Texts in Conversation
Pseudo-Philo and Rabbinic tradition in Genesis Rabbah say that Dinah, after returning from Shechem, becomes Job's wife. This fills a narrative gap left by the Hebrew Bible, which is silent about Dinah’s later life and vague about Job’s background.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities 8:8
Classical
7 Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, and Sichem the son of Emor the Correan forced his daughter Dina and violated her. Simeon and Levi the sons of Jacob went in and killed all their city with the edge of the sword, and took Dina their sister, and went out from there. 8 Afterward Job took her as his wife and fathered by her 14 sons and 6 daughters, that is, 7 sons and 3 daughters before he was struck with affliction, and afterward, when he was made whole, 7 sons and 3 daughters. These are their names: Eliphac, Erinoe, Diasat, Philias, Diffar, Zellud, Thelon; and his daughters Meru, Litaz, Zeli. And the names of the later children were the same as those of the former.
Genesis Rabbah 57
Aggadah
Rabbinic
The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘You need not [fear], the one who will experience it [suffering] has already been born. “Utz his firstborn, and Buz his brother.”’ When did Job live? Reish Lakish said in the name of bar Kappara: He lived in the days of Abraham, as it is stated: “Utz his firstborn” and it is written: “There was a man in the land of Utz, Job was his name” (Job 1:1). Rabbi Yaakov bar Kahana said: He lived in the days of Jacob, as Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Dina was Job’s wife, as it is written regarding Job’s wife: “You are speaking like one of the disgraceful women [hanevalot] speak,” (Job 2:10), and it is written in Dina’s regard: “For he had committed an outrage [nevala] in Israel” (Genesis 34:7). Rabbi Levi said: He lived in the days of the Tribes. That is what is written: “[This I have seen, and I shall tell of it,] that wise men speak up and do not withhold from their fathers” (Job 15:17–18) – this refers to Reuben and Judah. What reward did they receive for this? “To them alone the land was given” (Job 15:19).
Date: 500 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Tags:
Search:
Notes and References
"... The later life of Dinah is passed over in silence. We catch not the slightest glimpse of her in Jacob's household during the long story of Joseph, and while her name is mentioned once more, in passing, in a list of Jacob's descendants (Genesis 46:15), she apparently did not join her father and brothers in going down to Egypt. What became of her? A number of early sources suggest that Dinah became the wife of Job, the central figure of the biblical book bearing his name. For although that book mentions the fact that Job had a wife, it does not say what her name was. This was just the sort of blank that early interpreters were anxious to fill, especially when they could do so by 'borrowing' a name or a character from somewhere else. Now while the book of Job does not say when Job lived, Genesis 36:33 mentions a certain 'Jobab' among the descendants of Jacob's brother, Esau. If 'Jobab' was another form of the name Job, then Job might have been around - and looking for a wife - at precisely the time when Dinah was returned from Shechem to her father's house ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,