AND DINAH WENT OUT. Of her own accord.¹

footnotes: ¹ She did not ask her parents’ permission (Krinsky). Filwarg asks, “How does I.E. know this?”

AND HUMBLED HER. He had normal intercourse with her.² Scripture uses the term va-ye’anneha ( and humbled her)³ means to afflict. Thus va-ye’anneha (and he humbled her) means he afflicted her. Hence I.E.’s interpretation. because she was a virgin.⁴

footnotes: ² Contra Rashi who interprets humbled as sodomized. ³ The root ayin, nun, heh ⁴ Intercourse was thus painful, hence the term afflicted her.

AND SPOKE COMFORTINGLY UNTO THE DAMSEL. He spoke tenderly and comfortingly to her.

THAT HE HAD DEFILED. That Shechem had defiled.

A REPROACH. It will be a reproach for generations.⁵ This is the meaning of because he had wrought a vile deed in Israel (v. 7).⁶

footnotes: ⁵ Cherez interprets I.E. to mean that future generations will look down upon us. They will ask, how could they give their sister to an uncircumcised man? ⁶ According to I.E. the vile deed refers to having intercourse with an uncircumcised male (Weiser). Israel in verse 7 refers to a later time when there was a people of Israel. It was then shameful to recall that Dinah had slept with an uncircumcised man (Joseph ben Eliezer Ha-Sephardi).

[13. AND SPOKE BECAUSE HE HAD DEFILED.] And spoke to Shechem who had (asher) defiled their sister.⁷ which literally means: and they spoke who had defiled Dinah their sister. This makes no sense. Hence I.E. points out that Shechem, who is mentioned in the first part of the verse (et shechem), is also the object here. We should thus read it as if it were written: va-yedabberu et shechem asher timme et dinah achotam, viz., and spoke to Shechem who had defiled their sister. It should be noted that according to this interpretation, asher means who. We may interpret our verse in this manner because we find Scripture stating, dabbero le-shalom (Gen. 37:4), which is to be rendered: speak peaceably unto him (Gen. 37:4).⁸ is grammatically similar to dabbero. For an explanation of their linguistic similarity see Filwarg. See also notes to Gen. 37:4. For alternate interpretations see Weiser, Cherez and Krinsky. On the other hand asher may mean because. In this case the Bible is telling us that they answered with guile because (asher) he had defiled Dinah their sister.⁹

footnotes: ⁷ The Hebrew reads: va-yedabberu, asher timme et dinah achotam ⁸ I.E. claims that dabber et Shechem ⁹ Cherez.

TO ONE THAT IS UNCIRCUMCISED. One whose sexual member is uncircumcised.¹⁰, hence I.E.’s interpretation. The meaning of the term orlah (uncircumcised) is something which is heavy. Aral (uncircumcised), in uncircumcised (aral) lips (Ex. 6:12), and arelah (dull), in their ear is dull (arelah) (Jer. 6:10), are similar. An orlah is something which lays heavy because it is an unnecessary appendage.¹¹ Those who say that Abraham blemished himself by undergoing circumcision, and thereby violated God’s charge to him, and be thou whole (Gen. 17:1), err. The opposite is true.¹² Proof of this can be offered from the animal kingdom. ¹³ As to their query, why remove that which God created, we respond that God also created the umbilical cord.¹⁴

footnotes: ¹⁰ The Hebrew literally reads: to one who has an orlah ¹¹ Krinsky. In the case of the foreskin the heaviness is physical. In the case of lips and ears, metaphoric. I.E. renders “uncircumcised lips” as heavy lips. There is, as it were, a burden on the lips which makes speaking difficult. The same applies to the ears. ¹² By circumcision Abraham became “whole.” His impediment was removed. So Cherez and Filwarg. For an alternate interpretation see Weiser. ¹³ Animals have no foreskin. We thus see that it is an unnecessary appendage. ¹⁴ We thus see that God created appendages that require removal (Weiser).

OUR DAUGHTER. They spoke thus because she was a minor.¹⁵. They referred to Dinah as our daughter because they spoke on behalf of Jacob.

footnotes: ¹⁵ Since Dinah was a minor they could threaten, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone

DEFERRED NOT. Echar (deferred) is not of the same grammatical form as va-echar (and stayed) in and stayed (va-echar) until now (Gen. 32:5).¹⁶ Our word is a third person pi’el perfect following the paradigm of berakh (did curse) in Naboth did curse (berakh) God and the King (I Kings 21:13).¹⁷ in Gen. 32:5 is a first person kal imperfect (Weiser). Here the alef is a root letter. In Gen. 32:5 the root alef is missing, for the alef therein is a first person kal prefix (Filwarg).

footnotes: ¹⁶ Both words look alike and are identically vocalized. ¹⁷ However, echar

PEACEABLE. They are at peace.¹⁸ (peaceable) is an adjective (Weiser, Krinsky).

footnotes: ¹⁸ In other words, shelemim

LARGE ENOUGH. Yadayim (enough)¹⁹ (large enough) as large places, i.e., the land is large enough for both of us. is to be rendered places, as in Thou shalt have a place (yad) (Deut. 23:13).

footnotes: ¹⁹ I.E. renders rachavat yadayim

WILL THE MEN CONSENT. Ye’otu (consent) comes from the same root as ya’atah (befitteth) in For it befitteth (ya’atah) Thee (Jer. 10:7).²⁰ (Krinsky). The yod prefix is vocalized with a tzere²¹ (Cherez). to compensate for the missing first root letter.²².

footnotes: ²⁰ According to I.E. its root is yod, alef, tav ²¹ Rather than a chirik ²² The yod

BE CIRCUMCISED. The word be-himmol (be circumcised) has already been explained.²³ Shechem and Hamor had evil designs on Jacob and his sons for they said, Shall not their cattle and their substance and all their beasts be ours (v. 22)?²⁴

footnotes: ²³ Cf. I.E.’s comments on Gen. 17:10. ²⁴ They had intentions of later robbing them of their possessions. Thus both sides plotted against each other (Weiser).

ON THE THIRD DAY. The third day is always a difficult day because it is half of a monthly quarter.²⁵ Simeon and Levi acted with the full consent of their brothers. This is clear from And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with guile (v. 13). The “sons of Jacob”²⁶. refers to all of the brothers. Jacob spilled his anger on Simeon and Levi because they killed the men of Shechem²⁷

footnotes: ²⁵ It is half a week which is a quarter of the month (Weiser). The astrologers count the days from the afternoon. Hence the fourth day begins after the noon of the third day has passed. The time between noon and sunset of the third day is called half the monthly quarter (Krinsky). ²⁶ The reference is to verse 13 (Krinsky, Cherez). Weiser suggests that the reference is to verse 27 wherein it is stated, The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and spoiled the city ²⁷ While the others merely looted the city, Simeon and Levi killed its male inhabitants (Weiser). Cherez explains that the others merely wanted to save Dinah. They did not intend to kill the men of Shechem.

EVEN ALL THAT WAS IN THE HOUSE. This refers either to the house of Shechem or Hamor.²⁸

footnotes: ²⁸ “House” is in the singular, hence I.E.’s comment (Krinsky).

FEW IN NUMBER. Mete (few) means men. Anything that can be numbered is deemed a few.²⁹ (few in number) as men of number, i.e., few men. Hence Rabbi Aaron Ha-Kohen, dean of the Yeshiva,³⁰ errs in rendering literally vi-yehi metav mispar (in that his men became few) (Deut. 33:6).³¹

footnotes: ²⁹ I.E. renders mete mispar ³⁰ Head of the academy in Pumpeditha. Hai Gaon was among his students (Weiser). ³¹ Rabbi Aaron renders Deut. 33:6, and let his men be numbered. I.E. renders this verse: and let his men not be men who can be numbered.

TO MAKE ME ODIOUS.³² They will hate me as one loathes something which gives off a horrible odor.

footnotes: ³² Literally, to make me stink, hence I.E.’s comment.

AND THEY SAID. Simeon and Levi.

SHOULD ONE DEAL WITH OUR SISTER AS WITH A HARLOT. Should Shechem deal with our sister as with a harlot.³³

footnotes: ³³ The subject is missing in the sentence, hence I.E.’s comment.