Genesis 34:5 Commentary and Bible Study

Jacob hears this terrible news before his sons. Dinah is being kept in Shechem’s house, for it is from there that she is taken when the brothers attack the Hivites (verse 26). Whether she is being kept against her will is not clear, and she is certainly not being mistreated.Jacob, a man of God, is distraught, yet he holds his peace until all are together. Their reaction is different; they are furious. Luther says, ‘Oh, how great is the grief of parents when their children sin!’This was not a happy occasion for Dinah. She now understood something of her own foolishness and the shame associated with her action, but it was too late. Wisdom was needed before this calamity took place, not afterwards. Wisdom that only comes after the event is not worth very much. There were others who told us about the danger in advance, but we would not listen to them. She was defiled. That is a strong word in Hebrew. It refers to loss of honour, to being debased, declared unclean, counted as nothing. What is she now? ‘A toy, available to me’, thought Shechem. Jacob is not a warlike man, and so he was despised and taken advantage of. She had been forced, perhaps not physically, but he had put such pressure on her that she was obliged to yield. Yes she went willingly, but she was forced. Jacob held his peace until his sons were come in from the field. This is a family disaster. Perhaps he feels guilt at not doing more.