Q1. The Rape of Dinah

[Pastor Ralph]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? What should he have done instead of being silent? What was right about the sons

[Commissioned]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? What should he have done instead of being silent? What was right about the sons

[pickledilly]

It's hard to fathom the complete silence of Jacob when this happened. I don't know how much culture and laws of the day played a part. It seems he certainly should have advocated for his daughter. Maybe Jacob was intimidated by the reputation/standing of the "prince of the land" and his son Shechem. Jacob could have pursued whatever legal route was available at that time, but possibly felt his family would be seen as "outsiders" and could not expect justice. Perhaps he feared local retribution that would threaten the future God had promised. Maybe his advancing years made him hesitant to go defend his family's honor without his sons. Or speak up over the fury of his sons when they returned from the fields. The whole situation was a travesty, but perhaps Jacob should have considered the offer of marriage that would have redeemed the awful state of affairs to some degree, for it does seem that Shechem loved Dinah even though he didn't have the integrity and respect to restrain himself from defiling her this way. But perhaps he was in a quandary over that idea because his father Isaac had warned him never to intermarry with Canaanite women (Genesis 28:1). One thing is for sure. Jacob took no stand against the grievous sin.

The anger felt by the brothers was appropriate. Their sister and their family had been dishonored and violated. But their reaction to the sin against Dinah was terrible. Simeon and Levi deceived and brutally murdered every man in the city. And then the other brothers came in behind them to plunder all the flocks, herds, children, and wives of the city. (Their greed seems reminiscent of their grandfather Laban.) Never once did they seek the LORD. They were driven completely by their rage and desire for revenge, and that's never a good thing. Because of their actions, the whole family was now in danger should the inhabitants of the land decide to attack them, and their own numbers were no match. Their dwelling place in Canaan, personal safety, and all possessions could now be threatened with destruction. And they apparently were clueless that they had put the covenant promises of God in jeopardy (although we know, of course, that God always ultimately accomplishes His will).

[Stan]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? What should he have done instead of being silent? What was right about the sons

[Eudora]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? It must have been a common practice even way back then for the parents to make arrangements for marriage because Shechem went to his father to ask him to make a deal for Dinah’s hand in marriage. It is possible that since Jacob was so old that he waited to talk to his sons so that they could all decided what to do about this incident. Poor Dinah, I am sure she was very young and obviously a virgin and this must have frightened her. It sounds as if she were not able to go home after this either and not being able to be comforted by her family must have been horrible. By being raped, she was considered un-clean.

What should he have done instead of being silent? Not shared this information with his sons. He should have consulted Hashem in his hurt . There had to be some anger too as a father. Being as old as was presented by Pastor Ralph, I am thinking that he should have been wise enough to call upon Hashem to seek His advice of how to deal with all of this but sometimes we in our anger and our hurt seem to waller in it for awhile and act on that instead of going directly to Hashem.

What was right about the sons' reaction?

What was wrong? I think what went wrong is that the sons of Jacob used something that was holy and sacred, a symbol of their faith and used their faith as a weapon. That is like us using the word of Hashem to a homosexual and telling him that if he does not repent he will go to hell. Yahowah God doesn’t want us to beat people up with His word but to love them and encourage them to seek Him and pray that He will tender their heart by the power of the Holy Spirit to convict rather than beat them up. Love covers a multitude of sins. Shechem in my understanding proved that he would have done anything because of his love for Dinah even to under go circumcision, which done the way of the Hebrew is NOTHING like we do with a Gentile. The sons righteous anger turned into an unrighteous act upon the men of Shechem.

What threat does the family now face if they stay in Shechem? Jacob‘s reply to what his sons had done were: “Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.” Instead of being a blessing to the people, they became a stinking aroma to the people whom they should have been blessing, according to the covenant. Now the life of the leader of these men, Jacob and his own sons, the future tribes of Israel were in danger.

[WALT39]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? What should he have done instead of being silent? What was right about the sons' reaction? What was wrong? What threat does the family now face if they stay in Shechem?

Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? It is hard to understand why he would be silent, but the standards were different. Also he was concerned with peace and he rather not confront it.

What should he have done instead of being silent? Under Mosaic law, the rapist could have been executed, but the law in that land may not have applied. If it did not applied, then he could have really upset Hamor and his people.

What was right about the sons' reaction? You could think appeasement, because the sons said OK if the men of Shechem be circumcised and therefore they could intermarry.

What was wrong? They believed that they did two things wrong. One they took the law into their own hands, and secondly, they condoned intermarrying.

What threat does the family now face if they stay in Shechem? Their peace as stated Jacob said in Genesis 34:30 "Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi,

[Delivered]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter?

The scripture tells me Jacob was silent after hearing about his daughter being raped, because he was waiting for Dinah

[iam4-1god]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? What should he have done instead of being silent? What was right about the sons

[studybug52]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? What should he have done instead of being silent? What was right about the sons

[Pearl]

Jacob may have been silent because he may have been in shock.

I think that he should have talked to his sons and also to the man's father who raped his daughter.

I believe that what was right about his sons' reaction is that they did have a right to be angry. They just acted on how they felt instead of wisdom.

It was wrong for them to lie to the men about being circumcised, leading the men to think that this would in someway begin to amend the situation.

The family faces the threat of being over powered or attacked by the inhabitants of the land.

[masika]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? What should he have done instead of being silent? What was right about the sons' reaction? What was wrong? What threat does the family now face if they stay in Shechem?

I think the main reason could be because his sons were not at home at that time, or he wanted the full brothers to protect their sister because Jacob had many wives.

The best he could have done was to have talked to the father of Shechem and two fathers would have probably brought about an amicable arrangement of the affair.

The right thing about the sons

[hanks]

Q1. (Genesis 34)

Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter?

What should he have done instead of being silent?

What was right about the sons' reaction?

What was wrong?

What threat does the family now face if they stay in Shechem?

Jacob was not as angry about this incident as his sons were. He must have felt guilty for not having warned or stopped Dinah from going into town. When he hears what has happened to his daughter he remains silent, not giving any instructions to his sons about how they are to deal with this matter. I think Jacob was more concerned about retaliation than any moral principle. He is passive in dealing with Hamor and Shechem, and it seems likely that he would have allowed Dinah to marry Shechem. If this was allowed to happen God

[Seeking His Face]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? What should he have done instead of being silent? What was right about the sons

[Jen]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? What should he have done instead of being silent? What was right about the sons

[Lion of Grace]

I think Jacob was silent because he was not sure what to do. I don't think he was without feelings in any of it, yet, the culture was different than ours. A similar situation was with the rape of Tamar (David's daughter) by Amnon. David was "furious" but that seems the end of his responsibility in her rape. It was her brother Absalom who took her in and cared for her and eventually took revenge on her wrong. We are told "And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate woman."

Perhaps Jacob felt helpless. This horrible thing had happened. Culturally his daughter was ruined. And, the family responsible was one of power in the land he was living in. He couldn't allow marriage to Shechem, because that would constitute what God had commanded not to do. He did what I probably would have done first....waited on more counsel. He confers with Hamor and then Dinah's brothers come home. After that, Jacob is missing in the plotting and discussions as far as I can see. Maybe he thought that the idea of all the males in the city being circumcised would be the solution and Dinah could be married then. It was the brothers who were speaking deceitfully to the townsmen and later Jacob who reprimands the brothers for disgracing him and the household. At the same time, the brothers reply in anger with a question that I think says they weren't sure their father was going to do anything about the wrong to their sister. "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"

I think Jacob should have been more active in giving wisdom to the brothers. They seemed to be left with the responsibility to work through a solution, but they were too angry to do that right.

The brothers reactions were right in that they cared for their sister and for the family honor and actually, I think if what they planned and promised would have just been left to be, things would have been OK. But they let revenge and hatred take over and turned to answering a wrong with a wrong, and a very horrific one too.

Jacob and his family couldn't stay where they were. It would be only a matter of time until retaliation would have been made from somewhere. They were as Jacob said, few in number and would have been destroyed. The very sord that the brothers used, would have been turned on them. Those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Hamor and his family's honor would have been revenged also if they stayed.

This is a situation that would very hard to decide what to do in and in the face of all the emotions involved. Perhaps Jacob is not vocal because he was seeking God further in it while the brothers forged ahead in their own emotion and hatred. Vengeance leads to destruction. Sin (rape) led to distruction. Man made justice was leading to war and losses of all kinds. I think though, God would have allowed the marriage in these circumstances. Dinah was loved, though sin and unrestraint entered in and the men wanted to make restitution with Jacob's family from the sin of one of their own. Even to the point of becoming circumcised. But I don't see as Jacob could have stayed there permanently and settled among them as offered, because that would have gone against God's command totally. Perhaps Jacob still being there at all was already a violation of that and he was just forced to move on. How geat a toll sin can take on lives in the end.

[Vincent Paul DiMino]

Jacob appeared to be stunned into silence and inactivity.The bible does not say that he prayed to God;it does not say that he didn't.He waited for his sons.He sought unity within his own tribe,but did not take his patriarchal role of leadership.Simeon and Levi appear to be more concerned with their own honor than their sister's injury.The incident appears to have been orchestrated by evil,and yet,in the end it served God's plan.The threat that their faith and understanding of the one true God might be compromised by intermarriage with pagan idolaters was abated,for that moment.The threat that the Canaanites might rise up as one against them, has, and will, be managed by God;but the threat of their hearts being invaded by the evil which stalks us all, is ever present,until the time set by our Lord.

[okno]

Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter?

The men in Shechem are in predominance - according to my opinion, Jacob is afraid about the security of his family and wants to consult it with the sons.

What should he have done instead of being silent?

To consult the problems more deeply with the sons, to retain the activity in his hands, not to give the free will to the sons.

What was right about the sons

[Patricia A]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? He was probably fearful of attack or felt intimidated.

What should he have done instead of being silent? He should have sought justice for his daughter being attacked.

What was right about the sons' reaction? Feel angry was right.

What was wrong? The action they took.

What threat does the family now face if they stay in Shechem? Being attacked.

[cynthiaphillips]

Has anyone else read the novel "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant? If not, I recommend it highly-- it tells this Biblical story from Dinah's point of view. In any case, it has shaped my view of this story permanently, and left me with even less respect for Jacob than I had before.

It is hard to tell what, exactly, happened to Dinah. Anita Diamant imagines her as an empowered young woman, newly overwhelmed by the emergence of her adolescent sexuality. Incapable of comprehending that their sister might have desired and entered into consensual relations with Shechem, the brothers interpret the situation as a rape, and react with cold-blooded deceit and violence.

As for Jacob's silence, well, I suppose he never grew out of his days as the retiring little "indoors" boy whose mother fought his battles and solved his problems.

And as for what he should have done... I don't hear Dinah being asked for her opinion? True, there are extraordinary cultural differences between their veiw of women and ours, but perhaps someone worth killing for is worth consulting?

[Craig]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? What should he have done instead of being silent? What was right about the sons

[janel]

Q1 Physically, Jacob being 104 years might think that with his age, fragile and hopeless

is of no match to Hamor and his son, Shechem. Waiting for his sons to come back,

and getting their views on what action to take might be another reason for his

silence.

Instead of being silent, Jacob, being a person of peace and honour should consult

God for direction or as a father, he has the right to demand anything, even to the

point of persecution since the accuser is already guilty of the crime.

What the sons did was right in demanding the male Canaanites be circumcised according

to their custom and in a way their demand is justified.

By killing the men when they are handicapped was a cruel act and on top of that

looting them of their wealth, women and children was just as bad as the accuser.

Being small in size Jacob's group will be no match to the Canaanites and Perizzites

combined together. They are definitely doomed to be destroyed.

[quilter]

I THINK JACOB WAS AFRIAD TO SAY ANYTHING UNTIL HE HAD TALKED TO HIS SONS. HE WAS OLD AND FRAIL AND COULD HAVE BEEN THINKING ON HOW TO HANDLE IT. WHEN HE TOLD THE SONS IT WAS TOOK OUT OF HIS HAND IT APPEARS.

HE SHOULD HAVE CONFRONTED THE RAPIST AND HIS FAMILY AND IF THERE WAS A LAW LET THEM HANDLE IT.

THE SONS WAS RIGHT IN THAT THEY WAS VERY UPSET ABOUT THE VILE THING THAT WAS DONE TO THEIR SISTER.

THEY SUFFERED CONSEQUUENES DOWN THE ROAD THEIR FATHER CURSED THEM WITH HIS DYING

BREATH AND THEIR DESCENDANT LOST THEIR PART OF THE PROMISE LAND.

WE NEVER WIN WITH EVIL FOR EVIL LEAVE THE REVENGE TO THE LORD

[Elwood C O'Dell]

Perhaps the reason for Jacob’s silence was the fact he was thinking over how he should handle the situation, or he was concerned about what would happen to his family if he brought accusations against Shechem. Also, He was waiting for his sons to return home. It seems that Jacob, and his sons, could have taken the matter to Shechem’s father and confronted him with the issues involved. As far as the sons’ reaction they acted out of anger and went far beyond what the situation would have called for. After the murders it would have put Jacob and his family at risk for further retaliation and lowered their credibility with those around them.

[JanMary]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter

He is an old man, new in the area, "a stranger in a strange land", with God as his only "friend". I think his motive was fear...fear of starting a war with the locals, with only he his sons and servants to defend themselves. Perhaps he was in that "numb" state after a shock of this nature, where temporarily one feels shut down emotionally and spiritually. I've experienced that a few times, and in that shock, it's natural for others to step in and take the helm...right or wrong.

What should he have done instead of being silent?

He should have gone to Hamor and protested the situation, and discussed punishment and restitution from Shecham. He should have defended his daughter and the family's honor. Later, I notice King David acts the same in the rape of his daughter, with disastrous results.

What was right about the sons' reaction?

Outrage was the right reaction to the rape and violation of their sister...of any woman for that matter!

What was wrong?

In the face of Jacob's impotence to act, and his silence, they filled the void with violence and murder, deceitfully luring the town into their trap. There was no seeking God's counsel, nor in conferring with Jacob about his thoughts and desires in the matter.

What threat does the family now face if they stay in Shechem?

They have become a stench to those around them. The men and livestock have been killed, but they have taken the women and children as slaves who are witnesses to this heinous act. Their actions are now known in the area, and they will be seen as violent and warring people instead of followers after God. The native peoples will no longer see them as honest and trustworthy in their dealings and negotiations for future property rights. It's true that at times God told the Israelites to destroy entire peoples in order to protect them from their ruination through intermarrying with these people or by being destroyed physically by them. But God gave no direction in the case of the Shechamites.

[leihaynes]

Q1. (Genesis 34) Why do you think Jacob is so silent after the rape of his daughter? What should he have done instead of being silent? What was right about the sons