{
  "id": "dict_001440",
  "term": "Dinah",
  "slug": "dinah",
  "letter": "D",
  "entry_type": "biblical_person",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "Dinah was Jacob and Leah’s daughter in Genesis, best known for the incident at Shechem in Genesis 34.",
  "simple_one_line": "Dinah is the daughter of Jacob and Leah, whose story is centered in Genesis 34.",
  "tooltip_text": "Dinah, Jacob and Leah’s daughter, is mentioned in Genesis and appears most prominently in the Shechem narrative of Genesis 34.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Jacob",
    "Leah",
    "Shechem",
    "Simeon",
    "Levi",
    "patriarchs"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Genesis 34",
    "Genesis 30:21",
    "Genesis 46:15",
    "Genesis 49:5-7"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Dinah is the daughter of Jacob and Leah in the book of Genesis. Her name appears in the family lists of the patriarchs, but her most important narrative role is in Genesis 34, where her encounter with Shechem leads to deception, outrage, and violent retaliation within Jacob’s household.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A biblical person: the daughter of Jacob and Leah, mentioned in Genesis 30 and 46 and featured prominently in Genesis 34.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Daughter of Jacob and Leah",
    "Named in Genesis 30:21 and 46:15",
    "Central to the events in Genesis 34",
    "Her account exposes sin, dishonor, and vengeance in Jacob’s family"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Dinah is Jacob’s daughter, named among the children of Leah in Genesis. She appears most prominently in Genesis 34, where Shechem wrongs her and the aftermath includes deceit and violent reprisal by Simeon and Levi.",
  "description_academic_full": "Dinah is the daughter of Jacob and Leah and is mentioned in the patriarchal narratives of Genesis. She is named in the family lists of Genesis 30:21 and 46:15, and her story is developed in Genesis 34. In that chapter, Shechem wrongs Dinah and later seeks to marry her, while Jacob’s sons answer with deception and massacre. The narrative presents a tragic account of violation, family outrage, and escalating violence. Dinah should be understood as a biblical person in Israel’s family history, not as a theological concept or symbolic abstraction.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Dinah belongs to the family of the patriarch Jacob during the sojourning years in Canaan. Her narrative is set within the tensions of covenant family life in Genesis, where the promises to Abraham are unfolding amid real moral failure and conflict.",
  "background_historical_context": "The account reflects clan life in the ancient Near East, where family honor, marriage negotiations, and tribal retaliation shaped social conflict. Genesis presents the incident as part of the historical and moral realism of the patriarchal period.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In later Jewish interpretation, Dinah’s account has often been read with attention to family honor, injustice, and the danger of violence. The biblical text itself, however, gives the primary interpretive frame and does not encourage speculation beyond the narrative.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Genesis 30:21",
    "Genesis 34",
    "Genesis 46:15"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Genesis 49:5-7"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Hebrew דִּינָה (Dinah), likely related to the idea of judgment or vindication.",
  "theological_significance": "Dinah’s story highlights the reality of sin and the disorder that sin brings into families and communities. It also shows that vengeance and deceit are not presented as righteous solutions, even when the outrage is real.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "The narrative illustrates how personal wrongdoing can escalate into wider social harm when justice is pursued outside God’s moral order. It is a sober example of moral agency, injury, and the corruption of retaliatory violence.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Read Genesis 34 as a historical narrative, not as endorsement of the brothers’ actions. Avoid romanticizing the violence or filling in details beyond what the text states. The chapter’s moral burden is on the entire fallen situation, not on Dinah as a mere plot device.",
  "major_views_note": "Most interpreters agree that Genesis 34 is a tragic narrative of wrong and retaliatory sin. Discussion usually centers on translation nuances for Shechem’s treatment of Dinah and on the moral evaluation of Simeon and Levi’s response.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This entry concerns a biblical person and her place in Genesis history. It should not be turned into allegory, speculative typology, or doctrinal proof text beyond what the passage clearly teaches.",
  "practical_significance": "Dinah’s story warns readers about sexual sin, family failure, and the destructive spiral of revenge. It also underscores the need for righteous justice, restraint, and truthful dealing.",
  "meta_description": "Dinah is Jacob and Leah’s daughter in Genesis, known especially for the events surrounding Shechem in Genesis 34.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/dinah/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/dinah.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}