WOW!         Dinah’s brothers certainly took some drastic measures in their response to the rape of their sister. F    First of all they bargained with the men of Shechem to be circumcised, then while the men were still in pain, Dinah's brothers killed them. They will pay for this later when their father Jacob gives out the blessings.  These brothers, Simeon and Levi have the same mother (Leah) as Dinah.

By using circumcision in this way, they defiled the symbol of the covenant between God and Abraham. The brothers Simeon and Levi lost part of their inheritance because of this.

However, the men of Shechem had ulterior motives.  They wanted all the wealth of Jacob and his descendants, which the union of marriage with Dinah would bring. 

We have often wondered how old Dinah was when this rape happened. The word "girl" is used to describe her.  The Hebrew word for girl is "naarah" and means "a girl from infancy to adolescence".  This may mean that Dinah had not yet reached adolescence.  If this were the case, it would explain why the brothers took such offense at the violation of their sister.  It was not uncommon to ask for a girl in marriage before the age of adolescence, but it was not acceptable to have sexual relations with a girl that young.  Once the rape took place, Dinah was considered defiled - or unclean.    

To his credit, Jacob tells his people to rid themselves of all the foreign gods they have with them, which they do. However, instead of destroying them, he buries them under the oak at Shechem.  Bad idea!  Were these the gods that Rachel brought with her from Paddam Aram or did Jacob's family acquire more gods?

God reemphasizes Jacob's name change to Israel. Did Jacob forget? Or did Jacob slip back into some old ways of doing things and God had to remind him that with the change of name comes a change in character?

Since Rachel had great difficulty in giving birth, the birth of Benjamin may have been a breech birth. Interesting that this birth took place near Bethlehem. Another significant birth also took place in Bethlehem.

Genesis 35 lists the names of Jacob's sons along with a sentence that says "These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddam Aram."  However, Benjamin was born in Bethlehem.  Is this a contradiction in Scripture???  Ponder this...in that culture (and in many other cultures today), life begins at conception. For counting one's age, they count from conception.  So, it appears that all Jacob's sons were conceived in Paddam Aram. 

Reuben sins with Jacob's concubine. Later Jacob takes away part of Reuben's inheritance. Just another example that "sin has consequences".

Also interesting that Isaac lived many years after his "dying" blessing to Jacob.  It says he was "old and full of years."  The words "old" and "full of years" seem to go together.  But, quite possibly the "full of years" may refer to the quality of life.

What a great epitaph...to die "old and full of years"!