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The DEEP

Justice

Grace

Genesis 34:1-12 (ESV)

Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”

Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing must not be done.

But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.” Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. Ask me for as great a bride price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.”

The timeline here is troubling. Jacob worked for Laban for 14 years for Rachel and Leah. Dinah was born near the end of that time. He worked for 6 more years before leaving. Dinah has to be at least 6 years old when they left but not much more.

How old is Dinah now? Jacob and his family stayed at Succoth long enough to build booths but Succoth wasn't their final destination. Shechem is also just a stopover along the way. Still, there’s nothing in the text that precludes longer stays.

The Hebrew words in verses 3 and 4 that are translated as “young woman” and “girl” mean child according to modern English-Hebrew dictionaries. Nevertheless, the experts seem to agree that Dinah was not pre-pubescent at the time of the rape.

She’s the kid sister of eleven older brothers. Even if Dinah isn’t a child, her brothers think of her as one.

The prince of the land rapes her and her brothers are about to go nuclear over it.


Shechem is a spoiled brat. He takes what he wants and expects someone else to fix anything that goes wrong. He has absolutely no sense of remorse. His type raises some difficult questions. Would forgiving someone like this just be enabling? How do we balance justice with grace?

There are no easy answers. Some folks have glorified God magnificently with simple forgiveness.

Praise the Lord for giving them the faith and the strength.


The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Mike Slay

As a mathematician, inventor, and ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, Mike Slay brings an analytical, conversational, and even whimsical approach to the daily study of God's Word.

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