And Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
Genesis 34 opens with one sentence about a girl paying a visit. Everything terrible in the chapter flows out of it. Commentators explain it by looking back a chapter — to where her father had chosen to live.
Dinah walks out from a settled home, not a tent. Writers trace the whole episode back to one decision. Jacob bought land in Canaan instead of travelling through it as his fathers had.
At Succoth, where our patriarch first arrived, he builds a house. Then at Shalem, in Shechem, he buys a field. Abraham and Isaac, truer to the call of God, never did this and never would have done it. How could he count on moral safety in such circumstances? Jacob had exchanged the tent for a house, and the pilgrim stranger had become a citizen and a property owner. … The Lord did not give Abraham so much land as to set his foot on (Acts 7:5); but here at Shalem in Shechem, Jacob will have a parcel of ground, and buys it for an inheritance.
The verse identifies Dinah by her mother and father before it says a word about what she did. That naming invites a comparison with the family she belonged to.
"Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land." Genesis 34:1. Was this the way of the house of Abraham? Was this the family of the separated patriarch keeping the way of the Lord? Had Abraham been this careless? What dealings had he arranged for his children with either the sons or the daughters of the land?
If a father makes his home among a people, his daughter will want their company. Writers read Dinah's outing as the natural next move after Jacob's.
Jacob seems to have grown tired of the pilgrim path, and gave in to the temptation to settle down and build a home. … Her father had settled down in the world instead of living as a heavenly pilgrim passing through it. What could be more natural than that his daughter should want to be friends with the world? … Who would have guessed that trading a tent for a house could produce such bitter fruit?
The blame is not laid on Jacob alone. One writer pictures a young girl left to herself among many brothers.
Jacob's only daughter no doubt had a difficult part to play among so many brothers. She may have been about fourteen or fifteen years old. Whether or not her parents approved, Dinah went out to see the daughters of the land. … What had she to do with them at all? Everyone but the godless knew that the people of the land would be judged in time, and that Abraham's descendants would own it. Their wickedness was great, though not yet full. … She seems to have been as independent of her mother as the young men certainly were of their father's advice. Her wandering curiosity exposed her to the young prince of the land, who was taken with her and, carried away by his passion, seduced her — if he did not force her.
Commentators differ on what happened next. One writer puts the blame in two places.
Jacob's sons, when they came home, were not only grieved but very angry at Shechem. Did they not stop to think that the blame belonged not only to Shechem but to Dinah as well? For though this was sin, it was not rape.
The rest of the chapter is corruption first, then slaughter. Writers name the two streams evil has always run in.
The whole of Genesis 34 traces the unhappy results that came from the lowering of Jacob's separation from the world, which we have just noticed. Its evil effects showed up not in Jacob himself but in his family. The tide of evil runs in two broad channels: violence and corruption. They are first mentioned in Genesis 6:12-13. … The world is just the same today. How often we have to hang our heads in shame and admit it. A little world-bordering on our part, as Christian parents, has led to sorrow and even disaster in our families. In this chapter the corruption comes first. … The anger came to a head in the atrocious violence of Simeon and Levi.
- House. Jacob traded a tent for a house and a bought field. So "the pilgrim stranger had become a citizen and a property owner." The first move in the chapter is his, not Dinah's.
- Habit. The verse names her parents on purpose. Abraham arranged no dealings for his children with the sons or daughters of the land. Jacob's household no longer looked like his.
- Heir. A daughter makes her father's address her own. Settle in the world, and children will want the world's friendship.
- Herself. She is not only a victim of her upbringing. Her "wandering curiosity" and independence from her mother exposed her. One writer says the blame was not Shechem's alone.
- Harvest. From one walk came corruption and then violence. Evil always runs in those two channels. A little world-bordering by parents can end in disaster at home.
And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and humbled her.
Genesis 34 opens with Dinah going out to visit the local women, and this verse is where the trouble breaks. Behind Shechem's act stands a father who had bought land and built a house among these people. Commentators trace much of what follows back to that choice.
Commentators tie this scene to an earlier choice of Jacob's: he bought land at Shechem and built a house.
One wrong step away from our true position before the Lord leads to many a sin, scandal, and sorrow. So we find here as the consequence of Jacob's buying the land of the Hivite, and building himself a house. His stay at Succoth and Shechem covers some ten years. He had to be unsettled before he would return to his pilgrim place. The way back was painful for all, and it brought Jacob deep shame, humiliation, and fear.
Another writer asks what fruit that settling produced.
Jacob seems to have grown weary of the pilgrim path, and yielded to the temptation to settle down and build a home. And what was the fruit of this action? His daughter Dinah goes out to see the daughters of the land. Her father had settled down in the world instead of living as a heavenly pilgrim passing through it. What could be more natural than that his daughter should want to be friends with the world? Who would have guessed that swapping a tent for a house could yield such bitter fruit?
The verse names him three ways: son of Hamor, a Hivite, and prince of the land. So who were the Hivites?
One of the races found early in Palestine: they were descendants of Ham through Canaan (Genesis 10:17). Jacob, on his return to Palestine, found Shechem occupied by the Hivites (Genesis 34:2). They also held the city of Gibeon, and managed to trick Joshua into making a treaty with them.
One writer asks what business Dinah had with these neighbours at all.
With or without the approval of her parents, Dinah went out to see the daughters of the land. What had she to do with them in any way? Everyone but the godless knew that judgment was coming on these people, and that Abraham's offspring would have the land. Their sin was great, though not yet full. Apart from that, how thoughtless and dangerous her behaviour was! She seems to have been as independent of her mother as her brothers certainly were of their father's advice.
The verse stacks three verbs: he "seized her and lay with her and humiliated her." Older translations read "took her ... and humbled her." Commentators differ over how much force was used. One reads it as seduction by a man carried away by desire, without ruling out violence.
Her wandering curiosity exposed her to the young prince of the land. He was taken with her and carried away by his passion. He seduced her, if he did not force her by violence.
Another writer asks whether her brothers weighed Dinah's own share of the blame.
The sons, when they came, were not only grieved but very angry at Shechem. Did they not stop to think that the blame was not only Shechem's, but Dinah's also? For though this was sin, it was not rape.
One writer reads the whole chapter as the fruit of one compromise.
The whole of Genesis 34 shows the unhappy results that came from Jacob lowering his separation from the world. The evil showed itself not in Jacob himself, but in his family. The tide of evil runs in two broad channels: violence and corruption. The world is just the same today. How often we have to hang our heads in shame and admit that we, as Christian parents, have kept too close to the world — and it has brought sorrow and even disaster into our families.
Another writer weighs Jacob's altar against his way of life.
His altar declares God to be his God (El-elohe-Israel). Yet it seems he uses this only to walk in his own ways more openly than before. His house at Succoth and the land he bought at Shechem tell the same story. He is hardly a pilgrim now. He loses his separateness, and Dinah is defiled. God's grace will not comfort those who will not use it in holiness.
One writer measures this household against Abraham's.
Was this the way of the house of Abraham? Was this the family of the separated patriarch keeping the way of the Lord? Had Abraham been this careless? What contact had he arranged for his children with the sons or the daughters of the land?
- Step — Jacob bought land at Shechem. One wrong step away from his place before the Lord opened the door to sin, scandal, and sorrow.
- Settling — a father who traded the tent for a house should expect his daughter to want the neighbours' friendship.
- Separateness — Jacob lost his separateness, and Dinah was left exposed. The Hivites were a Canaanite people already facing judgment.
- Shame — commentators differ on whether this was force or seduction. One asks whether the brothers weighed Dinah's own part.
- Spread — evil runs in two channels: violence and corruption. Both reached Jacob's family, and parents who stay close to the world still reap sorrow.