DINAH AND THE PEOPLE OF SHECHEM Jacob returned to the land of Canaan, and with him were eleven sons, besides Dinah, a daughter of his wife Lea. As Dinah went out to see the daughters of the land, she was violated by Shechem the son of Hamor, for which the sons of Jacob were grieved and becameangry; so they killed the people of Shechem with the edge of the sword, plundered the city, and took all their wives and children captives. That action very much troubled Jacob. 1- Shechem violates Dinah 1-2. 2- Hamor asks for Dinah as a wife for his son 3-12. 3- The deceitful response Jacob’s sons 13-31. 1- SHECHEM VIOLATES DINAH “Now Dinah the daughter of Lea, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land; and when Shechem the son of Hamor, the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her” (Gen. 34:1-2). In our talk about Jacob’s sons (Gen. 30), we saw that the eleven (later twelve), refer to the fruits of the Spirit, while Dinah, as a daughter, refers to the fruit of the flesh, that stays sanctified and responding to the fruit of the spirit, as long as the flesh is controlled in good order. But, to let Dinah go out to see the daughters of the land, she would surely lose her sanctity, corrupt the peace of her father and brothers, and cause the death of many. That is why the spiritual apostle Paul says: “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9: 27). Sarah was in the tent behind Abraham, as Abraham encountered God and His two angels (Gen. 18:9-10), representing the body under control in the Lord, that seeks the yearnings of the Holy Spirit. That is why the two of them enjoyed the divine promise to have Isaac; while Dinah going out to see the daughters of the land, represents the spoiled body that destroys the soul, and deprives it of its peace. Dinah, by going out to see the girls of the world, to follow their ways in life, lost her virginity and freedom, and was violated by the world. 2- HAMOR ASKS FOR DINAH, AS A WIFE FOR HIS SON Hamor came to Jacob, asking for Dinah to be a wife for his son Shechem, after the latter violated her, for which Jacob was shocked, but he kept quiet (Gen. 34:5), waiting for the return of her brothers from the field to tell them about the incident. Considering what was done “a disgraceful thing in Israel, by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done,” they thought of revenge, not against Shechem alone, nor against his father together with him, but against all the inhabitants of the city; Simeon and Levi took over themselves the execution of that inhuman task. Hamor assumed that he was making up for Jacob’s honor, by asking for Dinah to be a wife for his son, offering a proposition, he considered generous, to enter with Jacob’s household into marriage relationships, to become one family; and to dwell and trade and acquire possessions in their land. Moreover, Hamor asked Jacob and his sons to set the dowry as high as they like, and he would be ready to give it willingly and gladly, according to what they say, for the sake of his son’s love to Dinah! If Shechem means ‘shoulder,’ and Hamor is a word derived from ‘homar, or donkey,’ what Shechem and his father did, refers to the work of the devil, who 4 persuades creatures to be defiant towards God, and to behave according to carnal thought, like an animal, a donkey. The devil here violates the human soul, to get it corrupted like Dinah, by stubborn spirit and lustful thoughts. Then, pretending to solve the problem, he approaches with exaggerated tenderness and generosity, and reveals his wish for making a close marriage relationship, presenting his land, trade, and possessions as a dowry, in an attempt to draw the soul away from its true Jacob! These are the devil’s tricks in every generation, attempting to draw the soul away from faith, through appearances of tenderness, generous giving, and making closer relationship. This is why the apostle Paul warns us, saying, ”What communion has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14) 3- THE DECEITFUL RESPONSE JACOB’S SONS If Hamor did wrong by counting marriage like a trade bargain, being able, by his land and wealth, to acquire Dinah, Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi in particular, did wrong by their hypocrisy, and by taking advantage under the name of religion to take revenge in an inhuman way. Simeon and Levi demanded, as a condition of their consent, that Hamor, his son, and every male of the people of Shechem become circumcised in order to permit this marriage and they all become one family. As their demand was met, Simeon and Levi took their swords and killed all the males of the city, on the third day, and took Dinah out from Shechem’s house and left. Their brothers took advantage of the situation: they killed many, plundered the city, and took the children and the women captives. It was a savage crime that surely troubled Jacob’s soul, for fear that the inhabitants of the land would come together and avenge the people of Shechem, since he and his household were foreigners and few in number. If Jacob rebuked his two sons for their craftiness, he was actually drinking from the same cup that he had mixed; having previously used malice, himself, in supplanting his father’s blessing; to have all his life a continuous series of bitterness, because of the deceit of others, even if these others were his own sons. Laban, his uncle deceived him ten times; and he remains until his last days reaping the result of what he had sown.
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