[Avodah] Chamor defiled Dinah

[Akiva Miller]

A number of years ago, I wondered whether the phrase "zahav tahor" (which
appears many times, especially in Sefer Shemos in relation to the keilim of
the mishkan) means: (A) gold that is ritually pure, either by immersion in
a mikveh or by never becoming tamei to begin with, or (B) gold that is pure
in the sense of having no other metals alloyed into it. I vaguely recall
getting "B" as the answer here on Avodah, but I am unable to find any
records of that discussion. If anyone can bring any sources, I'd appreciate
it.

I was reminded of the above by a similar question in yesterday's Parshas
Vayishlach. The root "tamay" appears in three separate pesukim: "Yaakov
heard that he (Chamor) tim'ay Dinah his daughter" (34:5). "For he (Chamor)
tim'ay their sister Dinah" (34:13). "They plundered the city that tim'oo
their sister" (34:27, note the plural form, suggesting collective guilt).

What sort of tum'ah is being referred to here? My guess is that this is NOT
referring to a technical tum'as keri, which I understand to exist only
among Jews. Rather, this tum'ah is of a colloquial or social sort: Chamor
defiled, abused, profaned, and dishonored Dinah. But do any meforshim say
this explicitly? Or is it so obvious that no one felt a need to say so?

I suspect (but I'm not sure) that this social defilement might appear
elsewhere in the Chumash as well. For example, Devarim 24:4 - "Her first
husband is not able to take her again to become his wife, after she had
been defiled..." Is this a social defilement to the first husband resulting
from her second *marriage*, or is it a technical defilement resulting from
tumas keri *during* that second marriage? (I suppose this question can be
easily answered depending on whether this prohibition begins with her
kiddushin to the second husband, or only after eirusin with the second
husband.)

Sometimes words have obvious meanings, but sometimes we don't see the
ambiguity until it is pointed out.

Akiva Miller
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