DINAH
di'-na (dinah, "justice"): The daughter of Jacob and Leah, whose violation by Shechem, son of Hamor, caused her brothers, especially Simeon and Levi, to slay the inhabitants of Shechem, although they had induced the Shechemites to believe, if they would submit to circumcision, Shechem, the most honored of all the house of his father, would be permitted to have the maiden to whom his soul clave for wife (Ge 34:1-31). The political elements of the story (compare Ge 34:21-23, 30) suggest a tribal rather than a personal significance for the narrative.

Nathan Isaacs

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