Read with Me
Genesis 34:1-12 (HCSB)
Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see some of the young women of the area. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, a prince of the region, saw her, he took her and raped her. He became infatuated with Dinah, daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke tenderly to her. “Get me this girl as a wife,” he told his father Hamor.
Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent until they returned. Meanwhile, Shechem’s father Hamor came to speak with Jacob. Jacob’s sons returned from the field when they heard about the incident and were deeply grieved and angry. For Shechem had committed an outrage against Israel by raping Jacob’s daughter, and such a thing should not be done.
Hamor said to Jacob’s sons, “My son Shechem is strongly attracted to your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. Live with us. The land is before you. Settle here, move about, and acquire property in it.”
Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Grant me this favor, and I’ll give you whatever you say. Demand of me a high compensation and gift; I’ll give you whatever you ask me. Just give the girl to be my wife!”
Listen with Me
This seems to many like a strange event to include in the holy Scriptures. But Moses saw fit to include it in his writings because it had far-reaching and long-lasting implications for everyone involved.
Being new to the land, the teenage Dinah was curious about how the other young women in the area lived. So, she went off to Shechem to seek out some of them in order to get acquainted with them, and maybe even so that she could find some female friends her own age. Since Shechem was a real city and not just another encampment, she felt that it must be a very sophisticated place, and that she should be safe.
Dinah was surprised, and more than a little flattered, when the prince of the city took an interest in her. But things quickly escalated, and before she realized her danger, she had been lured to the prince’s home, where he forced himself on her.
She was understandably devastated. That was not the way that courtships were conducted at all among her people, where purity and honor were supremely important. But Prince Shechem swore that he really was in love with Dinah, and he promised to make things right. He would get their fathers to arrange a marriage immediately, then it would all work out.
Shechem had Dinah wait in his house until he returned from to fetch her for the wedding, which was fine with her. She was utterly humiliated, and the thought of facing her father, mother, and brothers was more than she could bear. As long as Shechem was able to arrange the marriage, she figured that she would be okay.
Shechem explained the situation to his father, Hamor, who agreed to go to Dinah’s father, Jacob, to explain the situation and arrange the marriage. Although this kind of business was usually conducted by the fathers alone, Shechem insisted on going along so that he could explain that he really did love Dinah.
Jacob was reluctant about the proposed marriage. Dinah was too young. They had no idea what kind of people the Shechemites were. But then Hamor told him that the pair had already been intimate. That changed everything. The information didn’t make Jacob more open to the marriage, instead it made him angry beyond words. He bought some time for his response by insisting that no decision could be made without input from Dinah’s brothers. So, he sent a servant to explain the situation to them and bring them in.
They were too angry to speak. And Hamor’s invitation to be one big, happy family with the Shechemites, and Shechem’s own expression of love toward their now defiled sister, did nothing to make them less angry.
Pray with Me
Father, it is human nature to try to repair things once they are broken by “doing the right thing”. But such action doesn’t actually erase the wrongs that have been done. Instead, they merely paper over the hurt and damage that were rashly inflicted in the first place. Forgive us, Lord, for being far too careless in our dealings with others, and far too reactive in trying to come up with solutions that merely cover over, not solve, the real underlying problems. Amen.