Story 55 Dinah
Jacob and his clan settled on land that he had purchased near the town of Shechem. They could see its buildings off in the distance from their home. This was the place that Abraham had built his first altar in the Promised Land. Jacob built one there, too. He and his clan made it their home for another ten years.The only problem was, when Jacob crossed into the Land of Promise, he had made a vow to God. He said he would keep his promise to move all the way to Bethel.
By this time, Leah had given birth to six sons and one precious daughter, the only girl of out of all Jacob’s children. Her name was Dinah, and in this story, she was probably about fifteen years old. One day, Dinah left the safety of her family’s encampment to go out and visit with some of the other women of the area.
Now, to some people might not seem like a big deal. In places where women are safe to leave their home and walk around without protection, it would seem ridiculous to stop Dinah from leaving her home.
But the world Dinah lived in wasn’t safe. It was very foolish to go out among the Canaanites by herself. She was being very careless. In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, we saw how dangerous it could be for two men to travel without protection in those days. Imagine how much worse it was for women! Human life under the curse had become so violent and immoral that women could not travel alone.
As she went on her way, a young man saw her. His name was Shechem, and his father’s name was Hamor. Hamor was the chief ruler of the area. When Shechem saw Dinah’s beauty, he intensely desired her. At that moment, he had a choice. He could have mastered his passion and honored this young woman with protection. Instead, he used his strength to overpower her. He forced himself on her and violated her.
Afterwards, he was overwhelmed with affection for her, and spoke tender things to her. He imagined himself to be in love with her, so he held her captive in his house. What a foul notion of love! Can you imagine Dinah’s pain and fear? He had brutalized a great treasure from her, and her life would never be the same. He cared nothing for her at all! He only cared about fulfilling his own passion. So he went to his father and begged him to arrange a marriage with her.
Now, think about that for a second. What kind of parents would agree to marry their daughter to the man who violated her? What kind of father and son would dare think it was possible? But such was the wickedness of humanity.
Meanwhile, Jacob learned about what happened to Dinah. She was his only daughter, and she was being held prisoner in the home of a man who had been brutally violent against her. Yet he did nothing. Instead, he waited for his sons to come in from the fields. We don’t understand why he didn’t show rage. Why didn’t he send for his sons immediately? Why wasn’t he insanely furious with this his daughters abuser? How stunning! How repulsive!
While Jacob waited, Hamor came with his son to speak with to him. They had come to make an offer of marriage.
As Hamor and his son spoke with Jacob, news of Dinah’s violation reached the ears of her brothers out in the field. They were filled with anger and grief. Some man had used their beloved sister to pollute the world with filth and sin. They would make sure that she was protected, and there was a price to pay. They stormed in angrily from the fields to find Shechem and Hamor in their camp.
Meanwhile Hamor sat calmly with Jacob and said, “‘My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.’”
Wow. Hamor was a powerful man, and he was making a tremendous offer to Jacob and his family. He wasn’t just asking to marry Dinah to his son. He was asking these newcomers to become permanent and powerful members of his community. He offered to make them like family! Their wandering would be over.
Yet he also acted as though the terrible actions of his son never happened. He was trying to make his son’s crime go away by offering Dinah’s family riches they could not refuse. Worst of all, he did not offer to return Dinah to her home. She was still being held captive in the city!
As his father made his offers to Jacob, Shechem himself broke into the conversation. “‘Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife.’”
Dinah’s brothers were not about to give their sister to this violent man. How vile to believe her own family would hand her over to such a man!
Jacob’s sons were filled with thoughts of revenge. But they were also clever. And they had a plan. They told Shechem that they could not arrange their sister to a man who was not circumcised. In fact, they required that all the men of the city get circumcised so they could live together and arrange marriages with one another. If they would not agree to circumcision, then the brothers would take Dinah and leave the region.
This was a very bold thing to say! Dinah was still being held captive in Shechem’s home! What were the sons of Jacob up to? How would they rescue their sister? And how was circumcision going to help them get their vengeance on Hamor and Shechem?