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

(Di·moʹnah).

A southern city of Judah near the border of Edom. (Jos 15:21, 22) It is suggested by some to be the same as “Dibon” mentioned at Nehemiah 11:25, but its exact location remains uncertain.

(Diʹnah) [Judged [that is, 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.​—Ge 30:21, 22, 25; 31:41.

At the time Jacob and his family were tenting outside the city of Shechem, young 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 the Hivite chieftain Hamor. Shechem fell in love with her, and Dinah remained in his home until avenged by her full brothers Simeon and Levi. (Ge 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. (Ge 33:17) At Shechem he bought a tract of land and apparently became established there for a while. All of this, together with the fact that Shechem fell in love with Dinah, the “young woman,” would argue that Dinah, though still young, was not a mere child at the time of her association with Shechem.​—Ge 33:18, 19; 34:12.

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

(Dinʹha·bah).

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

(Di·o·nysʹi·us) [Of (Belonging to) Dionysus [the god of wine]].

An Areopagite, or judge of the Athenian Areopagus, who heard Paul’s defense and became a Christian.​—Ac 17:34; see AREOPAGUS.

(Di·otʹre·phes) [Fed 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.​—3Jo 9, 10.

(Diʹphath).

A descendant of Noah through Japheth and Gomer; called Riphath in the Latin Vulgate, the Greek Septuagint, and about 30 Hebrew manuscripts, as well as at Genesis 10:3. (1Ch 1:4-6, ftn) 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” (ר) and “D” (ד) look very much alike.

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” usually is from the Hebrew word qi·nahʹ, which denotes a mournful composition, an elegy, or a lamentation.

The Hebrew term shig·ga·yohnʹ in the superscription of Psalm 7 is also translated “dirge” and may denote a highly emotional song with rapid changes of rhythm. (NW ftn) A plural form of the Hebrew word appears in Habakkuk 3:1, where it is rendered “dirges.” Because of their nature, dirges are associated with moaning and wailing (Eze 2:10), and at least some of them were written down and preserved. Second 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.” (Am 8:10) Hence, taking up a dirge signified intoning an elegy, or mournful composition, perhaps one denoting rejection by Jehovah or contrasting earlier favorable circumstances with a later unhappy situation. (Jer 7:29; Eze 19:1-14) A dirge would be chanted, often by women.​—Eze 27:32; Jer 9:20.

Some dirges were of the historical type, being composed after an event, such as the death of a cherished acquaintance. An example of this kind is the dirge David chanted in sorrow over Saul and Jonathan, who had fallen in death upon Mount Gilboa during warfare with the Philistines. (2Sa 1:17-27; 1Sa 31:8) King David also chanted over Abner after that one’s burial. (2Sa 3:31-34) While dirges relating to a person’s death may have been composed partly to afford some consolation to survivors, among faithful servants of God these