Three Women Who Were Sexually Assaulted in the Old Testament

There were no happy endings for these victims of injustice

In a perfect world crime wouldn’t exist. People wouldn’t get hurt. It would be a world of lollipops and sunshine everyday, all day.

But we don’t live in a perfect world, thanks to the actions of Adam and Eve. Their act of disobedience in the Garden jacked it up for everyone. Sin entered the world the instant they rebelled against God.

And we’re all still dealing with the ramifications of their sin to this very day. In fact, every crime under the sun can be traced to that fateful moment in Eden.

And that includes the crime of rape.

The Importance of Female Virginity

During Old Testament times, a woman’s virginity was a prized possession to be protected at all costs. Her hand in marriage— virginity intact— could be swapped for economic gain for her family.

Her virginity also symbolized the family honor. A woman’s social standing in her family and in the community could be downgraded into negative numbers if she had sex outside of the confines of marriage — even if she was raped.

The Old Testament reports three sexual assaults against women. Here’s a quick rundown of each incident:

The Case of Dinah

Dinah was a daughter of Jacob and his first wife, Leah. One day, Dinah ventured out to visit some girlfriends in the area. While there, she caught the eye of Shechem, a man of influence and the son of a town leader.

He raped her.

And then he fell in love with her.

Despite the fact that he had assaulted Dinah, Shechem was determined to marry her. (Scripture is silent about Dinah’s feelings towards Shechem). So, Shechem and his father approached Dinah’s family with a marriage proposal.

But Dinah’s brothers weren’t hearing it. They were not interested in trying to smooth things over. Shechem had treated Dinah like a prostitute. As far as they were concerned, they had been dishonored and violated, too.

But Shechem didn’t get it.

He continued to beg for the right to marry her, oh-so-oblivious to the hatred that was flowing his way. So Dinah’s brothers devised a plan for some get-back.

They agreed to the marriage on one condition: Shechem plus the entire male population of the town had to be circumcised. Shechem and his father readily agreed to the terms. They then convinced all of the men in town to do the same.

Three days later the circumcised townsmen were still recuperating. They were unable to move or to defend themselves. That’s when two of Dinah’s brothers, Simeon and Levi, sauntered into town and slaughtered every single man, including Shechem. They then retrieved Dinah and returned home.

Except for a mention in a family register, we never hear about Dinah again.

The Case of Tamar

Tamar was King David’s beautiful daughter. Her older half-brother, Amnon, was in love with her. He faked being sick so that Tamar would visit and cook for him.

When she arrived, Amnon ordered everyone but Tamar out of the room. When they were alone, he made a move against his unsuspecting sister. “Come to bed with me.”

Tamar tried to reason with him: “Just talk to the king. He’ll let us get married.” Amnon refused to listen. He overpowered Tamar and raped her.

Then he kicked her to the curb.

Tamar ended up living as a desolate woman in the household of another brother, Absalom, for the rest of her life. She never married or had children of her own. However, some time later Absalom (possibly) named his daughter after her.

Time passed. Absalom never forgot the incident. And he never forgave his brother for raping Tamar. Two years later, he got revenge and had Amnon killed.

The Case of the Unnamed Concubine

A man from the tribe of Levi and his concubine were travelling. They stopped in the tribe of Benjamin’s territory, for an overnight stay. While there, they stayed at the home of a man who lived in town.

After they had settled in and were eating, some men from the town surrounded the house. They demanded to have sex with the Levite. He protected himself by shoving his concubine into the arms of the mob.

They gang-raped her for hours and finally released her at dawn. The poor woman managed to stumble back to the house. When she got there she collapsed at the door and died.

Instead of burying her, the Levite cut her body into twelve pieces. He then sent one piece to each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Her death sparked a war that nearly decimated the tribe of Benjamin.

All of three of these cases are disturbing. They contribute to the ever-increasing evidence that we live in a fouled-up, fallen world. One day the Lord is going to come back. The record will be set straight and all offenses will be paid back in full.

Until then, we can’t give up hope. Those of us who truly love Him must continue to follow His example and be the salt and the light this world so desperately needs right now.

If you liked this article, here’s a similar one ‘Lot: A Man Who was Sexually Assaulted in the Bible’. Check out this one about 10 earthquakes in the Bible. Of course, there’s always ‘Why John the Baptist was Decapitated’ here. Subscribe so you don’t miss an article.

Thanks for your time. Thanks for reading.