Women of the Bible Pt. 3

Dinah. Tamar. For anyone that might be familiar with the daughters of Jacob and David, the first word that comes to one's mind might be "rape/raped". Sadly, the daughters of these two great men are forever known as the victims of this atrocious crime. The worst part, I believe, is that in many cases their stories are untold and discouraged from being taught. Women are underrepresented in the Bible, that much is a given. Yet it is these stories that never get taught in Sunday/Sabbath schools both in Christian and Jewish tradition until the students are much older. I will be focusing on the story of Dinah.

Dinah's Basic Facts:

• Daughter of Patriarch Jacob
• Only daughter
• Was raped/kidnapped by Canaanite prince
• Brothers killed the prince and majority of the city
• Told in Genesis Chapter 34 

As a nomadic tribe, Jacob often dealt with the rulers of nearby cities as one would rent a hotel room. By a particular city (the name of which is not given), Dinah decided to visit the women in the city. There she met Shechem the prince. Shechem desired Dinah and 'defiled her' or in other words, raped her. Now according to Deuteronomy 22 (link) if a woman is raped, the man must marry her. But this is Jewish law and Shechem was not Jewish. Despite the princes' willingness to pay a bride-price, Jacob couldn't let his daughter who was the great granddaughter of Abraham just marry a heathen and let their blood mix. If they were going to marry the men of the city would have to convert and had to be circumcised.

Since grown men of the city were being circumcised, they would be in pain, probably in a fever due to lack of medication. And Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, decided that they would attack the city while the men were recovering. They killed Shechem, his father, and all the males. They then took all the wealth from the city. 

While there is more to how this story ends, Dinah's part ends there. Jacob is furious at his sons to say the least but they respond, "Should he treat our sister as a harlot?" Now that is what this entire passage has been leading up to. Simeon and Levi were defending their sister's honor. Sure she would've been married but the entire family would know that it was simply to cover up the rape. 

But a different view of this entire incident has taken on a feminist spin. Anita Diamant, author of The Red Tent, doesn't create the story on the premise that Dinah was raped but that the sex was consensual and that Dinah was truly in love with Shechem. It is an interesting point of view and certainly a modern one. And one that I don't agree with. Whether or not Dinah was really raped, I don't understand why we have to reject it. I don't think it gives power to Dinah or that it gives power to women. One can't erase an incident like that. I see Diamant trying to show that Dinah was in love but her love didn't fit in with her family's plans and wishes and wind up taking over, leaving Dinah defenseless in a patriarchal society. 

That might have been the real incident. We don't have any way to prove it. But it isn't the story in the Bible and I find it degrading to Dinah. In Exodus when listing the families of Joseph (Dinah's younger half brother), Dinah and her son is mentioned. No father. I think this shows that despite her rape, despite this horrible and traumatic incident, Dinah was able to move on with her life and raise a child that would claim heritage to one of the greatest nations at the time. 

She may not be taught in schools or included in lessons but Dinah's story is important when learning about women of the Bible. An entire chapter is dedicated to her, rare for a woman in this text. She shows the ugly side of the world, a side that existed back in those times and that she made it through and empowered herself.