Tuesday: The Violation of Dinah
Now that Jacob has reconciled with his brother, he wants to settle in the land of Canaan in peace. The word shalem, “safely” (Genesis 33:18, NKJV), from the word shalom, “peace,” for the first time characterizes his journey.
After having purchased a piece of land from the inhabitants (Genesis 33:19), he erects an altar there, showing his faith and his realization about how dependent upon the Lord he really is. For every one of the sacrifices offered, there was an act of worship.
Yet, for the first time in his life, Jacob-Israel is exposed to the troubles of settling in the land. Like Isaac at Gerar with Abimelech (Genesis 26:1-33), Jacob tries to find accommodation with the Canaanites.
Read Genesis 34:1-31. What happened to upset his plans for a peaceful existence?
Image © Darrel Tank at Goodsalt.com
The story of this sordid incident highlights the ambiguity of the characters and of their actions. The sensual Shechem, who violates Dinah, is also characterized as sincere and loving Dinah and who wants to try to make amends. He is even willing to undergo the covenant rite of circumcision.
Meanwhile, Simeon and Levi, who present themselves as the defenders of God and His commandments, and who resist intermarriage with the Canaanites (Leviticus 19:29), resort to lies and deception (Genesis 34:13) and are ready to kill and plunder (Genesis 34:25-27). Their actions were not only reprehensible (why not punish the one man who had done it?) but had the potential to cause many more problems.
As for Jacob, he is concerned only with peace. When the rape of his daughter is reported to him, he does not say anything (Genesis 34:5). However, after he heard about what his sons had done, he openly chides them because of what could follow: “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I” (Genesis 34:30, NKJV).
| Over and over we see deceit and deception, as well as acts of kindness and grace, in these accounts. What does this tell us about human nature? |
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Today's study is one of those "Adults Only" passages of scripture that we don't really like to discuss. I don't think I have ever heard a sermon entitled, "The defiling of Dinah" or "Simon and Levi's Revenge". But the description is there in the Bible with all its ugliness and sadness.
Atheistic ethicists like to seize on these passages to suggest that we do not and should not base our view of ethics and morality on the Bible. They do miss from their argument that the Bible is not about perfect people, but rather a record of an interaction between God and self-centred man.
The lesson today reminded me that reaction to bad things is not always a good idea. I learned, somewhat later than I should, that when my kids or students did bad things, it was better to say something like, We will talk about that later. That avoided the reactonary response that often went badly. God is patient when we do wrong, We should be able to be patient with others we perceive of as wrong.
Unfortunately Jacob-Israel’s mistake of silence was repeated by David with the rape of Tamar. What might have happened if either of the fathers and spoken about the evil that had occurred to their daughters? Could addressing the sin have prevented the brothers in each case from allowing the enemy to plant hatred and murder in their hearts?
Some might be tempted to think that after wrestling with his fear of Esau and with the I AM and prevailing through faith, that Jacob would never again fall back into fear - perhaps that he would live 'happily ever after'. But, only a couple of chapters later we see Jacob once again fearful of the 'pay-back' that he anticipated would come in response to his sons' behaviour.
Perhaps on your journey of growth when you find fear re-emerging, you can draw encouragement from knowing that even seasoned patriarchs had to wage an ongoing war of fear versus faith. And knowing this, like Maurice mentioned, might also help us be more compassionate towards others who also find fear resurfacing under certain circumstances.
Character growth is a journey of forged perseverance - and most typically not an easy one (James 1:2-4). But it is a worthwhile one.
This is a complex and disturbing story in many ways. Some have blamed Dinah for going to places where she should not have gone, yet Tamar stayed in her father’s house and was raped by her own brother. Rape is heinous, yet unlike the story of Tamar, it isn’t clear whether Dinah was raped or merely debased. Deuteronomy 22:23-29 outlines what constituted rape in the Bible (also disturbing reading in my mind). In the context of that time, even if Dinah had been seduced rather than forced, she would still be considered debased/violated as she was a virgin who had sex out of wedlock. This may explain why her father Jacob was not as reactive as his sons were about the deed. There is complexity there.
Shechem either rapes or seduces Dinah. Was he acting within the norms of his own culture? Even though what Shechem did was “a disgraceful thing in Israel” maybe it wasn’t disgraceful in his. Regardless, the Bible makes it clear that Shechem genuinely cared for Dinah and was willing to do anything to make amends with her family and to make her his wife. The Bible even refers to him as “honourable”. There is complexity there.
As the lesson authors point out, the defenders of God’s commandments, Dinah’s brothers, retaliate in a manner so heinous it is far worse than the crime they claim to avenge.
Human nature and life situations are complex. Things are not always in black and white. Isn’t it wonderful that the All-Seeing, All-Knowing God is also the Judge? Thank God we have a righteous God who reads the hearts. And not only is he righteous, but he is merciful – he does not treat us as we deserve.
God forgive us when we try to take your place as Judge. Let us be led by your Holy Spirit to do what you show us is right and to leave judgment to you. Also, help us to extend the same spirit of mercy to others that you show to us.
In my 50 plus years of my SDA journey, I never quite understood why God allowed the Philistines to wage so much terrorism to the Israelites but this story of Dinah with Shechem the Philistine Prince and how he was deceived by two of Jacobs sons and then killed by those sons of Jacob leads me to see why the Philistines held such hatred and grudges against Israel even till the time of King David etc. and etc.
Dinah’s story raises more questions than it answers.
1) Why was Dinah allowed to visit Shechem unescorted? In Near (Middle) Eastern culture, women are to be accompanied by an adult male when they go out of the house. Unaccompanied women are assumed to be prostitutes.
2) Why was Jacob silent in this matter? Why did he let his sons, especially Simeon and Levi negotiate with Hamor and Shechem? Custom and culture dictated that the patriarch of the family would negotiate the bride price and betrothal.
3) Why did Jacob’s sons not inform their father of their actual plans? As patriarch, he should have had ultimate decision making power. It is likely because they knew he would not approve and that he would be “soft” on this issue due to concerns about his family’s safety. (Genesis 34:30.) Deception appears to be part of this dysfunctional family’s trajectory into their future.
4) Who is the Canaanite woman of Genesis 46:10 who bore Simeon’s son Shaul (Saul)? Some commentators think this was Dinah, who was deemed a “Canaanite” because she was sexually humiliated by one. (Yes, Jacob’s sons captured as plunder all the Shechemites’ wives (Genesis 34:29), but sons from these women are not mentioned in Genesis, only this one born of a “Canaanite.”)
5) Was it part of God’s plan for Jacob to move to Shechem? Jacob likely did this to distance himself from Esau and any inheritance-related conflicts. There is no record that he consulted God to determine if this was God’s plan. However, after this situation with the Shechemites, he moves to Bethel at God’s direction, which is in Esau's neighbourhood. It seems he asks God for direction after he gets into trouble.
6) Would it have been acceptable for Jacob’s family to intermarry with the Shechemites, as proposed by Jacob’s (older) sons, to deal with Dinah’s situation? If Jacob knew about this proposal, why did he not object? Ostensibly, the reason Jacob had gone to Laban’s house in the first place was to marry a non-Canaanite woman.
Dinah's violation was against existing natural laws. Shechem could have had her if he had spoken to Jacob. Shechem may have been noble and his practice may have been consistent with his people, but not with Jacob. Mind you, Jacobs's name was recently changed so the details of the laws of Israel 500years down the line would be built on this philosophy.'
What I also see is that Jacob was to the line through which the Messiah would come and this is 'the blessing' that Isaac passed to him - not the cattle, goats, lands etc. Esau missed out on this.
I believe God didn't plan for the sons of God to comingle with the sons of men knowing how the disastrous results. This same order will go to the Nation of Isreal just before crossing the Jordan.
I dont think the actions of Simon and Levi were sanctioned by God, but there was no way Israel/Jacobs household at this point could have bonded with the people of the land without potential disaster...