An Atheistic Bible Study Of Genesis Chapter 34 Dinah And The Sheckemites

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One of the most violent episodes in the Old Testament, dealing with rape and extremely brutal revenge. Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, goes on a mission to meet the women of the Canaan region. Her activity is observed by Sheckem, on of King Hamor. He attacks, abducts and rapes Dinah, though he talks pleasantly to her at the same time of his love for her. He then begs his father, the King to arrange for him to marry her. Jacob learns of the rape incident and summons his eleven sons home from their work in the fields. They are present when Hamor arrives to negotiate a wedding for Sheckhem and Dinah. Hamor invites Jacob’s sons to intermarry with the children of the city-state of Sheckem (after which the son is named). Hamor effectively wants to join Joseph in the developing Jewish faith. He sees no problem with his son being a rapist. Sheckhem joins in the discussion and tells Jacob he will pay any price to gain Dinah’s hand in marriage. Dinah does not appear to be present for any of this negotiation. Jacob’s sons have no intention of striking any bargains but they pretend that they are interested. They tell Hamor and Sheckem to have all their men circumcised so that the men can be accepted into the Jewish fold. Once all the men are circumcised the Jews promie that they will exchange daughters with the men of Sheckhem, they promise. Hamor and Sheckhem excitedly tell their subjects that they have secured a great treaty of peace, trade and intermarriage as long as their men are all circumcised. All the men of Sheckhem therefore get themselves circumcised, thinking of the cattle, sheep, money and women they are about to inherit. However it is a viscous and genuinely ingenious trap. The Jews know all too well that circumcision for grown men in a pre-anaesthetic era, is painful and even walking, let alone fighting is agony for weeks afterwards is excruciating. Three days after the operations, the Israelis attack the Sheckemites and slaughter all the men in in the city-state. They rescue Dinah from Sheckhem’s house (this is the only reference to her still being in his company, presumably as a hostage). The Jews plunder the wealth and cattle of the city and enslave the women and children of Sheckhem too. Jacob is unhappy with what his sons have done as he knows the Jews are outnumbered by other peoples in Canaan, so their assault on Sheckhem is likely to draw attention to their presence in the land. The sons protest that they saw it as the only way to save Dinah from prostitution. God makes no intervention in this brutal chapter, even to prevent rape, and though the sons are morally justified in saving their sister, they have no qualms about enslaving many non-Jewish women. Arthur Chappell