Bible Dictionary
Dinah
Dinah was Jacob’s daughter by Leah and the sister of Simeon and Levi. After Shechem violated her, her brothers took violent revenge against the men of Shechem, an act Jacob condemned.
Definition
Dinah was Jacob’s daughter by Leah and the sister of Simeon and Levi. Her violation by Shechem, son of Hamor, led to a violent reprisal by her brothers.
Biblical Usage
Dinah’s account records the violation at Shechem, the proposed marriage arrangement, and the slaughter of the Shechemites by Simeon and Levi. Jacob condemned the deed with abhorrence and regret. Dinah was later included among Jacob’s family who went to Egypt.
Historical Background
Shechem’s proposed reparation involved marriage and payment to Dinah’s father. Jacob’s sons required the Shechemites to be circumcised, then attacked them while they were suffering from the operation. The account may contain tribal as well as personal elements.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Judged; vindicated, daughter of Jacob by Leah, and sister of Simeon and Levi (Gen. 30:21). She was seduced by Shechem, the son of Hamor, the Hivite chief, when Jacob’s camp was in the neighbourhood of Shechem. This led to the terrible revenge of Simeon and Levi in putting the Shechemites to death (Gen. 34). Jacob makes frequent reference to this deed of blood with abhorrence and regret (Gen. 34:30; 49:5-7). She is mentioned among the rest of Jacob’s family that went down into Egypt (Gen. 46:8, 15).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(judged, acquitted), the daughter of Jacob by Leah. (Genesis 30:21) (B.C. about 1751.) She accompanied her father from Mesopotamia to Canaan, and, having ventured among the inhabitants, was violated by Shechem the son of Hamor, the chieftain of the territory in which her father had settled. Gen. 34. Shechem proposed to make the usual reparation by paying a sum to the father and marrying her. (Genesis 34:12) This proposal was accepted, the sons of Jacob demanding, as a condition of the proposed union, the circumcision of the Shechemites. They therefore assented; and on the third day, when the pain and fever resulting from the operation were at the highest, Simeon and Levi, own brothers of Dinah, attacked them unexpectedly, slew all the males, and plundered their city.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>di'-na (dinah, "justice"): The daughter of Jacob and Leah, whose violation by Shechem, son of Hamor, caused her brothers, especially Simeon and Levi, to slay the inhabitants of Shechem, although they had induced the Shechemites to believe, if they would submit to circumcision, Shechem, the most honored of all the house of his father, would be permitted to have the maiden to whom his soul clave for wife (Ge 34:1-31). The political elements of the story (compare Ge 34:21-23, 30) suggest a tribal rather than a personal significance for the narrative.</p><p>Nathan Isaacs</p>