For the 1970s talk show hosted by Dinah Shore, see Dinah!

Dinah (Hebrew: דִּינָה, Standard Dina Tiberian Dînāh ; "Judged; vindicated"), mentioned in the Book of Genesis as the daughter of Jacob and Leah. She is also described as the full sister of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, and the half-sister of Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore February 29, 1916 - February 24, 1994) was an American singer and actress. ... Dinah! (called Dinah & Friends from 1979-1980) was a daytime talk show hosted by singer and actress Dinah Shore, which aired in American syndication markets from its premiere on September 9, 1974 until the summer of 1980. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Tiberian Hebrew is an oral tradition of pronunciation for ancient forms of Hebrew, especially the Hebrew of the Tanakh, that was given written form by masoretic scholars in the Jewish community at Tiberias in the early Middle Ages, beginning in the 8th century. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... Jacob Wrestling with the Angel – Gustave Doré, 1855 Jacob or Yaakov, (Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: يعقوب, ; holds the heel), also known as Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: اسرائيل, ; Struggled with God), is the third Biblical patriarch. ... Look up Leah, לֵאָה in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, Standard Hebrew Rəʾuven, Tiberian Hebrew Rəʾûḇēn) is the first-born son of Jacob and the founder of the Tribe of Reuben, as related in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible. ... Simeon, Symeon, or Shimon is a Hebrew name (שִׁמְעוֹן) meaning hearkening; listening, pronounced in Biblical Hebrew Å imÊ¿on, Tiberian Hebrew Å imʿôn. ... This article discusses the Biblical patriarch. ... In Genesis (the first book of the Bible) Judah (יְהוּדָה Praise, Standard Hebrew YÉ™huda, Tiberian Hebrew YÉ™hûḏāh) is the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, born in Padan-aram (Genesis xxix. ... Issachar or Yissachar (יִשָּׂשׁכָר Reward; recompense, Standard Hebrew Yissaḫar, Tiberian Hebrew Yiśśâḵār) was the fifth son of Jacob and his first wife Leah. ... This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... Dan (דָּן Judge, Standard Hebrew Dan, Tiberian Hebrew Dān) is one of the sons of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachels maidservant (Genesis 30:4). ... Naphtali (Hebrew: נַפְתָּלִי, Standard Tiberian  ; My struggle) is the sixth son of Jacob and the founder of the tribe of Naphtali, first mentioned in the Book of Genesis and as described in the Hebrew Bible. ... Gad is a son of Jacob and Zilpah. ... In the Book of Genesis, Asher (אָשֵׁר, Standard Hebrew AÅ¡er, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĀšēr) is a son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Tribe of Asher. ... Joseph, in the Hebrew Bible appears in the Book of Genesis. ... Benjamin (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין; standard transliteration Benyamin, Tiberian vocalization Benyāmîn) is a Hebrew Bible figure. ...

Biblical story

Dinah is alluded to only briefly in the Bible; a passing mention in a couple of locations, and in a story known as The Rape of Dinah. When Jacob returns to Canaan with his wives and children, he buys a piece of land in Shechem. Dinah goes out to see the other young women in town and is spotted by the prince of the region, who is also called Shechem. He takes her to his palace and "defiles" her. The question of whether she gives consent is not explicitly resolved in the Biblical text, and some commentators regard it as an immoral seduction rather than a rape in the modern sense. Afterwards Shechem is smitten by her and he begs his father, Hamor, to ask for her hand in marriage from Jacob. Jacob withholds judgment about the incident until his sons return from the field and hear of it. For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... Shechem is a name of geographical places. ... It has been suggested that womanizer be merged into this article or section. ...

The sons of Jacob are outraged by what has happened. Hamor and Shechem suggest a proper wedding, a huge dowry, and a permanent treaty between their two peoples, with the privately stated aim of assimilating Jacob's household. Dinah's brothers impose the condition that they and all the men of the city agree to be circumcised. Hamor and Shechem agree, and their people are circumcised en masse. This article is about male circumcision. ...

Three days later, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi enter the city and slaughter all the male inhabitants, including Hamor and Shechem. The men are unable to fight back because they are all weakened from the pain of circumcision. Simeon and Levi plunder the city completely, taking all the cattle and flocks in the field and all the possessions in their homes, as well as taking all the women and children captive. Afterwards Jacob criticises them, and points out that their rash act will put him and his family in danger. A man of his word, he fears that his sons' violation of their promise of marriage will anger the surrounding Canaanite nations, and lead them to gang up on him and destroy him. The brothers, however, defend themselves by stating, "Should he make our sister a harlot?"

Elaborations in the Midrash

According to the Midrash, Simeon and Levi were only 14 and 13 years old, respectively, at the time of this event. They possessed great moral zealousness (later, in the episode of the Golden Calf, the Tribe of Levi would demonstrate their absolute commitment to Moses' leadership by killing all the people involved in idol worship), but their anger was misdirected here. On his deathbed, Jacob cursed their anger and divided their tribal portions in the land of Israel so that they would not be able to regroup and fight arbitrarily. The Tribe of Simeon received land within the territory of Judah and served as itinerant teachers in Israel, traveling from place to place to earn a living. The Tribe of Levi received a few Cities of Refuge spread out over Israel, and relied for their sustenance on the priestly gifts that the Children of Israel gave them. Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Adoration of the Golden Calf by Nicolas Poussin: imagery influenced by the Greco-Roman bacchanal In the Hebrew Bible the golden calf was an idol made by Aaron for the Israelites during Mosess unexpectedly long absence. ... This is a list of the Tribes of Israel. ... The Cities of Refuge were six Biblical towns in Israel that offered asylum to someone who had unintentionally slain another. ...

When Jacob's family prepares to descend to Egypt Genesis 46:8-27, the Torah lists the 70 family members who went down together. Simeon's children include "Saul, the son of the Canaanite woman." According to Rashi, this is Dinah's son by Shechem. After the brothers killed all the men in the city, including Shechem and his father, Dinah refused to leave the palace unless Simeon agreed to marry her and remove her shame. (According to Nachmanides, she only lived in his house and did not have marital relations with him.) Therefore Dinah's son is counted among Simeon's progeny, and he received a portion of land in Israel in the time of Joshua. The list of the names of the families of Israel in Egypt is repeated in Exodus 6:14-25. Rashi (1040-1105) (Artists imagination) Rashi רשי is a Hebrew acronym for רבי שלמה יצחקי (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi), (February 22, 1040 – July 13, 1105), a rabbi in France, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Tanakh. ... Nahmanides is the common name for Moshe ben Nahman Gerondi; the name is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Ben Nahman, meaning Son of Nahman. He is also commomly known as Ramban, being an acronym of his Hebrew name and title, Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman, and by his Catalan name... Joshua praying God to stop the Sun by Gustave Doré In Jewish mythology, Joshua or Yehoshua (Hebrew: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, Tiberian: , Israeli: Yəhoshúa) was an Israelite leader who succeeded Moses. ...

Origin

Critical Bible scholars believe that the story of the rape of Dinah exists to establish a claim to Shechem, as well as to explain why Simeon and Levi have very little territory of their own. A majority of scholars of Biblical criticism believe that Dinah is an invention, designed only to fit the politically motivated story of her rape ^[1]; likewise, Shechem the person is an eponym for Shechem itself ^[2]. This interpretation is supported by the idea that Dinah, alone among Jacob's known children, does not beget a tribe of Israel; others claim that this could more obviously be due to the fact that she is a daughter instead of a son^[3]; - though this implies that women are unable to have children, or rather, serves as another example of gender differentiated rights. This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, who has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item. ...

Moreover, in the list of the individuals who went to Egypt with Jacob, Dinah is mentioned as if an afterthought^{[citation needed]}. Rashi cites the discrepancy between the number of names present in the text (70) and the figure the Torah claims was the number that went went down to Egypt (69) by explaining that the seventieth person was Jochebed, who was born as the family passed over the border to Egypt, though this would be impossible with many traditions: Jochebed is said to have been born when Levi was 64, but he was 57 at the time of the descent. Which, if either tradition, is true is unclear. Rashi (1040-1105) (Artists imagination) Rashi רשי is a Hebrew acronym for רבי שלמה יצחקי (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi), (February 22, 1040 – July 13, 1105), a rabbi in France, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Tanakh. ... According to the Hebrew Bible, Jochebed or Yochéved (יוֹכֶבֶד / יוֹכָבֶד The LORD is glory, Standard Hebrew Yoḫéved / Yoḫáved, Tiberian Hebrew Yôḵéḇeḏ / Yôḵāḇe&#7695...

Another story of how Shechem is obtained occurs in the Bible, but in that tale, it is simply purchased by Jacob from its occupants Genesis 33:19. In the documentary hypothesis, the rape story belongs to the Jahwist source, and it fits the pre-occupation of that source with tales concerning the southern tribes, while the he just bought it account comes from the Elohist source, which is more complementary towards the later history of Shechem in general ^[4]. A relational diagram describing the various versions postulated by the biblical documentary hypothesis. ... The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the documentary hypothesis. ... The Elohist (E) is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the documentary hypothesis. ...

Jacob Wrestling with the Angel – Gustave Doré, 1855 Jacob or Yaakov, (Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: يعقوب, ; holds the heel), also known as Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: اسرائيل, ; Struggled with God), is the third Biblical patriarch. ... Look up Leah, לֵאָה in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, Standard Hebrew Rəʾuven, Tiberian Hebrew Rəʾûḇēn) is the first-born son of Jacob and the founder of the Tribe of Reuben, as related in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible. ... Simeon was Jacobs second son. ... This article discusses the Biblical patriarch. ... In Genesis (the first book of the Bible) Judah (יְהוּדָה Praise, Standard Hebrew YÉ™huda, Tiberian Hebrew YÉ™hûḏāh) is the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, born in Padan-aram (Genesis xxix. ... Issachar or Yissachar (יִשָּׂשׁכָר Reward; recompense, Standard Hebrew Yissaḫar, Tiberian Hebrew Yiśśâḵār) was the fifth son of Jacob and his first wife Leah. ... This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... Look up Rachel, רחל in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Joseph interprets the dream of the Pharaoh. ... Benjamin (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין; standard transliteration Benyamin, Tiberian vocalization Benyāmîn) is a Hebrew Bible figure. ... In the Book of Genesis, Bilhah (בִּלְהָה Faltering; bashful, Standard Hebrew Bilha, Tiberian Hebrew Bilhāh) is a concubine of Jacob, and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali. ... Dan (דָּן Judge, Standard Hebrew Dan, Tiberian Hebrew Dān) is one of the sons of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachels maidservant (Genesis 30:4). ... Naphtali (Hebrew: נַפְתָּלִי, Standard Tiberian  ; My struggle) is the sixth son of Jacob and the founder of the tribe of Naphtali, first mentioned in the Book of Genesis and as described in the Hebrew Bible. ... In the Book of Genesis, Zilpah (זִלְפָּה Drooping, Standard Hebrew Zilpa, Tiberian Hebrew Zilpāh) is a concubine of Jacob and the mother of Gad and Asher. ... Gad is a son of Jacob and Zilpah. ... Asher (Hebrew: , Standard Tiberian ), in the Book of Genesis, is the second son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Tribe of Asher. ...

Non-biblical uses of the name Dinah

• Dinah was a generic name for an African-American slave woman, as in the lyric "Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah" from the folk song "I've Been Working on the Railroad".
• Dinah is the main character in The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, a novel based on the biblical story.
• Dinah is the name of Alice's cat in Alice in Wonderland.
• Dinah is the main character in George Eliot's Adam Bede.
• Dinah is the name of a mecha in the game Xenosaga.
• Dinah is the name to the Black Canary from DC Comics.
• Dinah is a popular song from 1925.

Ive Been Working on the Railroad is an American folk song. ... For the movie The Red Tent which refers to a North Pole rescue expedition, see the article Umberto Nobile. ... Anita Diamant Anita Diamant (born June 27, 1951) is an American author of fiction and non-fiction books. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Adam Bede is the first novel written by George Eliot and was published in 1859. ... Xenosaga ) is primarily a series of video games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Namco. ... Black Canary is a fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine. ... Dinah is a popular song. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ...

References

• Scherman, Nosson (1993). The Chumash. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Mesorah Publications, Ltd. ISBN 0-89906-014-5

1. ^ Richard Elliott Friedman, Who wrote the bible?; also Jewish Encyclopedia on Shechem
2. ^ ibid
3. ^ Numbers 27:1-11
4. ^ ibid, et al.

Richard Elliot Friedman is a writer and Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at UCSD. He is also Katzin Professor of Jewish Civilization: Hebrew Bible; Near Eastern Languages and Literatures. ... The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ...

External link

• Dinah's Abduction from a Jewish perspective at Chabad.org