Dinah (Bible)

Dina was born at the end of the second seven years of Jacob's service at Laban ( Genesis 30:21 ). When Dina was about 16 years old, she went to the city of Shechem to look “at the daughters of that land” ( Genesis 34: 1 ). There she was seen by the son of the Siheme Prince Emmor, also called Shechem, and dishonored her. After that, he persuaded his father to allow him to marry Dina. The governor sent matchmakers with gifts to Jacob. But the Dina brothers decided to avenge her "scolding."

They said they agreed to her marriage, but under the condition that the entire male population of the city accept circumcision . The Shechemis agreed.

And they obeyed Hemor and Shechem his son, all who went out of the gates of his city: and the whole male was circumcised, all who went out of the gates of his city. On the third day, when they were in illness, the two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi , the brothers of Dinin, each took their sword, and boldly attacked the city, and killed the entire male sex; and Hamor himself and Shechem his son were slain with the sword; and they took Dina from the house of Shechem and went out. The sons of Jacob came to the slain and plundered the city because they had dishonored [Dinah] their sister. They took their flocks and herds, and their donkeys, and whatever was in the city, and whatever was in the field; and all their wealth, and all their children, and their wives were taken prisoner, and they plundered everything that was in the [city, and everything that was in] the houses. And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: you rebelled me, making me hateful for [all] the inhabitants of this land, for the Canaanites and Ferezeys. I have few people; They will gather against me, they will smite me, and I and my house will be destroyed. They said: But how can you deal with our sister, as with a harlot!

Jacob was very dissatisfied with the behavior of his sons and even said on his deathbed: “Simeon and Levi are brothers, the instruments of cruelty of their swords; let not my soul go into their counsel, and let my glory not partake of their congregation, for they killed their husband in their anger and cut off the veins of the calf at their whim; cursed is their anger, for it is cruel, and their fury, for it is fierce; I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. ”( Genesis 49: 5-7 ).

After the brutal massacre organized by the brothers, the family of Jacob moved to Bethel - before being resettled by God's command, they abandoned “all the strange gods that were in their hands and the earrings that were in their ears” ( Gen. 35 ). Subsequently, Dina is mentioned when listing people who moved with Jacob to Egypt, but without explicitly indicating that she was among them: “These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore Jacob in Mesopotamia, and Dina, his daughter.” ( Genesis 46 : 15 ).

Add-ons

According to Josephus Flavius ^[2] , the Sihemians had a holiday during which Dina came to the city to look at women's dresses. Midrash condemns Dina (and Leah) for coming out dressed like a harlot ^[3] . Such frivolity Dina inherited as if from her mother.

One version of the late legend says that Dina managed to get pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, who was adopted by Potiphar , and who later became the wife of Joseph the Beautiful , half-brother of Dina. For more details see Asenath ^[4] .