The Rape Of Dinah Essay

The bible has many stories that are controversial and, sometimes it is difficult to understand what the narrator was trying to communicate to the audience. The story of Dinah is one such narrative and although most bible versions title it “The rape of Dinah”, not all scholars read it in this way. Shemesh and Bechtel present two differing opinions on the Rape of Dinah.
The story begins with Dinah, the daughter of Lea and Jacob, going out to visit the women of the land. Dinah is then seen by Shechem, a prince of the region who seizes and lies with her. Bechtel considers the ‘going forth’ of Dinah to imply that she left the group or crossed over the boundary of her group. Dinah crosses her boundaries and later is a marginal figure who engages in sexual activity outside the group. In the rest of the story, there is no mention of Dinah’s feelings or of her as an active subject. The narrator does not give access to Dinah’s emotions. Bechtel argues that the story is not interested in Dinah as an individual, but as a representative of her whole group. Shemesh agrees that the narrator denies the audience Dinah’s feelings because the story is about the injustice done, not only to Dinah but to her whole family. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the region, saw her, he seized her and lay
Speaking to the heart means he tried to pacify and appease Dinah after he had intercourse with her. This is a common trait of rapists who justify their deeds, usually by being kind to their victims or claiming that they are in love. In abduction-marriages, the kidnappers can still be prosecuted for rape. Shemesh emphasizes that rape is seen in the victim’s perspective. Where Dinah’s feelings are missing, she still represents her family and the Israelites in the narrative. Shechem defiles Jacob’s daughter and while the Canaanites might praise Shechem, he has committed an atrocity to the