What and who is…
Shechem
also known as: Sichem (Genesis 12:6 KJV)
Hebrew: שְׁכֶם or שכם —transliteration: Shekem (Šəḵem) —possible meaning: shoulder or ridge
Canaanite name transliteration: Šakmu
Egyptian: —transliteration: Sekmem (s-k-m-m)
Greek name: Συχέμ —transliteration: Sychem (Acts 7:16 Septuagint), or Sykhem or Suchém
Greek: Συχάρ —transliteration: Sychar (John 4:5)
Roman name: Flavia Neapolis (or simply Neapolis)
Arabic name: نابلس —transliteration: Nablus
Modern name: Nablus, Israel, with the ancient ruins called Tel Balata, Tell Balata, Tell Balatad, and Balata' Hill,
Shechem is the name of 2 biblical men and a city central to Israelite history, where very important Biblical events took place.
Shechem, a city in ancient Canaan (and later Samaria) on the highway to Jerusalem
The name of this city first appears in Genesis 33:18. It was a very old Canaanite city that stood in a strategic narrow sheltered valley between Mount Ebal on the north and Mount Gerizim on the south—these mountains at their base being only some 500 yards apart.
It is considered one of the oldest settlements in Canaan. Known named rulers or “kings” of ancient Shechem are few. Shechem was an important Canaanite city-state in the central hill country (modern Tell Balata near Nablus), but it did not leave a continuous royal dynasty or long king list like some other ancient Near Eastern cities. Surviving references come mainly from the Hebrew Bible and the 14th-century BC Amarna letters.
After the Israelite conquest, Shechem belonged to the tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 17:7).
Overlooking the city of Shechem is Mount Ebal where the first great altar to YHWH was built by Joshua (SEE: Mount Ebal).
Biblical events at Shechem
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Abraham—Here Abraham pitched his tent and built his first altar in the Promised Land, and received the first divine promise.
And Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. Then Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “To your seed I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to Yahweh who had appeared to him. —Genesis 12:6-7 LSB
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Abraham purchased the Cave of Machpelah here (Acts 7:16)—a double cave
He bought it from the sons of Heth (Genesis 25:9-10). This became the burial place of his wife Sarah and of Abraham himself, and also of his son Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob (named Israel by God) (Genesis 49:31; 50:13). (also see: Ishmael)
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Jacob—Here also Jacob “bought a parcel of a field at the hands of the children of Hamor” the Hivite after his return from Mesopotamia, and settled with his household, which he purged from idolatry by burying the teraphim of his followers under an oak tree, which was afterwards called “the oak of the sorcerer” (Genesis 33:19; 35:4; Judges 9:37). (See Meonenim.)
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Jacob’s Well—Here too, after a while, Jacob dug a well, which bears his name to this day (John 4:5, 39-42)—see Jacob’s Well.
More information
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Joshua’s covenant with the Israelites—Joshua “made a covenant with the people that day” at the very place where, on first entering the land, they had responded to the law from Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim (Joshua 24:25), the terms of which were recorded “in the book of the law of God”, i.e., in the roll of the law of Moses; and in memory of this solemn transaction a great stone was set up “under an oak” (compare Genesis 28:18; 31:44-48; Exodus 24:4; Joshua 4:3, 8-9), possibly the old “oak of Moreh,” as a silent witness of the transaction to all coming time.
Joshua’s Great Witness Stone Discovered at Shechem“Has Joshua’s Altar Been Found on Mt. Ebal?”See: Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, what is their significance?
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Joshua assembled the Israelites here and gave a parting address—Joshua gathered all Israel to Shechem “before God,” and delivered to them his 2nd parting address (Joshua 24:1-15).
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City of Refuge—Shechem became one of the 6 cities of refuge, the central city of refuge for Western Israel (Joshua 20:7).
What is a city of refuge? and how many were there? Are they a “Sanctuary City”? -
Levite city—Shechem became a Levite city, of the Kohathite clan (Joshua 21:20-21)
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Tomb of Joseph, son of Israel—Here the bones of Joseph were buried (Joshua 24:32).
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Rehoboam—He was appointed king in Shechem (1 Kings 12:1, 19).
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King Jeroboam lived here—Jeroboam afterwards took up his residence here.
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Christ’s famous conversation at Jacob’s Well with a Samaritan woman—This city is mentioned in connection with our Lord's conversation with the woman of Samaria.
He [Christ] left Judea and went away again into Galilee. And He had to pass through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar [Shechem], near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her,
“Give Me a drink.”
…the Samaritan woman said to Him,
“How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered and said to her,
“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” —John 4:3-10 NASB
“Archaeology of Jacob’s Well at Shechem”
Shechem is one of the world’s oldest cities. It still remains in existence to the present day, but under a different name. It is the modern Nablus, a contraction for Neapolis, the name given to it by Emperor Vespasian. It lies about 1½ miles up the valley on its southern slope, and on the north of Mount Gerizim, which rises about 1,100 feet above it, and is about 34 miles north of Jerusalem.
The Temple of Baal Berith mentioned in Judges 9 has been found by archaeologists at Shechem.
A city called Gaza, near Shechem, only mentioned 1 Chronicles 7:28, has entirely disappeared. It was destroyed at the time of the Israelite Conquest, and its place was taken by Shechem.
More Information
- Shechem: Its Archaeological and Contextual Significance, David G. Hansen PhD
- What is a city of refuge? and how many were there? Are they a “Sanctuary City”?
- What is JACOB’S WELL?
- What is SYCHAR?
- What is SICHEM?
- What is NEAPOLIS?
- What is MOUNT EBAL?
- What is MOUNT GERIZIM?
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Abimelech (son of Gideon/Jerubbaal)
Abimelech was explicitly made king by the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo (Judges 9:6). He is a son of the judge Gideon by a Shechemite concubine. He secured support from his mother’s kin and the “lords of Shechem,” massacred most of his half-brothers, and ruled for 3 years (Judges 9:22).
His rule centered on Shechem and nearby places (including Arumah and Thebez).
Archaeologist Bryant G. Wood, PhD, notes that…
Judges 9 documents a furtive attempt by Abimelech, son of Gideon, to take over leadership of the Israelite tribes in the mid-12th century. It mentions a temple, city gate and destruction at Shechem. What was found at Shechem from this time period? A temple, city gate and destruction!
The city later rebelled; Abimelech destroyed Shechem, sowed it with salt, and was ultimately killed at Thebez.
Period: Judges era (Iron Age I, traditionally placed around the 12th–11th century BC)
Archaeological discoveries related to “Abimelech at Shechem” by Bryant G. Wood PhD (Associates for Biblical Research) —“For some 800 years, from the time of Jacob until the time of Gideon, Shechem was an important highland urban center controlling the area from Megiddo to Jerusalem. It is no surprise, then, that Gideon’s son Abimelech went to the leaders of Shechem to gain support for his failed attempt to become king of the Israelite tribes. Three archaeological discoveries at Shechem relate to the narrative of Judges 9. …”
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Men named Shechem
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Hamor
also known as: Emmor
Period: Patriarchal era (traditional biblical dating, roughly Middle Bronze Age context in Genesis).
Description: Hivite “prince of the land” / “prince of Shechem” (Genesis 33:19; 34:2). Father of the young man named Shechem (below). Jacob purchased land from “the sons of Hamor.” Later texts refer to the inhabitants as “the men of Hamor” or “sons of Hamor” (Judges 9:28). He is the local chief/ruler of the city and its territory rather than a formal “king” in every translation, but he functions as the head of the Shechemite society.
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Shechem, a son of Hamor the Hivite
He was a prince of the land of Shechem. His descendants are called Shechemites.
And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money [a hundred qesitah] the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel [God, the God of Israel]. —Genesis 33:18-20 ESV
At a later time, Shechem kidnapped Jacob and Leah’s daughter, Dinah, and raped her. Her brothers Simeon and Levi rescued her and killed Shechem and his father, Hamor.
More information
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Shechem, a son of Gilead, son of Machir
His family/descendants are also called Shechemites. They are descendants of Joseph’s son Manasseh (Numbers 26:31; Joshua 17:2). Manasseh is a grandfather of this Shechem.
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Labayu
also known as: Labaya
He was Canaanite ruler of Shechem (Šakmu). He is the best-attested historical figure connected to the city. Labayu wrote several letters to the Egyptian pharaoh and is mentioned in others. He controlled a significant territory in the central highlands (extending influence toward the Jezreel Valley and other areas), recruited Habiru/ʿApiru (Hebrew) forces, and was accused by neighboring rulers (including the king of Jerusalem) of aggression and disloyalty to Egypt. After his death, his sons continued related activities. Scholars widely identify him as the king or dominant ruler of Shechem during this era.
Period: Late Bronze Age, Amarna period (c. 1350 BC, during the reigns of Amenhotep III and/or Akhenaten).
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- Ancient SHILOH the location of the Holy Tabernacle for many years is 10.5 miles (17km) south of Shechem
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What are the Cities of the Bible? Names, descriptions, locations and types
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Discoveries of Bible archaeology