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| Bible scholars believe that the story of the rape of Dinah exists to establish a claim to Shechem, as well as to explain why Simeon and Levi have very little territory of their own. A majority of scholars of ] believe that Dinah is an invention, designed only to fit the politically motivated story of her rape <ref>], ''Who wrote the bible?''; also ] on Shechem</ref>; likewise, Shechem the person is an ] for Shechem itself <ref>ibid</ref>. This interpretation is supported by the idea that Dinah, alone among Jacob's known children, does not beget a tribe of Israel; others claim that this could more obviously be due to the fact that she is a daughter instead of a son {{citeneeded}} - though this implies the nonsense that women are unable to have children. | Bible scholars believe that the story of the rape of Dinah exists to establish a claim to Shechem, as well as to explain why Simeon and Levi have very little territory of their own. A majority of scholars of ] believe that Dinah is an invention, designed only to fit the politically motivated story of her rape <ref>], ''Who wrote the bible?''; also ] on Shechem</ref>; likewise, Shechem the person is an ] for Shechem itself <ref>ibid</ref>. This interpretation is supported by the idea that Dinah, alone among Jacob's known children, does not beget a tribe of Israel; others claim that this could more obviously be due to the fact that she is a daughter instead of a son {{citeneeded}} - though this implies the nonsense that women are unable to have children. | ||
| Moreover, in the list of the individuals who went to Egypt with Jacob, Dinah is mentioned as if an afterthought {{fact}} |
Moreover, in the list of the individuals who went to Egypt with Jacob, Dinah is mentioned as if an afterthought {{fact}}. ] cites the discrepancy between the number of names present in the text (70) and the figure the Torah claims was the number that went went down to Egypt (69) by explaining that the seventieth person was ], who was born as the family passed over the border to Egypt, though this would be impossible with many traditions: Jochebed is said to have been born when Levi was 64, but he was 57 at the time of the descent. Which tradition is true, if either is, is unclear. | ||
| Another story of how Shechem is obtained occurs in the |
Another story of how Shechem is obtained occurs in the Bible, but in that tale, it is simply purchased by Jacob from its occupants {{bibleverse||Genesis|33:19|JP}}. In the ], the rape story belongs to the ] source, and it fits the pre-occupation of that source with tales concerning the southern tribes, while the ''he just bought it'' account comes from the ] source, which is more complementary towards the later history of Shechem in general <ref>ibid, et al.</ref>. | ||
| {{Sons of Jacob}} | {{Sons of Jacob}} | ||
Revision as of 15:15, 24 September 2006
Dinah (דִּינָה "Judged; vindicated", Standard Hebrew Dina, Tiberian Hebrew Dînāh), mentioned in the Book of Genesis as the daughter of Jacob and Leah. She is also described as the full sister of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, and the half-sister of Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin.
Biblical story
Dinah is alluded to only briefly in the Bible; a passing mention in a couple of locations, and in a story known as The Rape of Dinah. When Jacob returns to Canaan with his wives and children, he buys a piece of land in Shechem (now called Nablus). Dinah goes out to see the other young women in town and is spotted by the prince of the region, who is also called Shechem. He takes her to his palace and rapes her. Afterwards he is so smitten by her that he begs his father, named Hamor, to ask for her hand in marriage from Jacob. Jacob withholds judgment about the incident until his sons return from the field and hear of it.
Dinah's brothers are outraged by what has happened. Hamor and Shechem try to pacify them by suggesting a proper wedding, a huge dowry, and a permanent treaty benefitting both peoples. Dinah's brothers concede the marriage on condition that they and all the men of the city agree to be circumcised. The condition is agreed to and Shechem and his people are circumcised en masse.
Three days later, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi enter the city and slaughter all the male inhabitants, including Hamor and Shechem. The men are unable to fight back because they are all weakened from the pain of circumcision. Simeon and Levi plunder the city completely, taking all the cattle and flocks in the field and all the possessions in their homes, as well as taking all the women and children captive. Afterwards Jacob criticises them, and points out that their rash act will put him and his family in danger. A man of his word, he fears that his sons' violation of their promise of marriage will anger the surrounding Canaanite nations, and lead them to gang up on him and destroy him. The brothers, however, defend themselves by stating, "Should he make our sister a harlot?"
Elaborations in the Midrash
According to the Midrash, Simeon and Levi were only 14 and 13 years old, respectively, at the time of this event. They possessed great moral zealousness (later, in the episode of the Golden Calf, the Tribe of Levi would demonstrate their absolute commitment to Moses' leadership by killing all the people involved in idol worship), but their zealotry was misdirected here. On his deathbed, Jacob cursed their anger and divided their tribal portions in the land of Israel so that they would not be able to regroup and fight arbitrarily. The Tribe of Simeon received land within the territory of Judah and served as itinerant teachers in Israel, traveling from place to place to earn a living. The Tribe of Levi received a few Cities of Refuge spread out over Israel, and relied for their sustenance on the priestly gifts that the Children of Israel gave them.
When Jacob's family prepares to descend to Egypt Genesis 45:8–27, the Torah lists the 70 family members who went down together. Simeon's children include "Saul, the son of the Canaanite woman." According to Rashi, this is the son conceived by Dinah when Shechem raped her. After the brothers killed all the men in the city, including Shechem and his father, Dinah refused to leave the palace unless Simeon agreed to marry her and remove her shame. (According to Nachmanides, she only lived in his house and did not have marital relations with him.) Therefore Dinah's son is counted among Simeon's progeny, and he received a portion of land in Israel in the time of Joshua.
Origin
Bible scholars believe that the story of the rape of Dinah exists to establish a claim to Shechem, as well as to explain why Simeon and Levi have very little territory of their own. A majority of scholars of Biblical criticism believe that Dinah is an invention, designed only to fit the politically motivated story of her rape ; likewise, Shechem the person is an eponym for Shechem itself . This interpretation is supported by the idea that Dinah, alone among Jacob's known children, does not beget a tribe of Israel; others claim that this could more obviously be due to the fact that she is a daughter instead of a son - though this implies the nonsense that women are unable to have children.
Moreover, in the list of the individuals who went to Egypt with Jacob, Dinah is mentioned as if an afterthought . Rashi cites the discrepancy between the number of names present in the text (70) and the figure the Torah claims was the number that went went down to Egypt (69) by explaining that the seventieth person was Jochebed, who was born as the family passed over the border to Egypt, though this would be impossible with many traditions: Jochebed is said to have been born when Levi was 64, but he was 57 at the time of the descent. Which tradition is true, if either is, is unclear.
Another story of how Shechem is obtained occurs in the Bible, but in that tale, it is simply purchased by Jacob from its occupants Genesis 33:19. In the documentary hypothesis, the rape story belongs to the Jahwist source, and it fits the pre-occupation of that source with tales concerning the southern tribes, while the he just bought it account comes from the Elohist source, which is more complementary towards the later history of Shechem in general .
| Children of Jacob | |
|---|---|
| With Leah | |
| With Rachel | |
| With Bilhah, Rachel's servant | |
| With Zilpah, Leah's servant | |
| Adopted | |
Non-biblical uses of the name Dinah
- Dinah is mentioned in the classic song I've Been Working on the Railroad
- Dinah is the main character in The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, a novel loosely based on the biblical story.
- Dinah is the name of Alice's cat in Alice in Wonderland.
- The series Xenogears and Xenosaga both make reference to the first twelve children of Jacob. In Xenogears, Dinah is an Anima Relic aligned with the Omnigear Regulus. In Xenosaga, Dinah is the name of the E.S. (Ein Sof) piloted by KOS-MOS and Shion.
References
- Scherman, Nosson (1993). The Chumash. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Mesorah Publications, Ltd. ISBN 0-89906-014-5
- Richard Elliott Friedman, Who wrote the bible?; also Jewish Encyclopedia on Shechem
- ibid
- ibid, et al.