Seder 32: Genesis 34---Marriage by Abduction

 In his chapter on Genesis 34 in Jacob's Story as Christian Scripture, Philip H. Kern discusses marraige by abduction, an ancient practice that, sadly, still exists in some places today.  One report claims that in 2003, two thirds of the marriages in Ethiopia still were of this type.  

Once a woman had been kidnapped and raped, her options were limited.  Often she would end up marrying her captor.  Because she had been defiled, it was anticipated that no one else would want to marry her.  

The book of Genesis often reports events without explicitly casting judgment upon them.  But in this case the narrator states plainly that "such a thing must not be done" (Ge 34:7).  

We do not know how old Dinah was when she was abducted by Shechem.  Based on Genesis 30:21, she may have been six when the family returned to Canaan.  Joseph was six at that point, and he was sold into slavery 11 years later.  This incident took place sometime during that 11 years.  One commentator, Bruce Waltke, estimates her age at 15, old enough to make Reuben about 22, Simeon about 21, Levi about 20, etc.  This seems like a reasonable estimate.  

At any rate, Shechem desired to marry Dinah, and he found the family of Jacob to be a tough crowd to convince.  He had shamed Dinah and her family, so he was going to have to come up with a sizeable bride price.  (Deuteronomy 22:28-29 will later give 50 shekels as a bride price for such a situation, but Jacob's sons were not going to be bought off that easily.)  The Shechemites ended up agreeing that all their males would be circumcised, a pretty high price.

While the males of Shechem were receovering from the procedure, Jacob's sons killed them and plundered the town.  In return for one abduction, Dinah's brothers carried out a mass abduction.  A number of the sons of Jacob may have obtained wives from the women they captured.  

At the end of his life, Jacob condemned the actions of Simeon and Levi, who led and massacre and abduction (Ge 49:5-7).  One purpose of Gen 34-50 is to explain how the promises to Abraham would be carried forward to future generations.  Genesis 34 explains why the tribes of Simeon and Levi would not be the main bearers of the blessings.