Summary https://marksbiblejourney.blogspot.com/2019/10/genesis.html
"Dinah, Jacob's daughter, goes out to meet the young women in the area of Shechem. Shechem, son of Hamor, sees her in the city, takes her, and rapes her. After raping her, Shechem wants Dinah to be his wife. Hamor pleads with Jacob to let Dinah marry Shechem. Hamor also asks Jacob to have all the males and females intermarry between the two families. Jacob's sons give a deceitful conditional agreement to Shechem and Hamor. Shechem can marry Dinah, and all of Hamor's family can intermarry with all of Jacob's family to become one people if all of Hamor's sons are circumcised. Hamor and Shechem agree to Jacob's proposal, and all the males of Shechem are circumcised. On the third day after the circumcision, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, go into the city where Hamor and his family live. They kill every male in the city along with Hamor and Shechem. They take Dinah and leave the city. Jacob's other sons then loot and plunder the city, taking everything of value including cattle, children, and women. Jacob now begins to worry, and he scorns his sons. He believes the people of the land will now unite against him and destroy his household. The sons of Jacob believe they are justified for their actions because Dinah was raped by Shechem."
Reading from the Amplified Bible (AMP) version..
- "Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out [unescorted] to visit the girls of the land. When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince (sheik) of the land, saw her, he kidnapped her and lay [intimately] with her by force [humbling and offending her]." v.1-2
- "Now Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled (violated) Dinah his daughter; but his sons were in the field with his livestock, so Jacob said nothing until they came in. But Shechem’s father Hamor went to Jacob to talk with him. Now when Jacob’s sons heard of it they came in from the field; they were deeply grieved, and they were very angry, for Shechem had done a disgraceful thing to Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing is not to be done." v.5-7
- "But Hamor conferred with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem [deeply] longs for your daughter [and sister]. Please give her to him as his wife. And [beyond that] intermarry with us; give your daughters to us [as wives] and take our daughters for yourselves. In this way you shall live with us; the country will be open to you; live and do business in it and acquire property and possessions in it.” v.8-10
- "Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because Shechem had defiled and disgraced their sister Dinah. They said to them, “We cannot do this thing and give our sister [in marriage] to one who is not circumcised, because that would be a disgrace to us. But we will consent to you only on this condition: if you will become like us, in that every male among you consents to be circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you [in marriage], and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. But if you do not listen to us and refuse to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter [Dinah] and go.”
- "And every [Canaanite] man who went out of the city gate listened and considered what Hamor and Shechem said; and every male who was a resident of that city was circumcised." v.24
- "Now on the third day [after the circumcision], when all the men were [terribly] sore and in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s [full] brothers, took their swords, boldly entered the city [without anyone suspecting them of evil intent], and they killed every male. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house [where she was staying], and left." v.25-26
- "Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have ruined me, making me a stench to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites! My men are few in number, and the men of the land will band together against me and attack me; I shall be destroyed, I and my household.” But they said, “Should he [be permitted to] treat our sister as a prostitute?” v.30-31
My personal observations and reflections...
There are a lot of sad and tragic stories in the Bible, and I think the story of Dinah in Genesis 34 is one of them.. Nobody deserves to be defiled, humiliated, and raped-- but the reality is, it happened-- and it has also happened to so many people, and it is still happening today. Because of SIN. So let's see what we can learn, what the word of God is teaching us, from this particular incident..- LUST vs. LOVE. Dinah, the daughter of Leah with Jacob/Israel, is a girl with 11 brothers (6 full, and 5 stepbrothers)-- so perhaps she was longing for a sister or friends who are also ladies. I could relate in that part because I'm an only daughter with 3 brothers. Now staying at the land of Shechem, Dinah went out alone to visit the girls in the land.. Was it the first time she has tried to explore the place on her own? Maybe yes, maybe not, we never know from the limited information given in the text. Was it wrong that she's trying to interact and socialize with other people in Canaan (Hivites), who were likely pagan? Anyway, we then read that "Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince (sheik) of the land, saw her, he kidnapped her and lay [intimately] with her by force [humbling and offending her]." I think that Shechem's sin here is lust; and rape, when he acted upon his lustful thoughts and attraction to Dinah. Maybe, he also did that because he was powerful, being the son of the King, or the prince of the country.(?) Instead of doing the right thing, by pursuing and asking her hand in marriage, Shechem chose the easy, but wrong way. True love can wait, and true love doesn't desire only after outside and physical appearances.
She went out of her family's camp, left its safety, specifically to see the "daughters of the land." The Jewish historian, Josephus, says that the Hivites were having a festival of some sort. We can picture the color, the pageantry, and music of an exotic celebration and realize how that would catch the eye of a tent-dwelling young girl with no sisters." https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/RA/k/1566/Rape-Dinah.htm
* Some info about the "Hivites": https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hivites
- GET ME THIS YOUNG WOMAN AS A WIFE. I don't have any idea how old is Shechem, but apparently Dinah was only 13 to 14 yrs. old. Maybe 'too young' to get married in my opinion, but I don't really know what's the custom or ways during those ancient times. Shechem seems to be very attached to Dinah, "he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman." I'm suddenly a bit confused here, because Shechem's previous actions were a contrast to what he was saying. It made me think if he "truly" loved her, but then again a person can have a wrong definition or concept of what "love" is. The best way to know what love is to look at the best model of love, who is God, and Lord Jesus Christ.
"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19
"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them." 1 John 4:16
Also, I wonder what was Shechem's tone when he said that to his father Hamor-- it seems that Hamor and him should do whatever it will take to get Dinah as his wife.
- JACOB HEARD, AND SAID NOTHING. In other translations, it says Jacob "held his peace/kept silent" until his sons returned home from herding his livestock in the fields. Maybe news was spreading because Shechem is now planning to take Dinah as his wife after the incident. The texts did not even mention how Jacob felt-- was he grieved, was he angry? He waited for his sons to come home, as if they were the (spiritual) leader/father of the household. I can't help but think that it's because Dinah is the daughter of Leah, the wife who Jacob did not love so much (or at all). That's really hurtful to think about. But knowing that as a child of God, our Heavenly Father greatly loves us, even to the point of sacrificing His own Son to save us, is very comforting and reassuring.
"And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:18
"Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God." Galatians 4:7
- JACOB'S SONS WERE DEEPLY GRIEVED AND ANGRY. Hamor and his son Shechem went to talk and negotiate with Jacob, but it is Jacob's sons who answered and gave conditions. We never heard from Jacob. Anyway, for a man who had done such an unhonorable thing to a woman, Shechem now shows honor by offering a large bridal payment and gift, and doing/giving whatever they want. But it seems, Dinah's brothers cannot be appeased because of the disgrace that has been done (against Israel, v.7)
*Bible Footnotes: "Genesis 34:7 This use of the word “Israel” implies that the family of Israel (Jacob) was developing into a distinct people or nation. They are recognized by Pharaoh as a separate nation in Ex 1:9. "
- A DECEITFUL PLOT. Is it another, 'like father, like sons', situation? Jacob's past has been marred with 'deceptions'. The sad thing is, Dinah's brothers even used "circumcision", which God had taught and commanded Abraham to do back in Genesis 17 (Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision), and to all his descendants, as a sign of His great promise-- to plot against Hamor, Shechem and the Hivites. "This is [the sign of] My covenant, which you shall keep and faithfully obey, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be the sign (symbol, memorial) of the covenant between Me and you." (Genesis 17:10-11)
Oblivious to what will soon happen to them, and willing to do everything just to have Dinah as a wife, "the young man did not hesitate to do the [required] thing, for he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter." (v.19) What was happening was not God's plan at all, the people of God (Abraham-Isaac-Jacob's descendants) was not to 'live among the Hivites and become one people.' Not to mention that Jacob and his household were just temporarily dwelling in the land of Shechem.
* "In Genesis 28:20-22, he (Jacob) made a vow that, if God would be with him, he would return to Bethel. Instead, however, after leaving Laban, he stops first at Succoth for a time, then settles in Shechem, fifteen miles short of Bethel. Perhaps he does not feel ready to go to Bethel, which means "House of God," because some of his family still hold to their pagan gods. Perhaps he feels that he knows best, and Shechem is a better spot (Bethel is about a thousand feet higher in elevation than Shechem).
God allows him this latitude, but in the Rape of Dinah and the subsequent murders, it is obvious that God wants him to honor his promise to return to Bethel. Notice Genesis 35:1: "God said to Jacob, 'Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there.'" The first thing that Jacob says to his family after being told this is to "put away the foreign gods that are among you" (verse 2)." https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/RA/k/1566/Rape-Dinah.htm
God allows him this latitude, but in the Rape of Dinah and the subsequent murders, it is obvious that God wants him to honor his promise to return to Bethel. Notice Genesis 35:1: "God said to Jacob, 'Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there.'" The first thing that Jacob says to his family after being told this is to "put away the foreign gods that are among you" (verse 2)." https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/RA/k/1566/Rape-Dinah.htm
The leader of the country, Hamor, also saw a great opportunity in the incident when he said to their people, "Will not their cattle and
their possessions and all their animals be ours [if we do this]? Let us
consent [to do as they ask], and they will live here with us.” (v.23) So "every man who went out of the city gate listened and considered what Hamor and Shechem said; and every male who was a resident of that city was circumcised." (v.24)
- 3RD DAY AFTER CIRCUMCISION. Like a sick twist from a movie, this was what the brothers of Dinah were planning to do, annihilation of all the men. After killing Hamor and Shechem, Simeon and Levi (the 2nd and 3rd son of Leah), rescued Dinah. We never heard from Dinah. Was she horrified, was she relieved to be rescued? This is full blown revenge, as the other brothers also looted the town, "they looted all their wealth, and [took captive] all their children and their wives, even everything that was in the houses." (v.29)
"Though Jacob and his family are recipients of the covenant promise and though the sons bear the covenant sign of circumcision, it appears that cutting away flesh does not cut away the evil of their hearts. Jacob sons are worse than the pagans whom they destroy. They deceive; they take revenge; they murder; they steal; they are justified in their own eyes. Instead of blessing the nations as the offspring of Abraham, they morally bankrupt, destroying rather than delivering the nations of the world."
By the end of the Chapter, we read how Jacob reacted though. This is such a messy situation, how will God act and move in their midst? Jacob fears possible attack and destruction of his household due to Simeon and Levi's actions.
* "Genesis 34:30 / This verse does not put Jacob in the best light! He appears to have been just a bit self-centered. At this point in the story, he was not thinking in terms of Dinah's best interests, only of his own. It seems that Jacob failed Dinah in several ways. He put her outside Shechem where she should have never been. He allowed continuing worship of pagan gods in his home. He was concerned more with his personal honor and image than that of his daughter. Moreover, he left it to his sons to deal with this tragedy rather than taking a leadership role."
* "Then there are the sons of Jacob, led by Simeon and Levi, full brothers to Dinah. There is no excusing the crimes that they committed, and they are subsequently punished (see Genesis 49:5-7), a part of the saga that is a story unto itself. They certainly share great blame."
In terms of revenge, this is what the word of God says:
"For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” Hebrews 10:30
"Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will avenge you." Proverbs 20:22
"Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord." Romans 12:19
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32
"Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." 1 Thessalonians 5:15
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