DILEAN

(Diʹle·an).

A Judean city in the Shephelah. (Josh. 15:20, 33, 38) Though its exact location is uncertain, some geographers place it at Tell en-Najileh, some seven miles (11.3 kilometers) SW of Lachish.

DILL

[Gr., aʹne·thon].

Modern lexicographers agree that the plant referred to by the Greek term is the dill (Anethum graveolens, L.) rather than the anise (Gr., anʹne·son), as in older translations (AV, Dy). The dill is more commonly cultivated than anise in the Palestine region today, and evidence indicates that it was cultivated from ancient times in the Near East, as well as by the Greeks and Romans. Dill was among the plants the hypocritical Pharisees punctiliously tithed while failing to observe the weightier matters of the Law. (Matt. 23:23) Talmudic writings prescribed that not only the seeds but also the stems and leaves were subject to tithe.

The plant is weedlike in growth, resembles anise, and attains a height of about two feet (.6 meter) with finely cut, clear green leaves and sprays of small yellow flowers. It is cultivated for its aromatic seeds, which are much valued for flavoring foods and also medicinally for treatment of stomach ailments.

[Picture on page 450]

Dill (Anethum graveolens)

DIMNAH

(Dimʹnah).

Evidently the same as Rimmon (Josh. 19:13) and Rimmono (1 Chron. 6:77), a city on the E border of Zebulun’s territory given to the Merarite Levites. (Josh. 21:34, 35) Dimnah is commonly identified with modern Rummaneh about six miles (10 kilometers) N of Nazareth.

DIMON

(Diʹmon).

A site mentioned in Isaiah’s pronouncement of doom upon Moab; the slaughter of the Moabites causes the waters of Dimon to become “full of blood.”—Isa. 15:9.

Some commentators consider Dimon to be another form of Dibon (mentioned in verse two of the prophecy), such form being used to provide an alliteration or play on the sound of the Hebrew word for “blood” (dam), thus “Dimon . . . full of dam.” In favor of such a view is the fact that the Dead Sea Schrolls use “Dibon” instead of “Dimon,” and Jerome’s statement that in his day (c. 340-420 C.E.) the two names were used interchangeably.

Others, however, consider it improbable that the name of Dibon would be presented in two different ways within the brief pronouncement, and also note that no other place in the pronouncement receives double mention. They further point out that Dibon did not stand by any large “waters,” it being a considerable distance from the nearest stream, the river Arnon. They suggest, therefore, that Dimon may be a scribal alteration of Madmen, mentioned in Jeremiah’s condemnation of Moab (48:2), and usually identified with Khirbet Dimneh, two and a half miles (4 kilometers) NW of Rabbah, on a height dominating the waters of the ‘Ain el-Megheisil to the SE.

Both views are conjectural, the latter having in its favor the identification with a site associated with waters, which the context seems to require.

DIMONAH

(Di·moʹnah).

A southern city of Judah near the border of Edom. (Josh. 15:21, 22) It is suggested by some to be the same as “Dibon” mentioned at Nehemiah 11:25, and while its exact location remains uncertain, some geographers would identify it with el-Qebab between Beer-sheba and the Dead Sea.

DINAH

(Diʹnah) [judged; acquitted; vindicated].

Daughter of Jacob by Leah. Dinah may have been about six years of age when Jacob returned to Canaan and settled at Succoth, she having been born at Haran when her father was residing there. (Gen. 30:21, 22, 25; 31:41) At the time Jacob and his family were tenting outside the city of Shechem, Dinah unwisely made it a practice to visit the Canaanite girls there. On one of these visits she was violated by Shechem the son of Hivite chieftain Hamor. Shechem fell in love with her, and Dinah remained in his home until avenged by her full brothers Simeon and Levi.—Gen. 34:1-31.

Some contend that Dinah must have been just a child when she was violated. However, it must be borne in mind that before coming to Shechem Jacob built a house and booths at Succoth, indicating that he resided there for some time. (Gen. 33:17) At Shechem he bought a tract of land and apparently became established there for a while. All this, together with the fact that Shechem fell in love with Dinah, the “young woman,” would argue that Dinah was not a mere child at the time of her association with Shechem.—Gen. 33:18, 19; 34:12.

Years later, Dinah, with the rest of Jacob’s household, came into Egypt at the invitation of Joseph.—Gen. 46:7, 15.

DINHABAH

(Dinʹha·bah).

The city of Bela, king of Edom. (Gen. 36:32; 1 Chron. 1:43) Its present-day location is unknown.

DIONYSIUS

(Di·o·nysʹi·us) [belonging to Dionysos (the god of wine)].

An Areopagite, or judge of the Athenian Areopagus, who heard Paul’s defense and became a Christian. (Acts 17:34; see AREOPAGUS.) Dionysius’ being mentioned with Damaris, a woman who also became a believer, provides no real basis for concluding that they were married to each other.

DIOTREPHES

(Di·otʹre·phes) [nurtured by Zeus].

A man mentioned by the apostle John in his letter to Gaius. In addition to being ambitious, proud, disrespectful of apostolic authority, rebellious and inhospitable, Diotrephes tried to hinder those desiring to show hospitality to the brothers and to expel these from the congregation.—3 John 9, 10.

DIPHATH

(Diʹphath).

A descendant of Noah through Japheth and Gomer (1 Chron. 1:4-6, NW, 1955 ed., ftn.), called Riphath in the Latin Vulgate, the Greek Septuagint and in some thirty Hebrew manuscripts, as well as at Genesis 10:3. The spelling “Diphath” found in the Masoretic text at 1 Chronicles 1:6 may have arisen through a copyist’s error, since the Hebrew letters for “R” (====) and “D” (====) look very much alike.

DIRGE

A composition, lyrical or musical, expressing deep sorrow, such as the grief occasioned by the death of a friend or loved one; an elegy. In the New World Translation the rendering “dirge” is from the Hebrew word qi·nahʹ, which denotes a mournful composition, an elegy or a lamentation. Because of their nature, dirges are associated with moaning and wailing (Ezek. 2:10), and at least some of them were written down and preserved. 2 Chronicles 35:25 reports that Jeremiah chanted over deceased King Josiah and indicates that there once existed a collection of dirges (Heb., qi·nohthʹ), for it is there stated: “All the male singers and female singers keep talking about Josiah in their dirges down till today; and they have them set as a regulation over Israel, and there they are written among the dirges.”

Dirges are linked with mourning, as when Jehovah told unfaithful Israel: “I will turn your festivals into mourning and all your songs into a dirge.” (Amos 8:10) Hence, taking up a dirge signified intoning an elegy or mournful composition, perhaps one denoting