Thursday, December 11, 2008

Did Dinah Marry Shimon or Iyov? Or Both?

After Dinah was raped, she married someone, according to Midrash. One explanation is that it was Shimon who married her. The evidence for this is that in Vayishlach, we have:
כו וְאֶת-חֲמוֹר וְאֶת-שְׁכֶם בְּנוֹ, הָרְגוּ לְפִי-חָרֶב; וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת-דִּינָה מִבֵּית שְׁכֶם, וַיֵּצֵאוּ. 26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went forth.
and Vayikchu can be interpreted to mean marry, such that only after the Vayikchu was there vayeitzeiu.

And which of the two brothers? Well, we have one of Shimon's children, named Shaul ben haKenaanit, and Dinah will be interpreted as HaKenaanite, for reasons they will elaborate upon.

Thus, midrash Rabba:

ויקחו את דינה
ר' יודן אמר: גוררין בה ויוצאין.

אמר רבי הונא: הנבעלת לערל קשה לפרוש.
אמר רבי הונא: אמרה: ואני אנה הוליך את חרפתי?
עד שנשבע לה שמעון, שהוא נוטלה, הה"ד (שם מז): ושאול בן הכנענית, בן דינה שנבעלה לכנעני.

ר' יהודה ור' נחמיה ורבנן, ר' יהודה אמר: שעשה כמעשה כנענים.
ר' נחמיה אמר: שנבעלה מחוי, שהוא בכלל כנענים.
ורבנן אמרין: נטלה שמעון וקברה בארץ כנען:

Such that the designation may go to the act defining the actor (Shechem), or to the actor (Shechem), or to where she was eventually buried.

There seem to be two themes at play here, each connected to Rabbi Huna. One is that Dinah was impacted by this rape, in such a way that she did not want to leave. As he states הנבעלת לערל קשה לפרוש, such that as Rabbi Yudan said, they had to גוררין בה ויוצאין. Thus, the vayikchu means against her will, that she did not want to leave. And Rabbi Huna partially endorses this interpretation will his explanation.

The other theme is Dinah as victim. She says "where will I carry my shame?" For she was shamed by the act, and did not know what to do. This is a further reason, perhaps, for her initial refusal to go, and is something entirely different from an emotional connection to her rapist. The quote is not found in the Biblical text of Bereishit, but is found in the Biblical text of Shmuel, where Tamar is raped. Tamar says, before the rape, to her brother Amnon:
יג וַאֲנִי, אָנָה אוֹלִיךְ אֶת-חֶרְפָּתִי, וְאַתָּה תִּהְיֶה כְּאַחַד הַנְּבָלִים, בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל; וְעַתָּה דַּבֶּר-נָא אֶל-הַמֶּלֶךְ, כִּי לֹא יִמְנָעֵנִי מִמֶּךָּ. 13 And I, whither shall I carry my shame? and as for thee, thou wilt be as one of the base men in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.'
Such that by saying this she is suggesting marriage. I would further note that Amnon was brother to Tamar (though only from the father's side), and Shimon was brother to Dinah.

(I hope that וַאֲנִי אָנָה אוֹלִיךְ אֶת-חֶרְפָּתִי attributed to Dinah was not a play on words associated with הנבעלת לערל קשה לפרוש. What gives me some pause is that they are by the same Amora, and that earlier in the parsha the shevatim said
יד וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֲלֵיהֶם, לֹא נוּכַל לַעֲשׂוֹת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה--לָתֵת אֶת-אֲחֹתֵנוּ, לְאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-לוֹ עָרְלָה: כִּי-חֶרְפָּה הִוא, לָנוּ. 14 and said unto them: 'We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us.
thus equating cherpa with arel.)

The text is ambiguous on whether Shimon married her. I would read it as that he fulfilled this promise, but more on this later.

This marriage then was done out of concern for the victim, and is part of the role of Shimon (and Levi) protecting a sister.

Meanwhile the gemara in Bava Batra, and R' Abba bar Kahana, gives a different presentation of the identity of Dinah's spouse.

ויש אומרים איוב בימי יעקב היה ודינה בת יעקב נשא כתיב הכא (איוב ב) כדבר אחת הנבלות תדברי וכתיב התם (בראשית לד) כי נבלה עשה בישראל וכולהו תנאי סבירא להו דאיוב מישראל הוה לבר מיש אומרים

and we also have:
א"ר אבא בר כהנא דינה אשתו של איוב היתה דכתיב כדבר אחת הנבלות תדברי

Thus, she married Iyov.

This midrash seems to have a more jaded view of Dinah, making her the wife who tells her husband Iyov to curse God, and having Iyov's ciriticism link to the action of disgracing her, perhaps saying that this made her into a nevalah -- כי נבלה עשה בישראל.

Need we harmonize these two midrashim? There is no evidence that Chazal of the Mishna and Talmud thought to harmonize them. There are multiple explanations of Shaul ben haKenaanit, of the designation Kenaanit, of whether Iyov married her or actually lived in a different generation, and so on, such that a harmonization of every midrash about this is surely impossible.

But as Anonymous pointed out on a previous post, there is actually a midrash which attempts this harmonization. In Bereshit Rabbati, by Rav Moshe haDarshan (a contemporary of Rashi), on parshat Vayigash, about Shaul ben HaKenaanit, we read:

בראשית רבתי פרשת ויגש
[מו, י] ושאול בן הכנענית. מהו ושאול בן הכנענית, על דעתיה דמאן דאמר לאחיותיהם נשאו השבטים לכך פרט בזה, שזה לבדו היה בן כנענית ולא האחרים.
על דעתיה דמאן דאמר מבנות הארץ לקחו השבטים מה עביד ליה ושאול בן הכנענית. אמרו זו דינה בת לאה,
דא"ר הונא בשעה שהביאו שמעון ולוי את דינה אחותם מבית שכם לא רצתה לצאת אמרה ואני אנה אוליך את חרפתי (ש"ב י"ג י"ג) עד שנשבע לה שמעון אחיה שהוא יקחנה לאשה ואח"כ יצאה, הה"ד ושאול בן הכנענית.
ור' יהודה אומר שעשתה כמעשה הכנענים,
ר' נחמיה אמר שנבעלה [מחוי] שהוא בכלל כנענים,
ואחר שנתעברה גרשה שמעון לאחר שנפטר מן השבועה, וכשירדו ישראל למצרים נתנה יעקב לאיוב וכו'. ורבנין אמרו נטלה שמעון וקברה בארץ כנען. ד"א ושאול בן הכנענית אמרו זה היה זמרי בן סלוא, וששה שמות נקראו לו, שאול בן הכנענית, זמרי בן סלוא, שלומיאל בן צורישדי, ומה שמו שלומיאל וכו'.

Thus, he cites the different midrashim about it, and while noting various disputes (e.g about whether shevatim in general married their sisters), he harmonizes the two, saying that he promised to marry her and did, and then after she became pregnant, divorced her, for he was now exempt from his oath, having fulfilled it. Then, in Egypt, Yaakov gave Dinah off in marriage to Iyov. After all, I would note, from other midrashim we know that Iyov was in Egypt as one of Pharaoh's three advisors, so that would be where they met.

This harmonization seems motivated by an Elu veElu trend. Such as we find in Gittin 6b about the Pilegesh beGiveah:
R. Abiathar said that the Levite found a fly with her, and R. Jonathan said that he found a hair on her. R. Abiathar soon afterwards came across Elijah and said to him: 'What is the Holy One, blessed be He, doing?' and he answered, 'He is discussing the question of the concubine in Gibea.' 'What does He say?' said Elijah: '[He says], My son Abiathar says So-and-so, and my son Jonathan says So-and-so,' Said R. Abiathar: 'Can there possibly be uncertainty in the mind of the Heavenly One?' He replied: Both [answers] are the word of the living God. He [the Levite] found a fly and excused it, he found a hair and did not excuse it. Rab Judah explained: He found a fly in his food and a hair in loco concubitus; the fly was merely disgusting, but the hair was dangerous. Some say, he found both in his food; the fly was not her fault, the hair was.
How can there be Elu veElu on a dispute about metziut? The answer is that first one happened, and then the other. (Though there is special praise for R' Aviatar about this, so it may well not apply in the general case.) So too here, she either married one or the other. So Rav Moshe haDarshan has Shimon divorce her.

I would think that this is a pretty mean thing for Shimon to do -- to fulfill the oath at a surface level -- for he married her -- but violate its spirit. The point was that her shame would be taken care of, because she was married. Do you think she was saying, "I will not leave unless my brother marries me, impregnates me, and then divorces me, leaving me as a single unwed mother??" And it seems to go against the theme of the midrash, which is that Shimon is taking this protective role of his sister.

(The gemara in Bava Batra speaks of Iyov as one who associates with widows no one will marry, such that others would marry them, so perhaps one can argue a thematic connection there to the midrash of him marrying this women no one would associate with.)

I would therefore say that harmonization does not reflect the intent of either author of midrash, and indeed corrupts it somewhat.

While researching this, I encountered what Jewish Encyclopedia says about it. By juxtaposition, they also seem to attempt a harmonization:
Her brother Simeon promised to marry her; but she did not wish to leave, [comma sic] Shechem, fearing that after her disgrace no one would take her to wife (Gen. R. l.c.); she was later married to Job however (B. B. 16b; Gen. R. l.c.). When she died, Simeon buried her in the land of Canann. [sic] She is therefore referred to as "the Canaanitish woman" (Gen. xlvi. 10). Shaul (ib.) was her son by Shechem (Gen. R. l.c.).
By saying "promised" without mentioning fulfilling that promise, they seem to suggest that Shimon never carried out the promise, such that there was no need for divorce. And they similarly suggest that Shaul was her son by Shechem, but the text in Bereishit Rabba is at the very least ambiguous. The question is why she was labelled Kenaanit, not that his father was Shechem, as far as I can see. And they suggest that it is the same people discussing her marriage to Iyov as her marriage (or promised marriage) to Shimon, which does not seem to be the case.

Update: The is also an interesting parallel in which Tamar says to Amnon וְאַתָּה תִּהְיֶה כְּאַחַד הַנְּבָלִים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, and Iyov says to his wife כדבר אחת הנבלות תדברי, which in turn parallels what was done to Dinah. Though at this level of separation it is just free association, IMHO.

11 comments:

The Rebbetzin's Husband said...

Worth noting: Bereishit Rabbah does also include the version in which Dinah marries Iyov (80:4).

Also: It seems to me that the cherpah/arlah association is very much intended.

joshwaxman said...

thanks. I'll check it out.
indeed, the quote of R' Abba bar Kahana (above) I saw also in Bereishit Rabba 19:12.
אמר רבי אבא בר כהנא: דינה, אשתו של איוב היתה, על כן אמר לה (שם ב): כדבר אחת הנבלות תדברי.

But even though it knows of both, it is from different Amoraim, such that I don't believe that they would conflate ("harmonize") them.

KT,
Josh

joshwaxman said...

That statement in Bereshit Rabba 80 reads:
ר' חנינא בשם ר' אבא הכהן בר' אליעזר פתח: (איוב ו) למס מרעהו חסד.
מנעת חסד מן אחוך, היא נסבת לאיוב, שאינו לא גר ולא מהול.
לא בקשת להשיאה למהול, הרי היא נישאת לערל.
לא בקשת להשיאה דרך היתר, הרי נישאת דרך איסור, ותצא דינה וגו':

which is indeed along the lines of the other midrash, that is that Iyov (and not Shimon) was the husband.

Indeed, I wonder (with no evidence) at possible connection between Rabbi Abba haKohen and Rabbi Abba bar Kahana...

Ariella's blog said...

I really take the identification of Dina with Iyov's wife as a projection of character more than a literal idea, especially given the view that Iyov himself did not exist. I wonder if RALBAG addresses the question of Dina giving birth at 6 (Sofrim 21:9) vs. MIdrash Shocher Tov tht identifies her age as 81/2 when Shchem refers to her as a "yalda." The RALBAG did not like being forced to pin Yehdah and his son's ages at under 13 when they were expected to become fathers.

Anyway, I found something R' Falk should like about Dina from Bereishia Rabba on Shchem seeing her, it says that her arms [zroa} were revealed and juxtaposes that to her rape and inuy shelo kedarcka. It is easy to refer that pushes the sleeves up just a bit to far lead to a fate worse than death.

Anonymous said...

The Targum on Iyov also names Dinah as Iyov wife when telling him to curse God,also am I correct in that there is a Medrash that says that Iyov was Eisav son?

joshwaxman said...

ariella:
some interesting ideas. the gemara itself seems to do away with any harmonizing of a later Iyov with marriage to Dinah, but we could argue with it. i've got to think about the ages. I saw that Ralbag you posted about, and it was very interesting.

i'll have to check up on that in Oz veHadar -- and I was going to respond to you already by email, but as you might guess, I'm really terribly slow at writing and responding to emails. I actually wrote about the derivation of that midrash four years ago on Vayishlach, here:


Anonymous:
Indeed, see here in Kugel's book.

This Dinah - Iyov - Esav connection appears in the Testament of Job, a book of the Christian apocrypha. I don't know if it stems from Jewish sources, or if there are midrashim which also state the idea. But we do find echoes of it in the midrash mentioned by the Rebbitzin's husband, which connected Yaakov hiding Dinah from Esav, when she was destined to marry an Arel.

Here is the Testament of Job.
http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/noncanon/ot/pseudo/test-job.htm

From the context, it *seems* that Dinah was his *second* wife, in this rendition. This of course would not fit with the Nevalot connection made in midrash.

KT,
Josh

Ariella's blog said...

Hi, Josh,
Just now I found your post on Dina's arms in 2004. Sorry, I hadn't noted that when I left my comment. I didn't see the RALABAG say anything about Dina's age, though he does put her in the wrong for going out. As he extended the time for the 12 children to be born to 14 rather than 7 years, she could, theoretically, be closer to 12 rather than 6, but she is still one of the last to be born. He didn't bring up the question of her giving birth to either Shaul ben haknanis or Asnath who became Yosef's wife.

But the question comes up with the Dina issue -- at what age is a girl responsible for keeping herself under wraps, so to speak? I brought up the question about kol isha for young girls because my second grader's chumash play features some solo parts and is open to the dads. (This is a BY school that tries to prohibit even nonChalav Yisrael snacks brought form home.) My husband looked up a teshuva by Rav Moshe that does allow for a girl up to 11 (a pnuya assumed to not yet have reached the age of menarche) to be heard singing but suggests that it is a good thing to be machmir. Of course, Dina's age range would be between 6 and 9, and she is criticized merely for going out, not even singing on a stage.

Anonymous said...

How could Shimon have married Dinah, his sister from his mother?

joshwaxman said...

two possibilities:
1) this was pre-mattan Torah, and so the midrash has no issue with it. And perhaps "Chesed Olam Yibaneh." Indeed, a simple reading of the position of Rabbi Yehuda that twin sisters were born to the shevatim, whom they married, would be that the shevatim married their own twins.
2) We might be able to work out this particular case based on the *other* midrash of the fetuses switching in the wombs of Rachel and Leah. I am not sure I "buy" this, though, in terms of it being what the midrashic authors had in mind.

KT,
Josh

Anonymous said...

Pre-Mattan Torah, there was an issur to marry one's sister from the mother, not from the father. And I don't believe that עולם חסד יבנה would be applicable here, as such a marriage is not necessary for the development/creation of the world, or even for the Jewish people.

I think that as midrashim go, the best option might be your idea to combine it with the switching the fetuses. Of course, that would lead to some serious halakhic conclusions based on this speculation.

Pinhas Erez said...

I have an explanation about how Shimon could marry Dinah his full sister. But I will not share it publicly since it is my khidush, and I do not want to enable others to run with it who may take credit for my khidush. If one says over another's khidush as if it is their own, they bring Galut to the world.

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