL BibLit","Frank Ruehl CLM","Taamey Frank CLM","Ezra SIL","Ezra SIL SR","Keter Aram Tsova","Taamey Ashkenaz","Taamey David CLM","Keter YG","Shofar","David CLM","Hadasim CLM","Simple CLM","Nachlieli",Cardo,Alef,"Noto Serif Hebrew","Noto Sans Hebrew","David Libre",David,"Times New Roman",Gisha,Arial,FreeSerif,FreeSans}דִּינָה, Modern: Dīna, Tiberian: Dīnā, "judged; vindicated") was the daughter of Jacob, one of the patriarchs of the Israelites, and Leah, his first wife.