In the world but not of it (Gen 33:18-34:7)
Gen 33:18-20; 34:1-7
In this post, I tackle the rape of Dinah in Genesis 34. If this is a difficult topic, please feel free to skip the post.
One of the hard questions of the Christian life is how we should relate to the world around us. On the one hand, we are called to live in it and be a light and a witness to God’s love. On the other, we should not adopt the thinking and behaviour of the world that is opposed to God’s ways. Jesus called it being in the world but not of it (John 17:11, 14-15). In practice, however, this is far from easy. Some groups solve the issue by separating themselves to such an extent that they have no significant interactions with outsiders. How are the latter to hear the gospel, though, if they never encounter Christians in a meaningful way? Others adapt their lifestyle to those in a secular context in order to be accessible, but the danger is that they may become indistinguishable from the rest. The story of Dinah poses this question in the context of Israel living in the land with the Canaanites. It raises the issue of intermarriage (Gen 34:8-9), a crucial way in which people in the ancient world created close bonds between families and clans and allowed their lives to become intertwined at every level.[1]
Who is responsible?
Observant readers may notice even before we get to the tragic incident of Dinah that there is something odd about Jacob’s moves. Instead of going back to Bethel as he vowed (Gen 28:20-22) Jacob stays near the city of Shechem, builds a house, buys a piece of land and sets up an altar to worship God (Gen 33:17-20).[2] For all intents and purposes, he looks settled and he must have stayed there for several years for his children to grow up (Dinah was only about six when they left Paddan-Aram; Gen 30:21; 31:41). It is also troubling the way Dinah is allowed to go out seemingly by herself to visit the local women and her designation as Leah’s daughter gives us a clue that as the child of Jacob’s unloved wife, he may have neglected her protection (Gen 34:1). Far from blaming everything on the Canaanites, the narrative opens up the question of responsibility in Jacob’s own family. Where was the kind of upbringing that would warn this young girl to be careful with her associations? Where was her protection? Was she rebellious herself? Or naïve?
The consequences of rape
Shechem’s rape of Dinah is deeply upsetting (Gen 34:2), and it underlines the later understanding of the Canaanites as sexually immoral and promiscuous (e.g. Lev 18:1-30). On top of the emotional and physical effects of such an act, a deflowered girl would have a hard time to marry in a culture where virginity was highly prized. In later Israel, an Israelite man in such a case was expected to pay an exorbitant bride-price as compensation and was obliged to marry the girl with no possibility of divorcing her (Deut 22:28-29).[3] However, the father had the right not to give his daughter to such a man (Exod 22:16-17). In Dinah’s case, though, there is the added complication that her family was not meant to intermarry with the local people and both Abraham and Isaac made great efforts to keep their children from marrying Canaanites (Gen 24:2-3; 27:46; 28:1-2). Worse still is Jacob’s silence (possibly out of fear) and his failure to stand up for his daughter, which is in stark contrast to the just outrage, grief, and anger of Dinah’s brothers (Gen 34:5, 7).
The challenge to live for God
While I shall return to the same incident again in my next post to reflect on this issue of interaction with the world further, the way the narrator tells the story hints at the root of the problem. Jacob worships God as he sees fit rather than faithfully fulfilling his vow and moving to Bethel. By putting himself in such close proximity to Shechem he places his family in danger. By not protecting his daughter nor standing up for her afterwards, he succumbs to his old prejudices (not caring for Leah’s daughter) and to his fearful nature. His example challenges us to ask, are we deeply rooted in the Lord and in His will for us? Do we live by God’s enabling grace to be renewed in our character? The adverse effects of ‘the world’ may impact us because that inner commitment to God is already compromised long before we take up any interaction with outsiders.
[1] This is the first time that the question is raised so sharply. Abraham and Isaac co-existed relatively peacefully with the locals with non-aggression pacts made at times (though note quarrels over wells; Gen 21:22-26; 26:18-22) and even found their neighbours to be honourable to their women (witness Abimelech’s treatment of Sarah and later Rebekah; Gen 20:1-18; 26:1-11).
[2] Although he previously says to his brother that he will go to Seir (Gen 33:14), this is sufficiently vague to mean simply that he is going to visit Esau at some point (note ‘I come’, not ‘we come’ in v.14). It is unlikely that Jacob is invited to settle in Seir in any case as it would have meant extra strain on resources in the same area.
[3] While the idea of marrying a rapist fills us with horror, it seems that women in the ancient world thought that marriage to such a man was preferable to remaining single after having lost their honour (note Tamar’s reaction after being raped by her half-brother, Amnon; 2 Sam 13:15-16).
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