The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant Quiz

Answer: both answers are correct

The red tent has a great deal of significance in the book. This where the women retreat when they are menstruating or giving birth. This is a place of great power: rituals occur there, as do planning and major decision-making. Information, knowledge, support and traditions are passed on from woman to woman inside the red tent.

Answer: Leah

Dinah is the only daughter of Leah, the first of Jacob's four wives. The other three wives are Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah, who are also all half-sisters. For Dinah, it was like having four mothers!

Rebecca is Jacob's mother and therefore Dinah's grandmother.

Answer: Rachel

Rachel is the prettiest of the four sisters and the one Jacob is most in love with. However, he relies on Leah to run the household and for advice on the flocks, and she also bears the most children for him.

Answer: Joseph

Dinah and Joseph are born around the same time, and both are Jacob's children by different mothers. Rachel's milk dried up and she was unable to nurse, so Leah nursed both Dinah and Joseph at the same time, hence the term "milk-brother".

Joseph is Dinah's favorite brother.

Answer: False

In the book, "El" is the god of Jacob, his father (Isaac) and his grandfather (Abram). Jacob passes his faith onto his sons, but none of the women (including Dinah) worship El. The women of this family worship various gods and goddesses such as Asherath, Innana, Baal, and others. They have idols of these gods (teraphim), and this proves to be a source of friction between them and Jacob.

Answer: Rebecca curses and banishes her and her stepmother, Adath.

When Dinah first meets Tabea, Tabea's dearest wish is to be a priestess (a Deborah, as Rebecca calls all her acolytes) and serve Rebecca at Mamre. Unfortunately, things do not turn out as desired. Adath and Esau's other wives (who raised Tabea) do not follow the ways of Rebecca and her family. They do not go into the red tent and don't observe the rituals, including that of returning the woman's first blood to the earth.

When Rebecca finds out that Tabea became a woman but did not go in the red tent, she screams at Adath: "You mean to tell me that her blood was wasted? You shut her up alone like some animal?" She then spits at Adath's feet and curses her.

Tabea throws herself at Rebecca's feet and begs her to make her a Deborah and let her serve. Rebecca ignores her and turns her back on her. Dinah is very shocked and disturbed by this, and thinks it is very unfair.

Years later, in the city of Shechem, Dinah thinks she spots Tabea, wearing white temple robes, with a shaved head and pierced ears. She calls to her, but the girl rushes away.

Answer: False

Didn't I warn you not to rely on the Bible for the answers? In this book, Dinah and Shalem fall in love with each other at first sight and quickly become lovers.

Hamor the king, Shechem's father, visits Jacob, laden with gifts, to make an offer of marriage. Jacob is offended by the king's assumption that Jacob will accept the bride-price, and upset that Dinah's virtue was compromised before marriage.

Levi and Simon, two of Dinah's brothers, are against the marriage, because they think it will weaken their status and make them subordinate to the royal family of Shechem. Levi and Simon make an impassioned speech to their father and their other brothers, accusing Shalem of taking their sister against her will.

Jacob accepts the king's offer, but demands that Hamor, Shalem and all of the man of Shechem be circumcised. The king and his son are not thrilled about this but agree to it.

The night after the circumcisions have been performed, Dinah awakes in her marriage bed covered in her husband's blood. He and all the men of Shechem have been murdered by Jacob's sons.

Covered in blood, Dinah walks to her family's tents, curses all of them, and returns to Shechem. She flees for Egypt with Shalem's mother, Re-nefer, and is pregnant with Shalem's child.

Answer: Zafenat Paneh-ah

The name means "The God speaks and He lives." After Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, he was sold from master to master, and eventually ended up in jail for committing adultery with his master's wife. While in jail, he developed a reputation for dream interpretation. Word of this got to the king, who asked Joseph to interpret some dreams for him. The king was so grateful to Joseph that he made him the vizier of Egypt.

Dinah (known as Den-ner in Egypt) is summoned to the vizier's wife to serve as midwife. While there, she learns the story of the vizier and figures out that it is Joseph.

Meanwhile, Dinah's son, Re-mose, had been hoping to be given the position of vizier. Instead he was forced to serve under Zafenat (Joseph), whom he regarded as an illiterate. Re-mose confronts Joseph and learns the truth about Joseph, Dinah and his father. He becomes so angry at Joseph that he threatens his life and gets thrown in jail. Dinah has to go to Joseph and beg him to free Re-mose.

Answer: carpenter

Dinah and her midwife friend Meryt meet Benia at the marketplace in Egypt. Dinah buys a carved box from him. He is obviously interested in her, and Meryt urges her to encourage Benia's interest, but Dinah does not want a relationship at that time. Soon afterwards, he moves to the Valley of the Kings.

Years later, Dinah moves to the Valley of the Kings with Meryt. There, she is reunited with Benia (with a little help from Meryt) and they marry.

Answer: 1

Dinah assists as a midwife at many births throughout her life. Ironically, Dinah herself only gives birth to one child, her son Bar-Shalem, whom his grandmother (Shalem's mother) takes as her own and names Re-Mose.