GEN1597 In an interesting example of inter-biblical dialogue, Genesis 49:5-7 alludes critically to the story of the rape of Dinah Genesis 34 and implicitly to the tale’s ideology of tricksterism. This difficult-to-date-and-place piece of tradition Claus Westermann; Genesis. A Commentary, Minneaplis MN: Augsburg 1986:221 is part of the so-called “Blessings of Jacob,” a final testament of the aging patriarch who is pictured to address each of his sons. Simeon and Levi’s slaying of men in anger and willful hamstringing of oxen Genesis 49:6 is decried as unfair and inappropriate: “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce/ their overflowing rage, for it is relentless.” The interest of the writer who placed this saying in its biblical context is probably less in the ethics of war than explaining aspects of the tribes’ status in Israel, especially Levi’s lack of the tribal holding. Nevertheless, Genesis 49:5-7 provides a fascinating ideological counterpoint to Genesis 34, a view of warring behavior more in tune with the bardic code than with the marginal’s tricksterism. NIDITCH 137-8

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