Note the contradiction in the following verses.
- Verse
Gn34-13a
discussing
the response of Jacob's sons to the rapist (of his daughter Dinah)
who wanted to marry his daughter,
states
And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem
and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said
- Verse
Gn34-13
however continues
because he had defiled Dinah their sister;
We see the contradiction: Which is it?
Were Jacob's sons deceitful or did Schem deserve it
because he had raped and defiled their daughter / sister?
Rashi resolves this contradiction using the
broad-literal method of resolution: Rashi prefers a
translation of cunning to deceitful. Rashi translates
Gn34-13 as follows:
And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem
and Hamor his father cunningly,
because he had defiled Dinah their sister; and said:
The point here is that the word deceitful has perjorative
connotations while the word cunning has laudatory connotations.
Therefore the translation deceitful is not accurate since
its nuances contradict the fact that the behavior of Jacob's
children was morally proper.
Sermonic points:
You can ask: "But is it proper to be deceitful in response to
an immoral event? Doesn't that close the door on repentance. After
all Chamor did rape Dinah? He now wanted to repent and marry her---
what justifies the deceit?"
I actually found a legal answer to this in the Rambam, Laws
of Employees, Chapter 9: "An employer has the right to be deceitful
to an employee who quits in the middle of a time sensitive job where
no replacement is possible. For example, you can promise to pay him
more if he finishes the job and then reneg on the promise. Or, you
can withold payment of a loan due to him." In a similar manner
Jacob's children were morally justified in deceiving a rapist.