The Taking Of Dinah And The Fall Of Shechem

The story about the taking of Dinah is amazing, and the implications of what had been done to her had significant ramifications. My previous understandings, if you can even call them that, which I had in my mind concerning this event were so far away from the reality of the situation that I am ashamed for thinking as I did.

And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the land, saw her [וירא – raw-aw] and he took her [ויקח – law-kakh] and he laid with her [וישׁכב – shaw-kab], and he humbled her [ויענה׃ – aw-naw]. (Gen 34:2)

When Shechem saw Dinah, took her, laid with her and humbled her – he treated her the way captives are to be treated in Israel after their coverings have been killed. I discus this at length in my teaching Israel’s booty – Midianite virgins and livestock.

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and Yehovah your Elohim [lawmaker and judge] delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive, and you see her [וראית – raw-aw] among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her [ולקחת – law-kakh] for your woman, then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to her and be her master [ובעלתה – ba’al], and she shall be your woman. And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her [עניתה׃ – aw-naw]. (Deu 21:10-14)

Yasher 33:10 And Shechem beheld Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and when he looked at her his soul became fixed upon Dinah.
11 And he sent and had her taken by force, and Dinah came to the house of Shechem and he seized her forcibly and lay with her and humbled her, and he loved her exceedingly and placed her in his house.

Shechem, in his taking of Dinah, treated her like a virgin captive taken in a battle with an enemy! He made her his concubine! He stole Dinah from her father! This is an adulterous action; Shechem took another man’s woman for himself.

Now add to that, the fact that Dinah was only 8 years old and the only daughter of Jacob (99) and the only sister of 10 older brothers (Joseph was younger and Benjamin had not yet been born). And, now that she has been defiled (made tamei), no righteous man will want her. And last but certainly not least, Dinah is still being held captive in Shechem’s house!

Yasher 33:12 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.
13 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.

I am always impressed by what Jacob’s seed said after they found out about the taking of Dinah.

And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done. (Gen 34:7)

Israel’s seed knew Yehovah’s eternal and unchanging word; thou shall not steal and thou shall not commit adultery.

Yasher 33:21 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 Yehovah Elohim of the whole earth commanded Noah and his sons 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.

This is why whole countries are destroyed; because their people condone wickedness in their land. And this is why the city of Shechem is going to be destroyed.

It was Simeon, Jacob’s 2nd eldest son, at 12 years of age, who came up with the plan to kill all the males of Shechem for condoning the taking of Dinah by Shechem.

Yasher 33:39 And Simeon’s advice pleased them, and Simeon and Levi [11] resolved to do unto them as it was proposed.

And they did kill all the males of the city and recover Dinah from Shechem’s house.

Yasher 34:27 And Simeon and Levi slew all the city; they left not a male remaining in the whole city.
28 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son at the edge of the sword, and they brought away Dinah from the house of Shechem and they went from there.

We took captives from Shechem, and now Jacob has an even larger group of people following him.

Yasher 34:35 And the number of women whom Simeon and Levi took captive from the city of Shechem, whom they did not slay, was eighty-five who had not known a man.
36 And amongst them was a young damsel of beautiful appearance and well favored, whose name was Bunah, and Simeon took her for a wife, and the number of the males which they took captives and did not slay, was forty-seven men, and the rest they slew.
37 And all the young men and women that Simeon and Levi had taken captives from the city of Shechem, were servants to Jacob’s seed and to their seed after them, until the day of Jacob’s seed going forth from the land of Egypt.

Only two men who had not been circumcised escaped. And they stirred up the rest of the Canaanites against Jacob. And soon after 10,000 men came with swords to destroy Jacob and his house.

Yasher 34:50 And the seven kings of the Amorites assembled with all their armies, about ten thousand men with drawn swords, and they came to fight against Jacob’s seed; and Jacob heard that the kings of the Amorites had assembled to fight against his sons, and Jacob was greatly afraid, and it distressed him.

And 10-year-old Judah answered his father saying,

Yasher 34:54 And now why art thou afraid or distressed, and why art thou displeased at my brothers, and why is thine anger kindled against them?
55 Surely our Elohim who delivered into their hand the city of Shechem and its people, he will also deliver into our hands all the Canaanitish kings who are coming against us, and we will do unto them as my brothers did unto Shechem.
56 Now be tranquil about them and cast away thy fears, but trust in Yehovah our Elohim, and pray unto him to assist us and deliver us, and deliver our enemies into our hands.

Israel serves a very powerful Elohim; it does not matter how many planes, helicopters, tanks, missiles and special forces that the world sends after us; they are going down, not us.