Dinah: Tribe of Adar I

Exploring the tribe of Dinah, which corresponds with the month of Adar I in the Jewish wheel of the year.

Photo by baikang yuan on Unsplash

Adar I (אֲדָר א) is Dinah’s (דִּינָה) month, at least as far as I’m concerned. 

Rabbinical tradition equates Naphtali with both Adar I & Adar II in a leap year, but many modern feminists have argued well that the extra month should belong to Jacob’s daughter, the 13th tribe.

Dinah is the seventh child of Leah and Jacob, and the only named daughter, although Genesis 37:35 indicates there were others.  Dinah’s name means judgement, but I’ve also seen it as “vindicated.”  Her story is one that few women like to read, at least as it is traditionally interpreted.  In Genesis 34, we read of the “rape” of Dinah. It’s an ugly story with very little redeeming value anywhere.  

But what if we look at this through another lens?