Tuesday, May 18, 2010

The Story of Dinah's Virginity

Genesis 34:1-31

There was a great scandal in Beth's neighborhood when one of the local boys was caught kissing the girl who lived next door. The girl's father caught them and killed the boy with a big stick.
This story upset Beth a great deal and she asked her mother if what the man had done to the boy was right in the eyes of God.
"Let me tell you a Bible story about just this sort of thing," Beth's mother said. And this is the story she told:

One day, there was a woman named Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, who went traveling all around the land. While she was traveling, a man named Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite who was prince in the country, saw her. Shechem grabbed Dinah and put his penis in her, spoiling her for anyone else.
Because he had put his penis in Dinah, Shechem fell in love with her. He said nice things to her and went to his father saying, "Will you please get this woman for me so that I can marry her?"
Jacob found out that Shechem had spoiled his daughter, but he didn't say anything until his sons came in from tending the cows in the field.
Hamor, Shechem's father, came to Jacob to talk to him, and Jacob's sons came too when they heard about it. The sons were upset that Shechem had spoiled their sister, but Hamor tried to appease them by promising that Shechem would marry the girl. He also offered Jacob's sons daughters of his own to marry. "That way," said Hamor, "we will be like a big family."
Shechem, who had come with his father, spoke next. He said, "Please forgive me and I will do anything you ask. I will pay you anything you think Dinah is worth, but please let me marry her."
Jacob's sons answered Shechem and Hamor saying, "We can't make a deal because none of you has cut off the end of his penis and that is disgusting to us. If you will cut off the ends of your penises and the ends of the penises of all boys in your house, then we will do just like you said. But if you don't cut off the ends of your penises, then we will leave and take Dinah with us."
This made Hamor and Shechem happy, and they promised that they would do just like Jacob's sons had said.
When they got back home, Hamor and Shechem told the people of the city that they should marry the women in Jacob's house, and let the men in Jacob's house marry their daughters, and trade with them and live near them, and that -- as a sign of their good intentions -- all the men should cut off the ends of their penises.
All the people listened to Hamor and Shechem, and all the men cut off the ends of their penises.
Three days later, when all the men were still sore from having the ends of their penises cut off, Simeon and Levi -- Dinah's brothers -- came into the city with swords and killed all the boys. Then they killed Hamor and Shechem. Then Jacob's whole extended family looted the city. They took the sheep, the oxes, and the donkeys because their sister had been ruined. Then they took all the valuables in the city, and all the children, and all the women, and they ruined everything that they left behind.
After that, Jacob said "People are going to be mad at us for what you did."
"Well," said Simeon and Levi, "we couldn't let them treat our sister that way."

"Wow," said Beth, "I guess women are pretty valuable for all the men in Jacob's family to get so upset."
"Women are valuable, Dear One," said Beth's mother, "At least until someone has put a penis in them."
Beth thought about this for a moment. "Well, I'm sure glad that nobody's put a penis in me!" she said. Then she smiled and hugged her mother. All her questions had been answered.

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