The Free Thinkers guide to the Bible

Part 4 #7 – The Defiling of Dinah

The establishment of the Priesthood

The introduction of “Defiled/Ritually unclean”

Welcome back to the Free Thinkers guide to the bible. I created this series so that ‘anyone’ can explore and understand the bible. You don’t need to be a biblical scholar; all you need is a desire to see what is written. I will present to you several biblical examples and demonstrate the process of sifting the accounts to reveal the hidden. This process is very similar to archeology, where the layers are excavated and analyzed. Just not the dirty part, though you will be digging up some dirt along the way.

Warning:

The series unfolds like a story in a book. Please study the content in the order it is presented in order to have the best experience. The study series begins with Part 1 #1 – The Flood

Preface

In the fourth study we build upon the knowledge we acquired in the first three studies. We have found that there are at least two distinct authors and a superb redactor(s) that created, edited and merged accounts and stories in the books of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In the second study we highlighted accounts that diminished or promoted Moses and Aaron. In the third study we highlighted accounts that revealed that the “A” account writer(s) focused on Aaron and priestly matters. The “B” account writer(s) focused on telling stories and made no mention of priestly matters, Aaron was revealed to be a leader of the people and he and Hur were in charge when Moses went up to the Mount.

In this portion of the study we examine the “Defiling of Dinah” account. We will use the information we gathered in the first three studies to dig deeper and explore the areas that require close examination.

The Defiling of Dinah “A”

Gen 34:1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. 3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. 4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife. 5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him. 7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done.

8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, the soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife. 9 And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. 10 And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. 11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. 12 Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.

13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister: 14 And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us: 15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised; 16 Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone. 18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son. 19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father. 20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying, 21 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. 23 Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.

24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. 25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. 26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, 29 and all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house. 30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. 31 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

In this account we have Dinah, the daughter of Jacob mingling with the Hivite women. Shechem the son of the leader of the people took her and defiled her by lying with her.

The sons of Jacob were angry that Shechem had humbled their sister and when Shechem’s father Hamor approached them with a proposal that they join themselves to the Hivites. The sons of Jacob devised a plan to retrieve their sister Dinah and avenge her defiling.

Simeon and Levi carried out the slaughter and looting of the Hivites.

Note: This is the second mention in the bible of these children of Jacob: Levi, Simeon and Dinah.

Word Occurrences:

Circumcise(d) – 5X (מוּל - mûl)

Defiled – 4X - (טמא - ṭâmê' – morally or ceremoniously unclean)

Observation

Gen 34:7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done.

If you were observant when reading the account you may have pondered the interesting and out of place wording in verse seven…

The sons of Jacob were angry when they learned of what Shechem had done to their sister. The writer of the account stated that he had done a wicked thing that should not be done in Israel.

How do we interpret the use of Israel in this situation?

Israel was not a nation or country at the time; and Jacob was still called Jacob and not Israel.

Let’s examine a social law in Deuteronomy which is similar in context and may help clarify the situation…

Deu 22:13 If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, 14 And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: 15 Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: 16 And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her; 17 And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; 19 And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. 20 But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: 21 Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

Do we try to justify the use of Israel in the account by using mental gymnastics? Or do we realize that the ruling was common “law” at the time of the writer of the account?

I propose to you that the use of “Israel” is similar to the redactor’s insertions that add “as it is to this day” in various places.

I leave this for you to determine.

Conclusion

The pattern of evidence is obvious at this point in the studies. The “A” account writer(s) intentionally inserted priestly matters into the earlier writings to give them authority and to introduce the readers to the priestly concepts that would be further developed in the Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy accounts.

The “A” Creation account introduced the seventh day Sabbath and Blessing. (Genesis 1)

The “A” writer(s) then introduced covenant, Clean/unclean animals, the Altar, Olah offerings, a sweet savour, and the prohibition against eating meat with the blood in the Flood account. (Genesis 6-9)

The “A” writer(s) introduced the Priesthood, tithing and priestly authority in the Melchizedek account. (Genesis 14)

The “A” writer(s) introduced the eternal ritual of the eighth day circumcision in the Abrahamic covenant account. (Genesis 17)

The “A” writer(s) reinforced the priestly matters of Olah offerings and the Altar in the Sacrifice of Isaac account (Genesis 22)

The “A” writer(s) introduced the priestly matters of The House of God, Anointing and vowing to God. Tithing was also affirmed in the Stairway to heaven account (Genesis 28)

The “A” writer(s) introduced Defiled and reinforced the priestly matter of circumcision in this account (Genesis 34)

We will continue to demonstrate the gradual introduction of priestly matters into the Genesis accounts which pave the way for the Israelite priesthood, its statutes, laws and judgments.

Please continue with us in the next study:

Part #4 #8 – Jacob/Israel