“Honor Killing, The Rape of Dinah”
NOTE:
This post has been withdrawn. The post will be published in my book, Those Amazing Women of Ancient Israel. The book introduces an amazing group of women who made an impact on the political, religious, and the economic life of early Israelite society. The book will be published in the Fall of 2024 by Kregel Academics.
Visit my Amazon author’s page to purchase the book (click here).
Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
A Note About This Post:
Before “Honor Killing, The Rape of Dinah” was withdrawn for publication, “Honor Killing, The Rape of Dinah” was read by 1,962 readers. “Honor Killing, The Rape of Dinah” was also shared 14 times by readers who enjoyed reading the post. You can read “Honor Killing, The Rape of Dinah” and other articles on the amazing women of the Old Testament by reading my forthcoming book Those Amazing Women of Ancient Israel. Below is the content of the book:
Those Amazing Women of Ancient Israel
CONTENTS
List of Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Preface
Chapter 1 Those Amazing Women of Ancient Israel
Part 1
Israel’s Social Concern for Women
Chapter 2 Israel’s Concern for Women
Chapter 3 The Status of Women in Israelite Society
Chapter 4 The Deuteronomic Concern for Women
Chapter 5 The Tenth Commandment (Deuteronomy 5:21)
Chapter 6 The Law of the Hebrew Slave
Part 2
Women Prophets
Chapter 7 Women Prophets in the Old Testament
Chapter 8 Miriam the Prophetess
Chapter 9 Deborah the Prophetess
Chapter 10 Isaiah’s Wife
Chapter 11 Huldah, A Prophet in Israel
Chapter 12 Noadiah the Prophetess
Chapter 13 The Nameless Prophetesses in the Book of Ezekiel
Chapter 14 The Seven Prophetesses of the Old Testament
Chapter 15 Women Who Proclaim the Good News
Chapter 16 The Daughters of Heman
Chapter 17 “Your Daughters Shall Prophesy”
Part 3
The Mothers of Israel
Chapter 18 Sarah: A Mother in Her Old Age
Chapter 19 Hagar: The Surrogate Mother
Chapter 20 Rachel: The Struggles of a Barren Woman
Chapter 21 Moses’s Two Mothers
Chapter 22 Sisera’s Mother: The Humanization of the Enemy
Chapter 23 Samson’s Mother: A Mother’s Disappointment
Chapter 24 Hannah: “The Barren Has Borne Seven”
Chapter 25 Rizpah: Reflections on a Mother’s Love
Chapter 26 Bathsheba: A Mother with Determination
Chapter 27 Solomon and the Two Mothers
Chapter 28 Jeroboam’s Wife: A Mother’s Agony
Chapter 29 Jesus’s Great-Grandmothers
Chapter 30 The Other Great-Grandmothers of Jesus
Chapter 31 Jezebel: A Great-Grandmother of Jesus
Chapter 32 The Genealogy of Jesus According to His Great-Grandmothers
Part 4
Abused Women
Chapter 33 Dinah, the Daughter of Jacob
Chapter 34 Tamar, the Wife of Er
Chapter 35 The Levite’s Concubine
Chapter 36 Bathsheba, the Wife of Uriah
Chapter 37 Tamar, the Daughter of David
Part 5
Women of Distinction
Chapter 38 Rahab: A Prostitute or an Innkeeper?
Chapter 39 Deborah, A Judge in Israel
Chapter 40 Jael: A Heroine in Israel
Chapter 41 Ruth, the Moabite
Chapter 42 Ahinoam, the Mother of Amnon
Chapter 43 Abishag, the Shunammite
Chapter 44 The Greatness That Was Jezebel
Chapter 45 Esther, the Queen of Persia
Bibliography
Index of Scriptures
Index of Authors
Index of Subjects
Index of Hebrew Words
I hope you will enjoy reading the book and develop a new appreciation for these amazing women of Ancient Israel.
Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
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Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament 
Thx for posting and adding the commentary from Jon Berquist. I would have expected the usual apologetics; defending the Biblical patriarchs, but I got a pleasant surprise!
Nevertheless the story of the Afghanistan woman and the definition you offer for “honor Killing” don’t seem to jibe with the Biblical excerpt, b/c there, it’s not the woman who is killed but the rapists who is killed along with many others. In that case it seems more like reveange or an excuse to pilfer goods belonging to another.
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Derek,
There is no doubt that the killing of Shechem and his family was revenge. However, behind this act of revenge there was the necessity to avenge the honor of the family and of the sister. There are many facets to honor killing.
Claude Mariottini
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Hello Dr. Mariottini,
I have a question about a new detail I heard this morning in a sermon about Luke 15 “The Parable of the Lost Son”. The speaker mentioned that the Father came running to the son for two main reasons. The first was out of love and joy for seeing his son. But the second reason was to save his son from the other villagers that might attack him due to Honor. I have been looking for references to this but haven’t come across anything except for your article here about Dinah.
Do you think that the father was actually trying to protect his son? I would appreciate any kind of answer. Thank you.
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Brandon,
Thank you for your comment. Although the text does not say anything about honor, I doubt that the reason the father came out to meet his son was to protect the honor of the family or the honor of the father.
It is true that the matter of honor was very important to people in ancient Israel, but the issue of honor has nothing to do with the parable of the prodigal son.
Claude Mariottini
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Hello Dr Mariottini.
I think that Dinah, daughter of Jacob was not raped at all but rather fell in love with Sachem as he did with her which is why he went to Jacob and wanted permission to marry Dinah . Because he agreed with Jacob’s orders to be circumcised along with his father and other men in the Palace , shows that he was not a rapist but rather a man very much in love.
Another post I read states that Dinah then went on to marry JOB and gave him 7 sons and 3 daughters/ However in the book of Job it doesn’t mention Dinah at all only his sons and daughters.
I love ancient history but find the Bible very patriachial and the absence of women .
regards Shirley Gower
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Shirley,
There are several proposals for what happened to Dinah. The view that she was not raped is accepted by a few scholars. The word “defiled” appears three times in the text, suggesting that what Shechem did to Dinah was not acceptable to Jacob’s family. When Jacob’s son said to their father, “Should our sister be treated like a whore?” (Gen 34:31), their reaction indicates that something offensive had happened to their sister.
The idea that Dinah married Job is not accurate. Job was an Edomite who believed in the God of Israel. People often fabricate stories about individuals in the Bible, and the notion that Job married Dinah is purely fictional.
The Bible is patriarchal, but many women did very well in Israelite society. You should read my book, Ancient Israel’s Women of Faith: A Survey of the Heroines of the Old Testament. In the book, I speak about women who made a difference in Israel. The book is scheduled for publication in August 2025.
Thank you for your comment.
Claude Mariottini.
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