Design By Humans

Genesis 34. The Wages of Sex.

Genesis 34.

1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

    Alright then, I'm guessing she's at least a teenager by now.

2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

    Are we talking rape here or consensual congress?

3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.

    Well... He seems to have treated her nicely, of course this doesn't preclude the possibility of rape but does suggest that he at least attempted to be persuasive. This might very well have been consentual sex.

4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.

    Having satisfied his lust, Shechem desires to marry Dinah it says nothing of Dinah's desire but given how male-oriented the text has been so far I wouldn't expect it to.

5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.

    How very grown up of him. I wonder if this whole situation can be resolved peaceably.

6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.

    A diplomatic move. perhaps they can negotiate a wedding for Dinah and Shechem.

7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done.

    Are Israel and Jacob different persons? I thought Israel was the name given to Jacob, does Israel instead refer to the whole family now? Anyway, the whole of the male contingent of Jacob's family (Israel) are exceedingly annoyed that Shechem had sex with Dinah. Is it that they were unmarried that was the problem or was it that Shichem is from the wrong kind of tribe? It would seem obvious that it was the unmarried aspect that has caused the problem until you think about what, so far, has constituted a marriage. All barring two marriages so far in this book have been simultaneous with the act of a man 'taking' a woman, by this standard Dinah is already Shechem's wife as they became married when he 'lay' with her. The only two marriages that haven't conformed to this standard are the two marriages between Jacob and the daughters of Laban. These marriages had a party and were paid for by years of labour, these are not the kind of marriages practiced by Jacob's forebears and must have come from whichever tradition Laban followed. Is it then that Jacob is annoyed that Shechem got the pleasures of a wife for free while Jacob had to work for it? Why has the standard of marriage changed?

8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.
   
    As we've seen before, a woman is considered her fathers property until she is married so Hamor quite rightly petitions Jacob for Dinah's hand on be half of his son.

9 And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.

    Hamor further proposes that the two groups ought to intermarry in the long term, this seems quite reasonable and promoting of harmony however knowing the history of Jacob's family attitude toward racial purity I can't see him being pleased by this proposition.

10 And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.

    This all seems a very pragmatic and peace-promoting idea.

11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.

    He even offers payment to sweeten the deal.

12 Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.

    "Ask me for anything" he says, "and I'll give it to you, just let my son marry Dinah.".

13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:

    Hmm. Rather than voicing their displeasure that Shechem has already slept with Dinah the sons of Jacob decide that deception is the right course of action. I find this comes as no surprise given the rich tradition of lying, cheating and general swindling that their family has practiced for generations.

14 And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:

    The deception begins...

15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;

    ...by the sons of Jacob trying to convince the Hivites that the deal is on if they go and circumcise themselves. I wonder where this is leading.

16 Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

    So if they circumcise themselves they can all be one big happy family.

17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.

    OK. Let's see how this plays out.

18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.

    As it was designed to. I mean, what price is a foreskin for lasting peace (and some hot Israelite wives)?

19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.

    Just try keeping Shechem from the circumcision knife! That boy wants it bad.

20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,

    I wonder how the men of the city will take the news.

21 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

    The first part of the bargain seems reasonable...

22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.

    ...and there's comes the other part. Will they go for it?

23 Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.

    Well no objection so far.

24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.

    They went for it, All of the men got circumcised. So the first part of the deception is complete, what do the sons of Jacob plan to do next?

25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.

    Right. great and cunning plan that, wait until all the men of the city are incapacitated by painful plonkers and murder every last one of them. What exactly was the crime of these townsmen that they deserved such retribution?

26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.

    They kill Shechem and Hamor too. Worth noting at this point that they had to take Dinah out of Shechem's house, it doesn't say that she was held prisoner. I am inclined to think that Shechem and Dinah were actually in love and that the sex between them was consensual. What exactly was Shechems crime?

27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.

    The whole city defiled her? I think this may be a case of an over active imagination on their parts. Do they really think that Dinah has lain with the the entire city? They don't hold their sister in very high regard.

28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,

    Was this the real motive? Looting the city?

29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.

    And expanding their number by taking all of the women and children too?

30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.

    Jacob is annoyed with his sons for taking the retribution too far, is there some good in this man after all? No! His objection to the retributive actions of his sons is not that it is morally wrong but that he is afraid the surrounding tribes will kill him over it.

31 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

    Nice Justification boys. Nice justification.

So a lot of death there. What can we gather from it.

  • It is no longer enough to simply 'take' a woman for a wife. This seems to have changed at the point Jacob was married to the daughters of Laban. There is no reason given in the narrative for this change. The upshot of this is that it is now possible to have pre-marital sex which as soon as it was invented has become taboo.
  • Simeon and Levi think that a fair punishment for the crime of having pre-marital sex is to slay all of the males in the city that the male of the pairing comes from and then take for themselves all of the property, Women and children of the city.
  • Jacob does take issue with Simeon and Levi's actions but his stated reason is not the inherent dis-proportionality of their reaction, nor a disapproval of the killing of the innocent. No. Jacob's issue is that he might suffer reprisals from the neighbouring tribes.

I wonder if there will be more unwarranted murder in Genesis 35.

Genesis 33. El! God of Israel.

Genesis 33.

1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.

    Are we not calling him Israel now? Oh well... Jacob seeing that his brother is coming with an army of four hundred men devides his children up in order of their legitimacy.

2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.

    He then puts them into ranks.

3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

    Evidently scared for his life, Jacob does his utmost to demonstrate his subservience to Esau.

4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

    It seems that Jacob was needlessly worried. Esau greets his brother lovingly.

5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.

    Esau is confused as to who all of Jacob's wives and children are. I suppose he didn't expect his younger brother to be so prolific. Jacob explains who they are and yet again takes the opportunity to suck up to his brother.
6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.

    OK..

7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

    Right you are, the whole family have been introduced.

8 And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.

    Esau asks Jacob why he has sent his servants ahead with all of his cattle as gifts, Jacob explains that he was trying to buy his way into Esau's good books.


9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.

    Esau refuses the gifts saying that he has no need of them.

10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

    Is Jacob comparing Esau favourably with God?

11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.

    Esau eventually takes Jacob's gifts.

12 And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.

    Are they proposing to travel together?


13 And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.

    I think Jacob is trying to excuse himself from traveling with his brother by pleading for his week children and cattle.

14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.

    Yes it seems that that is exactly what Jacob is doing, but he agrees to meet his brother in Seir. Let's see if he gets there.

15 And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.

    Esau asks to leave some people with Jacob, I can't help feeling that there is some distrust here.

16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

    After leaving some people with Jacob Esau goes on his way to Seir.

17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

    Hmm, Jacob, Instead of going to Seir goes to Succoth and builds a house and some stables.


18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.

    After building a house and some stables, Jacob travels on to Shalem and pitches a tent. When will he get to Seir?

19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.

    It doesn't appear as though Jacob intends to meet his brother in Seir any time soon, He's just invested in some land. Why did he lie to Esau? Is there nothing hones about this man?


20 And he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel.

    He even builds an alter which he dedicates to El - The god of Israel. Who is El? Is El The LORD? Is this the same god? How many gods are there?

What a nice short chapter that was, Have we learned anything new?

  • Well, Jacob lies to his brother but we already knew that he lies and cheats so nothing new is revealed here.
  • We learn that Esau, despite having been swindled by his brother in the past shows him humility, greets him warmly and is reticent to take his gifts. Is Esau the better man here? Why aren't we following his story?
  • We have learned that the God that Israel/Jacob worships is called El. Is this the god that he wrestled with or was that the god of Isaac? Are they the same god? Who knows?

Next up. Genesis 34.

Genesis 32. God the Groin Grabber!

Genesis 32.

1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

    Angels again, I wonder what they are up to.

2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

    Good good. Naming places is always useful.

3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

   Wait, What happened to the angels? have I missed something? perhaps they were going about some other business and this was just a chance meeting. Anyway, Jacob sends some messengers to his Orang-utan-like brother Esau.

4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:

    Now as I recall (and by recall I mean, had another look at the text so as not to recall incorrectly) The blessing bestowed upon Jacob by Isaac his father was that he should be the master of his brother Esau. Calling himself Esau's servant as he has above is either forgetfulness on the part of the author as to who got which blessing or it is simply a case of Jacob sucking up to his brother to try and persuade him not to kill him for stealing his birthright.

5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.

    Sucking up and bribery too.

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

    Has Esau brought an army to murder his brother?

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;

    OK, I'm not certain what his plan is but then I'm no military strategist.

8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

    I see, it's a plan of basic cowardice, which is not entirely out of character.

9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:

    Jacob prays. Is this the first prayer? No gods are present, either in  person or in vision form, I think this may actually be the first example of someone talking to an absent god.

10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

    ...

11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.

    ...

12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

    The prayer is over. I'm wondering why Jacob didn't sacrifice an animal or erect a pillar to curry favour with the LORD. Are sacrifices unnecessary when asking God for something now?

13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;

    OK.

14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,

    Nice present so far.

15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.

    That really is a lot. Who'd have thought Jacob was so rich. Esau is sure to be pleased.

16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.

    Coward that he is Jacob makes the servants go before him.

17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?

    ...

18 Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.

    ...

19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.

    He intends to send his servants in waves toward Esau's army, each wave proclaiming that the livestock they have is a gift for Esau.

20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.

    He's basically grovelling. He must know that he did something wrong all those years ago my stealing both Esau's birthright and his blessing however it seems that it is only the threat of death that makes him contrite and not the wrongness of the acts themselves.

21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.
    Jacob sleeps while he sends his servants toward an army.

22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
    Is this the same direction that his servants went?

23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

    OK.

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

    That was a bit unexpected. Who is this man that Jacob has been wrestling all night? Where did he come from?

25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
    Now I'm wrestling with a definition. Where is the hollow of the thigh? is it the groin?

26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

    OK.

27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

    The man asks for Jacob's name and he gives it.

28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

    Hmm, a renaming. We've only ever seen The LORD rename people thus far. Is this 'man' The LORD?

29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

    Jacob asks the man for his name.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

    Now, it doesn't say here that the man gave his name but for some reason, perhaps the renaming, Jacob is convinced that this 'man' is God, either way it would more aptly read "And Jacob called the name of the place Penile: for here is where my wang has been touched by the hand of God"

31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

    Are we talking groin again?

32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.

    Is the sinew that shrank a penile euphemism?

OK, so that was fun. What have we learned.

  • Jacob is afraid of his brother Esau and plans to bribe him with his ill-gotten riches.
  • For a completely unexplained reason, while Jacob's servants are off bribing Esau, Jacob engages in a wrestling match with a stranger.
  • The Wrestling match was with The LORD! Yes God is a wrestler and a dirty one at that. In order to win, The "Almighty" LORD resorts to a cheap shot to Jacob's manly danglers. Why is it necessary for the LORD to wrestle? The source of the disagreement is not explained and even if it were, why wrestling? Was this really The LORD? might it just have been some unknown fellow pretending to be The LORD? After all Jacob has had a vision of The LORD before and for some reason didn't recognise his adversary.
  • Jacob gets a new name, he is now called Israel.

So, Will Esau smite his slippery con-man of a brother? Lets see if Genesis 33 has the answer.

Book Index

GENESIS

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|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|
|21|22|23|24|25|26|27|28|29|30|
|31|32|33|34|35|36|37|38|39|40|
|41|42|43|44|45|46|47|

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