I. The Violation of Dinah (v. 1-5)
A. Genesis 34:1 – And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
1. Dinah - דינה Diynah, “judgment”
2. Dinah is the only daughter mentioned. There may have been other daughters, but the mention of Dinah’s name could be a result of the significance of the following event.
3. Dinah was about 15 or 16 years old
4. It seems as though she went out to “see the daughters of the land” unescorted. This would indicate that she may have indeed been the only daughter or at least the only daughter of this age.
a) Jasher indicates that Rachel and Leah went as well
5. This also could indicate some teenage rebellion, in that Dinah wanted to “run with the herd” against the counsel of her parents
a) Its good for children to remain under the watchful eye of their parents as long as possible
b) Young people are so naïve, yet “wise in their own eyes”
§ Isaiah 5:21 - Woe unto [them that are] wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
§ The pride of youthful indiscretion leads to snares that can ruin a life
B. Genesis 34:2 - 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.
1. Shechem - שכם Shĕkem, "back" or "shoulder"
2. Hamor - חמור Chamowr, "he-ass"
3. Hivite - חוי Chivviy – “villagers”; 6th generation of descendants of Canaan , the son of Ham, who were living in northern Canaan near Mount Hermon at the time of the conquest
4. There appears to be no indication of consent nor resistance on the part of Dinah
a) She was in the wrong place at the wrong time and the situation engulfed her.
b) Likewise, our culture devours the young people and robs them of their innocence before they have a chance to mature and understand the tactics of the enemy
c) It is important for parents and those who have been given authority over our children to prepare them for these attacks and instruct them on how to avoid these situations.
5. Shechem demonstrated a sense of entitlement, he was prince he could have whatever or whomever he wished.
a) Just like the enemy, wishes to exert power and control over others
6. 4 Steps to sin, each progressively worse than the previous, same song, same dance, Satan employs these three little tactics used in the garden against Eve.
a) Shechem
§ Saw her – Lust of the eyes
§ Took her – Pride of Life
§ Lay with her – Lust of the Flesh
§ Defiled her – Pride of Life
b) Eve (Genesis 3:6)
§ Tree was good for food - Lust of the flesh
§ Pleasant to the eyes - Lust of the eyes
§ Desired to make one wise - Pride of life
c) 1 John 2:16 – For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
7. What does defiled mean here in Genesis 34:2?
a) ענה `anah – a verb meaning to humble, put down, oppress, afflict, dishonor, humiliate from the root word meaning to answer
b) Possibly refers to holding her against her will or exerting power over her
C. Genesis 34:3 - And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.
1. How some things never change, indiscretion leads to sin, leads to death
2. Compare Shechem and Dinah to Jacob and Rachel.
a) Jacob à honorable, showed respect for Rachel and her father
§ Honorable
§ Respected the dignity of Rachel
§ Showed reverence for Rachel’s father Laban
§ Patiently worked for the privilege to marry Rachel
§ Sought to honor his father and mother by marrying his own people
§ Waited for God’s timing on who to marry
b) Shechem à dishonorable, showed disrespect to Dinah and her father
§ Dishonorable
§ Disrespected Dinah
§ Showed irreverence to Jacob
§ Impatiently took what his flesh desired
§ Brought a difficult circumstance on the house of his father
§ Timing was a response to fleshly desire
D. Genesis 34:4 - And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
1. Sounds like a child wanting a toy…
a) Get me this, get me that, etc…
b) Treating Dinah as property rather than his future wife
2. Shechem appears to be attempting to correct his past mistakes
E. Genesis 34:5 - 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.
1. Defiled - טמא tame', to be unclean, become unclean, become impure
a) Different word than defiled used in verse 2
2. How did Jacob hear of this news? Was this a public spectacle? Who would have known of this other than Dinah herself? Possibly Leah or Rachel if the Jasher account is accurate
3. Jacob shows great restraint, remember he is ~104 years old
4. Jasher 33:12-15 – And they came and told the thing unto Jacob, and when Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, Jacob sent twelve of his servants to fetch Dinah from the house of Shechem, and they went and came to the house of Shechem to take away Dinah from there. And when they came Shechem went out to them with his men and drove them from his house, and he would not suffer them to come before Dinah, but Shechem was sitting with Dinah kissing and embracing her before their eyes. And the servants of Jacob came back and told him, saying, when we came, he and his men drove us away, and thus did Shechem do unto Dinah before our eyes. And Jacob knew moreover that Shechem had defiled his daughter, but he said nothing, and his sons were feeding his cattle in the field, and Jacob remained silent until their return.
a) Jasher provides a much more provocative account of the ordeal in that he mocked Jacobs servants who came to rescue Dinah.
b) The actions taken by Shechem after the incident did as much to stoke the flames of anger as the incident itself.
II. Request and Agreement to the Terms of Marriage (v. 6-18)
A. Genesis 34:6 - And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.
1. Parents paying the price for the foolishness of their children
2. Shechem does not offer any repentance for what he had done, but sends his father to negotiate with Jacob. This demonstrates his tremendous arrogance and sense of entitlement.
3. Hamor, meaning “he-ass”, bears the burden of informing Jacob of the events that transpired between his son and Dinah, his name is fitting as an ass is a beast of burden, Hamor carries the burden of his sons indiscretion.
B. Genesis 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
1. What were they doing in the field? Working, what they should have been doing (why wasn’t Dinah working?)
2. How did they hear it if they were in the field working? Who came and told them?
3. Why are they interfering in matters reserved for their father?
a) Remember Laban, Rebekah’s brother had a prominent role in deciding whether to allow Abraham’s servant take her or not. This could have been a cultural norm for the sons of the household to be involved in these types of decisions.
b) Reuben was about 6 years older than Dinah so the ages of the brothers ranged from 15-22 years old (Benjamin was not born yet)
4. 2 Samuel 13:12 - And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel
a) Folly - נבלה nĕbalah, senselessness, disgraceful, immorality, disgrace
b) A similar offense was when David’s son Ammon raped his sister Tamar it is referred to as the same thing…folly
5. Jasher 33:20-21 – And the men were very much grieved concerning their sister, and they all came home fired with anger, before the time of gathering in their cattle. And they came and sat before their father and they spoke unto him kindled with wrath, saying, surely death is due to this man and to his household, because the Lord God of the whole earth commanded Noah and his children that man shall never rob, nor commit adultery; now behold Shechem has both ravaged and committed fornication with our sister, and not one of all the people of the city spoke a word to him.
a) The anger and need for justice to be done against Shechem is a unifying force among the sons of Israel
b) Their statement here lays the groundwork of justification for the following actions.
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