While Genesis, the first book of the Bible, appears to follow a distinct (male-dominated) historical pattern in story he tells, tracing first Adam and Eve and their sons, then Abraham, his son Isaac, Jacob, Isaac's son, and Joseph, Jacob's son, often digressing to tell smaller vignettes , often focusing on the home. The authors of Genesis share this common literary technique with Homer. Two particularly interesting stories in Genesis that deviate markedly from the main story are the rape of Dinah in chapter 34 and the story of Tamar and Judah in chapter 38. These domestic stories tell ideas regarding women, sex and their roles in biblical society, in addition to the common Genesis themes (and common Homeric themes as well) of family, lineage, cultural identity, disguise, and honor or kleos. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayDinah is Jacob's only daughter in addition to his twelve sons, conceived with his wife Rachel's sister Leah, who is in fact also his wife, although it is clearly stated that Jacob "loved Rachel more than Leah". (29:30) At the start of chapter 34, Dinah leaves to “visit the women of the region”. (34:1) It is unclear exactly what this means, although it could mean that Dinah is engaging in some sort of sinful or sexual activity, unchaperoned and unprotected by men, particularly her twelve brothers. This could be seen as provoking Shechem's rape in the next verse. But after the rape, “the soul of Shechem was drawn to Dinah, daughter of Jacob; he loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly.” (34:3) This love felt by the rapist for the victim is disturbing; he never apologizes or expresses remorse for his vulgar actions, but seems to view rape as his method of wooing and claiming the woman he loves, the woman he wishes to marry. It is also disturbing that Jacob, Dinah's father, remains silent despite knowing of his daughter's traumatic experience: Jacob then learned that Shechem had desecrated his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with his cattle in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came. (34:5) The message here is that Jacob is an insecure masculine figure, who takes no action to protect his daughter, either because he values ​​his sons more than his daughter, or to the opinions of his sons rather than his own. His sons then take the initiative to organize the circumcision of the males of the tribe of Hamor, although the Bible explicitly states that this was done "by deception". Later, they massacre Hamor's men, capture their women, children and sheep, and return with Dinah. Perhaps their rage comes from their guilt over letting Dinah go into town without an escort, or from the fact that they are the sons of Leah, the less favored. Nevertheless, they allowed internal tensions to escalate into antagonism against the entire people of Shechem. It is disturbing that Jacob does not castigate them for their violent actions, but rather for the new possibility of being attacked in revenge by the other inhabitants of Shechem. “I will be destroyed, me and my house,” he says in 34:30. The focus is not on protecting Dinah but on protecting her, her sons, and her name. An ultimately disturbing aspect of this story is that Dinah's voice is never heard, nor is God's voice. The story of Tamar and Judah is also disturbing in many ways. It begins with Onan, the brother of Tamar's late husband,..