Lesson_62_Dinah_at_Shechem

Parents, please note: Genesis 34 is one of the darkest and most difficult chapters in the Bible. Jacob's family

settles near the city of Shechem. Dinah goes out 'to visit the women of the land' and is seen and assaulted by

the prince of the city. When her brothers, Simeon and Levi, find out, their anger is completely uncontrolled.

Instead of seeking biblical justice, they use a sacred religious rite (circumcision) to trick and physically

incapacitate all the men of the city. On the third day, the two brothers slaughter the entire city, taking the

women, children, and flocks as plunder. Jacob is horrified by the massacre. Today, we will handle this

carefully: focusing on personal boundaries for the little ones, the explosive nature of unhinged anger for the

middle grades, and the terrifying line between justice and vigilantism for the older students.