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What the Bible says about Shechem's Self-will
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Genesis 34:2-4

By the time this incident occurred, Jacob and his family had lived in the area for a few years. After Jacob left Laban and met and dealt with Esau, he had journeyed on to Succoth, staying there long enough to build homes—or more properly booths—for his family and livestock. He had then moved on to the city of Shechem, where he had bought the land that his tents were pitched on from Hamor (Genesis 33:17-19). No doubt, there was additional contact between the peoples as they traded with each other.

Dinah had possibly been to town before on one of these trips, and Shechem may have seen her. Verse 3 relates, "[Shechem's] soul was strongly attracted to Dinah . . . and he loved the young woman." Most likely, the young man had begun to lust for her when he first saw her, developed a "crush" on her, and as a son of the local ruler, he just took what he wanted.

Did Shechem take Dinah against her will? Some of the more recent commentators spend a great deal of time dissecting this incident, and they conclude that Jacob and his sons were misogynistic men trying to control the women, so Dinah, a free spirit, chose to have consensual sex with Shechem and to live with him. This so outraged the men that they took vengeance.

The Revised King James Bible reads that Shechem "lay with her and violated her." The King James Version says that he "defiled" her. The Authorized Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, and several others translate the Hebrew to say that he "humbled" her. The Amplified Bible reads that he "seized her, lay with her, and humbled, defiled and disgraced her." The New American Standard Bible says he "took her and lay with her by force."

One source, in an attempt to prove that it was not rape, points out that the Hebrew verb translated as "humbled" or "violated" can also mean "to subdue." The verse would then read, "Shechem . . . took her and lay with her and subdued her." This hardly makes the act sound consensual!

Suffice it to say that the text is clear: Dinah was raped. She may have sinned by leaving the camp. She may have lusted to see a pagan festival with all its pageantry. She may have even dressed or walked in an inappropriate manner. But the fact remains that she was taken against her will and violated.

After the rape, Shechem puts Dinah in his house (verse 26), probably under guard, and asks his father, Hamor, to arrange a marriage. Verse 4 shows how "politely" this is done: "So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, 'Get me this young woman as a wife'"—which sounds like a young man accustomed to getting his own way.

Mike Ford
The Rape of Dinah

Related Topics: Rape of Dinah | Shechem


 

 




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