Alexander Rofé, «Defilement of Virgins in Biblical Law and the Case of Dinah (Genesis 34)», Vol. 86 (2005) 369-375
Seduction or rape of a virgin in the Biblical milieu did not signify her being
defiled. The Hebrew verb t-imme) (to defile) applied to married or betrothed
women only. The case of Dinah is an exception. In Genesis 34, it is stated three
times that Jacob’s daughter was defiled by Shechem (vv. 5.13.27). A plausible
explanation of this state of affairs is that Genesis 34 reflects the late, postexilic
notion that the idolatrous gentiles are impure which implies the prohibition of
intermarriage and intercourse with them (Ezra 9, 11-12). The concept of the
impurity of idolaters persisted in post-biblical literature. Thus, the assertion that
Dinah was defiled by Shechem betrays a late date of composition in respect of
this story. This confirms Kuenen’s hypothesis that Genesis 34 in its present form
is a late chapter, containing an anti-Samaritan polemic which originated in the
Restoration Community of the Fifth-Fourth centuries BCE.
476 Gert T.M. Prinsloo
eschatological and Messianic flavour†(70). The twl[mh yryv in particular
existed as a collection prior to the final redaction of Book V(71). In this
context a group of people calling themselves the “servants†(72), the
“poor†(73), people who “fear YHWH†(74), YHWH’s “saints†(75) are met
several times throughout Book V. They have a distinct interest in Zion
(76)/Jerusalem (77)/the house of YHWH (78). This “servants of the Lordâ€
who describe themselves as “poor†and display a distinct interest in
“Zion†indicate a “Motivkonstellation†(79) that occurs only in the Book
of Isaiah (80) and the Psalms (81). They have been identified as a group
of Levites who has been expelled from their privileged position in the
temple by the post-exilic temple aristocracy(82) late in the Persian
period (beginning 4th century BCE)(83). The presence of these terms in
the twl[mh yryv indicates that these are the songs of a political and
religious marginalised community, under constant pressure, not from
enemies from outside, but from the aristocracy in Jerusalem. They
(70) G.T.M. PRINSLOO, “A contextual and intertextual reading of Psalm 118â€,
OTE 16 (2003) 412.
(71) E. ZENGER, Ich will die Morgenröte wecken. Psalmenauslegungen
(Freiburg – Basel – Wien 1991) 128.
(72) µydb[, cf. Pss 113,1; 134,1; 135,1. With suffixes referring to YHWH the
term db[ occurs in Ps 135,9.14.
(73) ˆwyba, cf. Pss 107,41; 109,16.22.31; 112,9; 113,7; 132,15; 140,13.
(74) ary, cf. Pss 115,11.13; 118,4; 135,20.
(75) dsj cf. Pss 106,1.7.45; 107,1.8.15.21.31.43; 108,5; 109,12.16.21.26;
115,1; 116,15; 117,2; 118,1-4 (4x).29; 119,41.64.76.88.124.149.159; 130,7;
132,9.16; 136,1-26 (26x); 138,2.8; 143,8.12; 144,2; 145,5.8.10.17; 147,11;
148,14; 149,1.5.9.
(76) ˆwyc, cf. Pss 125,1; 126,1; 129,5; 133,3; 137,1.3; 146,10; 147,12; 149,2.
(77) µylvwry, cf. Pss 116,19; 122,2.3.6; 125,2; 128,5; 135,21; 137,5.6.7;
147,2.12.
(78) hwhy tyb, cf. Pss 116,19; 122,1.9; 134,1; 135,2.
(79) Cf. U. BERGES, “Die Knechte im Psalter. Ein Beitrag zu seiner Komposi-
tionsgeschichteâ€, Bib 81 (2000) 153.
(80) µydb[ occurs once in Deutero-Isaiah (Is 54,17), but becomes one of the
central themes in Trito-Isaiah (Is 65,8 (3X).9.13.14.15; 66,14). W.A.M. BEUKEN,
“The main theme of Trito-Isaiah ‘the servants of YHWH’“, JSOT 47 (1990) 67
regards them as the “offspring†of the Servant of YHWH mentioned in Is 53,10.
(81) WILLI, “Das twl[mh ryvâ€, 154 emphasises that Zion occurs with regular-
ity only in Isaiah, Zachariah, Micah and the Psalms. In the Psalms it is only in
the Songs of Ascents that it can be regarded as a “Leitmotivâ€.
(82) BERGES, “Die Knechte im Psalterâ€, 153-178; J. BLENKINSOPP, “The ‘ser-
vants of the Lord’ in third Isaiah. Profile of a pietistic group in the Persian pe-
riodâ€, PIBA 7 (1983) 5; J. BLENKINSOPP, “A Jewish sect of the Persian periodâ€,
CBQ 52 (1990) 10.
(83) ZENGER, Morgenröte, 128.
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