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- She Was the Daughter of Jacob and Leah. Scripture tells us that Jacob’s four wives bore 12 sons. After we read of the birth of 10 sons (six of whom were born to Leah),1 we are told, “And afterward, [Leah] bore a daughter, and she named her Dinah.”
- Her Mother Prayed for a Girl. Unlike her brothers, Dinah’s name comes with no explanation in Scripture as to why it was given. Dinah means “judgment,” and the Sages explain that Leah chose it because she had passed judgment on herself.
- Jacob Protected Her from Esau. Dinah was born when the family lived in Padan Aram, near her grandfather, Laban. As Jacob moved them back toward the Holy Land—his birthplace—they encountered her rogue uncle, Esau.
- She Was Raped and Abducted. After the family settled near the city of Shechem, the local prince, whose name was also Shechem, saw her, desired her, raped her, and took her to his home.
It rips apart the very fabric of our feminine dignity, and it requires a lot of concentrated healing to restore our sense of self-respect. Dinah, a princess in the house of Jacob, was violated and afflicted. In the beginning of this frightening story, Dinah is introduced to us as the daughter of Leah, a fact we already know.
The story of Dinah recounts an episode in which the girl (or young woman) goes out to see the “daughters of the land” (Genesis 34:1) but is raped, seduced, and/or abducted by Shechem, a Hivite prince, who subsequently falls in love with her. Shechem asks his father, Hamor, to negotiate marriage terms.
Jul 4, 2011 · Her story tells us something of God’s relationship with his people. While I want this story to be about Dinah, we’re given few details of her. But it does tell us a great deal about Simeon and Levi. They’re portrayed as deceivers and hotheads. They think they’re avenging their sister, and yes, as the Bible tells it, the Shechemites ...
Jul 13, 2023 · Genesis 34 begins by stating, “Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to look at the daughters of the land.”. Rashi, basing his view on that of ancient rabbis ...
- Israel Drazin
Dec 30, 2022 · Dinah and Shechem: A Story that Biblical Authors Kept Revising. Shechem, a local prince, falls in love with Jacob’s daughter Dinah, and her brothers approve of the marriage as long as he is willing to be circumcised. Given Deuteronomy’s prohibition against intermarriage, later scribes revised the story into a slaughter of the natives.
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Jun 13, 2018 · (1) Considering the story arc of the Bible, the customs and culture of the era, and the Bible’s emphasis on men leading and protecting their families, what might be some reasons God chose for this story to be told from the perspective of the men rather than Dinah’s and/or Leah’s perspective?
