I'm doing this Discipleship Journal "Read the Bible in a Year" thing - which I always effectively stretch out to about 1 1/2 years! Anyway, in my reading Monday, I was reading Genesis 34, the account of Jacob's daughter Dinah being either raped at worst, or being involved in premarital sex at best. It is such a bizarre and interesting account of what all takes place. I've been asking everyone this week, "Why is the Dinah account there?"
Before I make any comments on what I have heard from others, I'd love to hear what you all think. No shiny dimes here, just read Genesis 34 and give it your best shot!
Trike
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Now I can't come to this site without getting "I've been working on the railroad" stuck in my head. The train picture.. the Dinah reference... Sigh.
Now I can't come to this site without getting "I've been working on the railroad" stuck in my head. The train picture.. the Dinah reference... Sigh.
Now I can't come to this site without getting "I've been working on the railroad" stuck in my head. The train picture.. the Dinah reference... Sigh.
Now I can't come to this site without getting "I've been working on the railroad" stuck in my head. The train picture.. the Dinah reference... Sigh.
Now I can't come to this site without getting "I've been working on the railroad" stuck in my head. The train picture.. the Dinah reference... Sigh.
Now I can't come to this site without getting "I've been working on the railroad" stuck in my head. The train picture.. the Dinah reference... Sigh.
I beleive that a good understanding of this story must start with the idea of Jewish oral tradition. Imagine what stories must have been told from grandparents to children about who they are as a people and what is important when there was no television shows to entertain children and their form cultural identity. The ancient Jewish stories such as this one probably functioned much like the Simpsons to our culture today. If you were going to make a written compilation of Simpson's stories for the benefit of future generations, what would you include? I would certainly include the story of how Santa's Little Helper came into the family (Simpson's pet dog), because Santa’s Little Helper is important to the story as it progresses. I would also include a story depicting Lisa's character attributes, and what makes her different from Milhouse (the boy who likes her), Mr. Burns, Mrs. Crabapple, Willi, Flanders and Bart. The only way to communicate the over all story of the Simpsons is to tell various stories involving the Simpson’s characters and the actions.
This may set off the heretic meter for some people, but I am going to suggest that the Bible is more like a collection of Simpsons stories than it is a guide book with rules, regulations and principals. (More specifically, I am speaking of the Hebrew Bible here, because in some ways the Hebrew Scriptures set up a series of questions which the Gospels answer and the Epistles elaborate upon inside specific situations)
If we read this story with the intention of gaining principals to live by, we will miss the point. The issue is to read and get more familiar with the story, the one that God tells us we actually live and participate in. As we begin to personally and collectively enter the story, we are then presented with the same challenges that these characters encounter. Should we allow our sister to be treated like a whore? (note that this question actually goes unanswered) Should we value peaceful relations with our neighbors? (Jacob the very respected patriarch suggested this) Should we allow cultural assimilation with other peoples? (note: that this story precludes others which also deals with this)
Why is this passage here? I would have to say because it further develops the larger story (some of which is recorded here in the Bible) and it introduces recurring themes in the form of questions to wrestle with.
Dear Anonymous,
Must...
Stop...
Pushing...
The...
POST...
COMMENT...
Button.
Just kidding,
Steve
PS - You are so clever to pick that up - certainly was beyond me, but maybe I'll put one of those cheesy mp3 recordings of the song that start automatically when you come to the site!
Fidelitas,
Great post - but my favorite quote to pull TOTALLY out of context is:
"the Bible is more like a collection of Simpsons stories than it is a guide book with rules, regulations and principals."
Actually, I couldn't agree more. I have been LOVING preaching out of Acts these past year and a half. Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, could have just given us a list or propositions:
Jesus goes up to teh Father
The Spirit of God comes
Christians talk in funny languages
The Church starts to grow
Christians learn to share stuff
The Church undergoes persecution
The Church contines to grow
God does neat stuff even today
Paul comes along and talk about Jesus to a lot of people and gets trashed for it
etc.
BUT, in the wisdom of God, there is such a drama being played out when the book of Acts, or the gospels or much of the OT is written in narrative...I love it, and it is much more like a Simpson's episode (or series of episodes) than it is like a text book.
Love your observations!
Trike
I actually came across that story again myself a month or two ago. What struck me as much as anything else was the end of the story. The vigilante justice of Jacob's sons would today have them branded as criminals, perhaps as taking part in one of the more sensational mass-murders. Of course at that time, without an overarching government to hold them accountable, they could murder with impunity, and fear only retribution from the relatives of those they killed. Jacob's sons are here portrayed as the worst sorts of men; vengeful, deceitful men, who allow the justifiable anger from the wrong committed to their sister to overwhelm them.
I think some could look at the story from a feminist perspective and notice Dinah's insignificant and powerless status. Genesis is, however, somewhat ambivalent in its portrayal of women, with, in later chapters, Tamar taking power from a man and society that granted her none, and Potiphar's wife abusing her position of power over Joseph.
My guess is that this story is included as an honest look at the early (anti?) heros of the Judaic faith. These were men like anyone else (or perhaps worse) and God still chose to use them and their family in his mission to mankind. It makes me thing: 1) No one is un-redeemable, 2) We are all rotten to the core and capable of horrible atrocities, and 3) Fortunately, God is not bound by any of that and He can still use any one of us.
I think the story is maybe misleading, because I think the story is about Jacob...not because of what it tells us about him, but because of what it DOESN'T say.
Essentially, he is silent while his daughter (through Leah) is raped. The brothers of Leah avenge her...usurping Jacob's role as patriarch. The bad guy in this story aren't Leah's brothers, but Jacob! He is passive throughout the whole story. If you carefully read the language the sons use (calling her "our sister" instead of "your daughter") you can see that the sons are being contrasted with the father. The sons care about the honor of their sister, while the father cares about his reputation.
I would venture a guess that this story is included to remind the reader that Jacob is still the fearful weak person we read about earlier. He may have boldly reconciled to his brother, but the old Jacob remains. It also serves to set up the future conflicts between Jacob's sons. Jacob loves Joseph dearly, as we shall see, but cares not when his daughter through Leah is raped. This incident fuels the flame that eventually leads to Joseph's enslavement.
Although entirely fictional, there is a book called The Red Tent that elaborates on Dinah's existence. The culture is obviously researched and the story is well written. It is an interesting look into the possible lives of the Israelites and their neighbors. Even if the details aren't correct, I would suggest reading the story if you're looking for the missing voice of Dinah.
I tend to lean with Mark V S here. I think this is just another chronicle in the life of Jacob and his family and indirectly his relationship with God. To me, it does stand out what Jacob DOESN'T do and DOESN'T say. It is as if he turns a blind eye and passively lets his sons respond. Ironically, he chews them out in the end for bringing trouble on himself.
To look at Jacob's sons for a minute, I think this may be a little forshadowing of the infamous incident with Joseph. Just a thought. Oh, yes, I guess Mark elluded to that also. So insightful.
With respect to the book Red Tent...I just recently read it myself. It is indeed interresting. Not entirely Biblically accurate, and written from a much more pagan and feminist perspective. But, heh, it never claims to be anything but fiction. It does take one outside the proverbial box. I would give a little warning--there is a significant amount of sexual content in this book; a bit gratuitous at times. If that is an area of weakness for you, steer clear.
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