How did father Jacob feel?

How did father Jacob feel? (1)

Father Jacob, who heard that his daughter Dinah

had been raped by the foreigner Shechem (Genesis 34:5),

later heard that his eldest son Reuben had slept with his concubine Bilhah (35:22).

Upon hearing the news that their sister Dinah had been raped by Shechem,

the sons of Jacob were filled with astonishment and anger at the disgraceful and wicked act.

Therefore, they could not restrain their emotions.

Consequently, they deceived Shechem and Hamor, the men of their city,

by proposing to take Dinah as their sister in marriage on the condition

that all the men of the city undergo circumcision.

At that time, the most influential figure in Hamor's household,

Shechem, wasted no time in fulfilling this condition.

The reason was that he loved Jacob's daughter Dinah

(Genesis 34:13-19).

Just as their father Jacob had deceived (and had been deceived by his uncle Laban)

his brother Esau, Jacob's sons also deceived Shechem and Hamor.

Jacob worked for seven years to marry the beautiful Rachel whom he loved so much

that those seven years felt like just a few days (29:20).

Similarly, while Shechem was deceived by Jacob's sons, he loved Dinah,

which is why he promptly fulfilled the condition of circumcision that they demanded (34:19).

In all these situations, what might Jacob have felt?

Seeing his sons deceiving others like himself, and seeing Shechem,

who loved Dinah like Jacob loved Rachel, being deceived,

Jacob's feelings would likely have been complex.