Genesis 34:1: “Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land.”
Nestled in a valley between two desert mountains lay Shechem. Not far from the city Jacob’s caravan set camp. True to his promise to Rachel, Jacob bought a plot of land in the area. He bought it from the sons of King Hamor for a hundred pieces of silver. Finally they had a place to call home in the land of Canaan.
Early in the morning, Jacob got up and hiked the nearby foothills where he had spotted an old terebinth tree. There he worshiped the Lord and prayed: “Thank you, God of my father Isaac and my grandfather Abraham that You have brought us safely here, right under the noses of our enemies. Mighty is the God of Israel!”
And Jacob built an altar under the old terebinth tree dedicating it to “El Elohe Israel” – “Mighty is the God of Israel”.
Later that day Jacob met with his eldest sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. “The Lord has been kind to us”, he opened the meeting and added: “Yesterday I was able to purchase a plot of land from the Shechemites.” His sons looked surprised. “Why do we want to settle here, Father?” Reuben asked. “This place is arid.” Jacob smiled saying: “Lord-willing we will be able to dig a well here. This morning I noticed a spring by the mountains. I say, let’s start digging today. There must be ground water underneath this seemingly arid soil.”
His last words contained a little barb for Reuben who had openly criticized his father for choosing this location to settle down. Though Reuben said nothing, his face darkened.
Within a week, Jacob’s sons struck water. They dug deep and constructed a well which would later become widely known as “Jacob’s well”. As months flew by, Jacob’s family became acquainted with Shechem and its people. Regularly they went to town to purchase groceries at the market. Now that the annual fall festival was drawing close, Dinah wished to attend the festivities. “Not without a chaperone!” her mother insisted. She sighed: “I wished one of your rothers could go with you, but unfortunately, they are all very busy right now.” – “But Mom”, Dinah protested, “Why am I not allowed to get to know the women of this country?” Leah thought for a moment and then said: “Alright, I will send Zilpah my servant with you. But you must promise me that the two of you stay together.”
The narrow streets of Shechem were crowded. Dinah was thrilled with the music, the smells of the food stands and the colorful attire of the people. In the middle of the city was a market place where the women performed a traditional dance to thank the gods for a successful harvest. Zilpah and Dinah stood and watched. Unbeknownst to them, they had attracted the attention of a secret admirer, Prince Shechem. At first he had noticed Dinah on one of their weekly grocery trips into town. Today he seized the opportunity and sent two of his servants to Dinah and Zilpah. The two men approached them and introduced themselves: “Good afternoon! We are servants of Price Shechem,” they said, “You are both invited to join the party in the palace garden. His majesty is celebrating with his court and special guests.”
First Zilpah shook her head and declined, but Dinah pleaded with her: “Please Zilpah! This is a great honor! The prince of this country invites us. Please say yes!” Zilpah’s face betrayed discomfort, but at last she agreed. Soon they were ushered to the palace garden where the party was in full swing. Seated near the head of the table, they were in close vicinity to the prince.
Zilpah didn’t know what to think, but suspicions rose inside of her when the prince arrived. He had only eyes for Dinah. “Allow me to introduce myself to you. My name is Prince Shechem”, he said. – “But that’s the name of this city”, Dinah observed. Prince Shechem nodded. “Yes, that’s correct. My father, King Hamor, named the city after me. What is your name?” Zilpah decided to answer in Dinah’s stead: “Her name is Dinah,” she said, “Dinah, daughter of Jacob.” The prince lifted his eyebrows. “Ah! I see,” he smiled and turning to Dinah he added: “We recently sold a plot of land to your father if I’m not mistaken. So your family wants to settle here?” – “Yes, we like it here,” Dinah blushed. The prince was very charming and she was quickly star-struck with the man.
“Would you ladies like to see the palace?” Prince Shechem offered as the afternoon wore on. “I could give you a private tour.” Zilpah politely declined: “Thank you so very much for your time, your Majesty, but I think we need to go home now.” Dinah looked sad. “Can’t we stay a little bit longer?” she whispered while Zilpah shot her a warning look.
“Why don’t you wait here while I show Dinah around”, the prince said matter-of-factly to Zilpah who was quickly intimidated by the authority he exuded. She opened her mouth to protest, but the prince and Dinah were already moving away from the party and into the palace building. Time passed and Zilpah’s food on her plate grew cold. Her stomach was a nervous knot and she could not eat a single bite. After what seemed like an eternity, Shechem’s servants approached her, saying: “The girl stays here. Prince Shechem wants to marry her.” Zilpah tore her clothes and wailed while the people around her stopped and stared. Quickly the servants grabbed her while telling the bystanders: “She’s drunk!” and carried her outside the palace walls.
Zilpah ran all the way home. And it didn’t take very long for the bad news to spread everywhere.