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Introduction
Genesis 34 has been and continues to be read by most scholars as the story of Dinah's rape by Shechem, as witness the titles of so many of their studies. They almost always accept the assumption that Dinah was raped as axiomatic and make no attempt to prove it. Since the 1980s, however, and especially in recent years, there have been more and more voices claiming that the story should be read as the seduction of Jacob's young daughter by the prince of Shechem and not as a rape. Recently it has even been suggested that the story describes abduction marriage and hence is not about rape at all, even if Dinah did not agree to have sexual intercourse with Shechem. In the present paper I discuss the theories of seduction and of abduction marriage and show, that according to the text, Dinah was not seduced, but raped; and even if we allow that it is a case of abduction and intercourse for the purpose of marriage, nevertheless the act should still be called what it is - rape - since it takes place without her consent.
1. Mode of Narration
»Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country, saw her, and took her and lay with her and abused her« (Gen 34,1 f. [modified]).
The two introductory verses recount the actions of the two protagonists - first Dinah and then Shechem; but they provide absolutely no window on their emotional lives. The next verse, by contrast, does provide a direct and surprising insight into Shechem's emotional life: » Being strongly drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and in love with the maiden, he spoke to the maiden tenderly» (Gen 34,3). But Dinah's emotional state remains in the shadows from the beginning of the story until its end. And just as her voice is not heard and her emotions are not reported when Shechem abducts and forces her, so she remains mute, her feelings a mystery, when she is taken back home by her brothers after they exact brutal revenge on the city of Shechem, massacre its inhabitants, and kill, among others,...