Why Scripture Calls Dinah the Daughter of Leah in Genesis 34

Midrash Aggadah, Genesis 34:2

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And he lay with her" (Genesis 34:2): This teaches that one transgression drags along another transgression. "the daughter of Leah" — and not "the daughter of Jacob"? Rather, just as Leah was a goer-out, as it is said, "And Leah went out to meet him" (Genesis 30:16), so too Dinah was a goer-out. "And he lay with her" — in the normal manner. "And he afflicted her" — in an abnormal manner.

Themes

WomenMatriarchsBibleZebulunSin

Biblical References

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Midrash AggadahLeah Prays Her Unborn Son Become Dinah So Rachel Is Not ShamedLeah already cradled six sons of her own, and the two maidservants had given Jacob four more. Ten. And Leah knew the count that Heaven had set: twelve tribes weBen SiraHonoring Your Father and Mother Above AllBen Sira begins with a blunt claim: God placed a father's honor and a mother's judgment over their children. Ben Sira then shifts into direct address, offering Book of JubileesCain Took His Sister and Built a Line of SinnersThe fourth chapter of Jubilees. It's a short passage, but packed with details that spark the imagination. The passage begins simply enough: "And in the sixth weBook of JubileesSerug's RepentanceSometimes, the story behind a name is a window into a whole era, a whole shift in how people saw the world. Take Serug, for example. The Book of Jubilees, a texBook of JubileesTerah Among the MothersThem is often remembered as just labels, but sometimes, they carry a whole story within them, a whisper of the past echoing into the present. Take the name TeraBook of JubileesSarah Demands That Hagar and Ishmael Be Sent AwayIt's a feeling that pops up in some pretty surprising places, even in our sacred stories. to one of those moments, found in the Book of Jubilees. It's considere