Introduction: Remember the old TV Western, “Wagon Train’? Every episode was called “the So-and-So story”, featuring one character who had some kind of impact or another on the wagon train’s journey to California or wherever. Sometimes the “guest” would impact one of the train’s leaders, too—but that’s another story.
This story features a young woman named Dinah. She was the daughter of Jacob and Leah. She had six full brothers and five half-brothers, so what she had to put up with must have been something for the books! As far as I know she is the only “Dinah” mentioned in the Bible.
Dinah is only mentioned in a few places, and this chapter has the main story. May all of us, regardless of our ages, learn from this story of her life and never let what happened to her happen to us or any of our children.
1 She left, she looked, she was taken
Text: Genesis 34:1-7, KJV: 1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 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. 3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. 4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife. 5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him. 7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done.
Without any intent to cause conflict, it’s probably fair to say that some people are more outgoing and desirous of interaction than others. We don’t know how long Jacob and his family had been living near Shalem “a city of Shechem (Gen.33:18)” but Jacob had built an altar to the God of Israel there. The reaction, if any, to this altar by the Shalemites or the local people isn’t known. Chances are they either didn’t know what to think, or didn’t care, at least at the time.
But there was a certain time when Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, decided she wanted to “see the daughters of the land.” Some Bible commentators believe Dinah was around 12-15 years of age at this time, and some have offered possible explanations why she left her home, such as a festival or other occasion. It could simply be that Dinah guessed her family would be living in the area for a while and since her brothers would be away for various lengths of time, she wanted some female companionship.
For whatever reason why she left her home, even for what she thought might be a short time, it was the most disastrous choice she ever made. Nothing would ever be the same for her.
Verses 2 and 3 contain a brief summary of what happened to Dinah once she got close to the people, if not the city itself. The prince of the city was a (young?) man named Shechem, son of Hamor; these were Hivites, descended from Ham (Gen. 10:17) so definitely not closely related to Israel at all. This “Shechem” saw Dinah, then took her, and “lay with her, and defiled her” or, as is stated today, assaulted her sexually. There are other terms to describe this action by Shechem, none justifiable in the least. We should be reminded that evil usually starts with a thought or a look before it proceeds into a deed or act. Many years later, King David would have done well to think before he kept looking at Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11).
But now, something seems to have changed. Shechem is now madly in love with Dinah and he “[spoke] kindly to the damsel”. One wonders what he was saying or trying to say to this young girl whom he had just violated or assaulted sexually. Was his “love” genuine, or was it just some “passing fancy”?
Whatever Shechem’s motive or reason, he at least tried to put an honorable spin on this. He asked his father, Hamor, to arrange it so that Dinah would become Shechem’s wife. If Hamor himself knew about just how a Hebrew girl was now in the grip of a Hivite prince, he didn’t let on or act as if he knew anything about it.
Jacob knew something about it, all right, and he was facing any number of emotions, it seems. He must have felt anger over his daughter being taken, and he might have been upset with Leah for not watching Dinah better (notice Leah is not mentioned at all in this story except as Dinah’s mother). Definitely he was in anguish over what had happened, as well all adding up to a genuine sense of frustration. Dinah was gone and Jacob couldn’t do anything about it at the time. So, Jacob “held his peace” until his sons came back from their work.
Possibly during this interlude, between Jacob’s knowledge (and how did he come to know about this?), Hamor now went to Jacob’s land. He did this to “commune” with Jacob; whether he had planned on also meeting with 11 angry brothers is not noted! Dinah’s brothers “were grieved, and they were very wroth” which to me means all of them were furious. I remember a saying that someone feeling like this “was at their boiling point”!
And they felt this rage because Shechem had taken their sister, forcibly, and had assaulted her sexually. To say the least, this broke every law of decency and led to a very dark period in the life of Jacob and his family.
2 They came, they requested, they suggested
Text, Genesis 34:8-12, KJV: 8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife. 9 And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. 10And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. 11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. 12 Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.
It’s not sure who came first, here, Jacob’s sons or Hamor and Shechem, his son. If these two brought Dinah along, Moses doesn’t say here, but I personally think she was under some kind of security in Shechem’s house, palace, or wherever he lived. I also think that if he had brought her, she wouldn’t have left with him—her brothers would have made sure of that! If two men were to face eleven angry men, those are not very good odds in any case!
Hamor started first to plead his case, so to speak. Remember in those days most marriages were or had to be “Okayed” by the parents and possibly other male relatives. Jacob knew about this himself, as he had agreed to work seven years each for Rachel (and, Leah, by the way). So now the negotiations began, Hamor asking for Shechem to be allowed to marry Dinah. There may be a slight understatement in verse 8, as Hamor declares “My son longs for your daughter” and indeed he had! Why else would Shechem have taken Dinah deliberately, if not forcefully, in the first place if he didn’t “long” for her?
This was the “pitch” in order to convince Jacob and his sons to let Shechem marry Dinah. But he didn’t stop there: he made a further suggestion that sounds innocent enough at first, but as Scripture records later, it could have been a trap for Jacob and his family.
That suggestion was along these lines, “Intermarry with us, let’s join our sons with your daughters (how many of these were there at this time?), and let’s join your sons with our daughters! You’ll dwell with us, you can grow rich, and it’ll all be ours—oops, yours!”
Apparently Jacob and his sons weren’t convinced of this, and that may be one reason why Shechem himself made a second pitch or appeal for Dinah. He asked if he could find grace in their sight (what could a heathen ever know about grace?) and then offered them a blank check, so to speak. He said, “Tell me whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you! Dowry (the value of a girl who was no longer part of the household)? You’ve got it! A gift (on top of the dowry?)? Name your price and let’s make a deal! Just give me the ‘damsel’ to be my wife (and then leave us alone--implied)!”
These offers and suggestions must have impressed Jacob and his sons. The sons, then, replied to Hamor and Shechem with an offer of their own.
3 One request, one rite, one remedy
Text, Genesis 34:13-17, KJV: 13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister: 14 And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us: 15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised; 16 Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
This is where the darkness of the whole situation begins. It was bad enough when Dinah left the campsite of her family, and worse when Shechem took her and held her as captive. The notes in Dake’s Annotated Bible (paraphrased) suggest Shechem was able to convince Dinah to stay with him. At first glance, sure, this might appeal to a young girl who had never seemed to leave her home and family and now could be a princess or even a queen! She was under the care of the city’s crown prince or heir to the throne!
What these men—Jacob and his sons—were thinking as they heard Hamor and Shechem make their pitch is anybody’s guess. If anything like this had happened to my sisters or my daughter, the man who had taken her away would be the last person I’d ever want to see. Bargain or no bargain, Hamor and Shechem had Dinah and they didn’t seem to want to let her go.
But now, Jacob’s sons are engaging in some bargaining of their own. The darkness of sexual assault was bad enough; now Jacob’s sons are going to make things darker still. These men (and where, one might ask, was Jacob at this time?) planned to use some deceit of their own, even as they planned revenge on Hamor and Shechem.
Their reason or rationale seemed legitimate: “we are a special people, proved by circumcision and we can’t give any of our women to any man who isn’t circumcised.” They also added an “oh, by the way, if every male among you becomes circumcised, no problem, we’ll stay with you and intermingle. But if not (be advised—implied), we’re going to take Dinah back and leave (whether you like it or not—implied).”
Jacob’s sons had just laid down the terms of a deal between themselves and Hamor and Shechem. My guess is that Jacob’s sons stood in place, with their arms folded, waiting for Hamor and Shechem’s to make their decision.
And it was going to get even darker after this.
4 If we give a little now, we can get a lot more later
Text, Genesis 34:18-24, KJV: 18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son. 19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father. 20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying, 21 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. 23 Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us. 24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
As incredible as it sounds, Hamor and Shechem agreed to the terms laid down by Jacob’s sons. Shechem himself seemed to take the lead, as he “deferred not to do the thing” or become one of the first, if not the first, to become circumcised. To his credit, he had delight in Jacob’s daughter (obviously, why else would he have taken Dinah in the first place?) and, in Moses’ words, Shechem “was more honourable (sic) than all the house of his father.” To me, this seems like faint praise: what would the other members of his father’s house have done if they had had the chance to grab Dinah for themselves?
After this last meeting, Hamor and Shechem returned to the city gate and spoke with the men of the city. They then went on and made a speech, informing their citizens that Jacob and his family were peaceable (and they were; as up to this point Jacob and his sons had never been in combat with anything except, perhaps, wild animals) and that those of Jacob’s household had agreed to intermarry with our people on one condition: that we men become circumcised.
To perhaps encourage the men, or perhaps to appeal to their greed, Hamor and Shechem either lied or gave their true motives: “Won’t what is theirs soon become ours—the cattle, their substance, and every (other type of) beast? To get it all, the only thing we have to do is become circumcised—like them. We become like them, and we’ll get everything they brought here!”
The men bought it. Every one of them agreed to become circumcised. They may have thought the pain now would be worth the profit later.
But they were about to undergo something much, much worse.
5 The rite, and the wrath
Text, Genesis 34:25-31, KJV: 25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. 26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, 29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
The men of Shalem had agreed to undergo circumcision for a strange reason (for them). Their ruler’s son wanted to marry Dinah, daughter of Jacob, but part of the bargain was for every male in Shalem to become circumcised. They did so, and three days later these men were still in great pain. One wonders if any kind of anesthetics even existed in those days, or how long such would last. Even in some TV Western movies (“Two Mules for Sister Sara” comes to mind), there’s usually a scene where the star or hero or somebody wants a bottle of whiskey or something to help dull the pain (hey, I didn’t write any of the scripts). The pain of the circumcision procedure seems to have lasted a good while; here, the men were still suffering three days after the fact. So when Moses wrote that the men were “sore”, he knew exactly what it meant.
And two of Dinah’s brothers knew what that meant, too. Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s second and third oldest brothers, took some prompt action. Who knows what they said to any of the others in Jacob’s land, but they were going to get Dinah back by any means necessary. They took their swords and set out like a two-man wrecking crew, killing every male in Shalem.
They didn’t stop there, either. Simeon and Levi found Hamor and Shechem, both probably in as much pain as the other men, and killed them too. They found Dinah and took her, then they left, most likely to Jacob’s land. Full disclosure, I don’t know very much of the original language but one source stated that Simeon and Levi basically had to take Dinah back “forcibly” or—against her will?
Did she want to stay with Shechem and not go back to her family? This time, she was outvoted, two to one, and her brothers made sure she got back home. The Scriptures are silent as to what kind of reaction there was to her coming back home but I’m guessing there was relief, rejoicing, and tears of joy as she was back with her family.
But the story doesn’t end with this, not yet. The sons of Jacob, verse 27 states, went back and “spoiled the city”, probably meaning they looted everything they could find. Why? “Because they had defiled their sister” and truly, Shechem had done so. The brothers also took the wealth, livestock, and probably everything they could carry. Oh yes, they took the wives of Shalem captive, plus the “little ones.” Note that they did not kill any of them but the final destiny of these people is not known.
Before, Dinah had left her home, and paid dearly for it. Now, the people who were responsible for this paid even more dearly. Many years later, Paul would write to the Galatians that a man reaps what he sows (Galatians 6:9).
That was true then, now, and always.
Epilogue: A pair of perspectives
Text, Gen 34:30-31, KJV: 30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. 31 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?
Jacob seemed to be concerned more about himself and his survival. Note that he didn’t applaud Simeon and Levi for rescuing Dinah, and notice he didn’t say anything about his sons plundering the goods of the people of Shalem. His perspective might have been colored by the fact that Dinah was Leah’s daughter, and Simeon and Levi were his second and third sons, also by Leah, and Jacob never seemed to love her as much as he did Rachel.
Was he disappointed by their successes? Or would he have been willing to see Dinah kept under Shechem’s care? Did he think perhaps, that if his daughter became wife of the king’s son—a princess or even a queen—he would prosper even more? Nobody but God and Jacob know for sure what kinds of thoughts were going through his mind. But for sure, he was concerned about his own survival primarily.
Simeon and Levi had a different perspective, though, and that was getting their sister back no matter what the cost might be. They did so, and got Dinah back where she belonged: with her family, and with the people of God. The reply of Simeon and Levi to Jacob’s mini-rant is brief and to the point: “Should he treat our sister (not, “your daughter”) like a prostitute?” There may be more to the story that they knew and we don’t, but these brothers had one thing in mind, and they did it.
They got their sister back from the man who stole her from them.
The “Dinah Jacobs” story doesn’t really have much about Dinah; much more about the fate she was facing, depending on whose bargain was accepted. Although her brothers were as guilty of deceit as Hamor and Shechem, they did what nobody else seemed willing to do and that was to reclaim their sister. There was one positive aspect about this episode, and that was the whole family was going to return to Bethel, and to the God of Jacob. But that’s another message.
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).
