Shechem was captured by John Hyrcanus in 132 B.C. Shechem, a city in Samaria on the highway to Jerusalem. The name Sychar occurs only once in the Bible. Between these two mountains is the ancient Shechem. Shechem first appears in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 12:6–8, which says that Abraham reached the "great tree of Moreh" at Shechem and offered sacrifice nearby. These indications are substantiated by Josephus, who says that the city lay between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, and by the Madaba map, which places Sychem, also called Sikima, between the "Tour Gobel" (Ebal) and the "Tour Garizin" (Garizim). Archaeological excavations have revealed that Sychar and Shechem are part of the same ancient settlement. After the kings of Israel moved, first to Tirzah (1 Kings 14:17) and later on to Samaria, Shechem lost its importance, and we do not hear of it until after the fall of Jerusalem (587 BC; Jeremiah 12:5). Alternate Views. [18], Following the settlement of the Israelites in Canaan after their Exodus from Egypt, according to the biblical narrative, Joshua assembled the Israelites at Shechem and asked them to choose between serving the GOD of Abraham who had delivered them from Egypt, or the false gods which their ancestors had served on the other side of the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land they now lived. The Bible states that on this occasion, God confirmed the covenant he had first made with Abraham in Harran, regarding the possession of the land of Canaan. The conviction grew on their minds, as they heard Him, who He was; and they own His title to the affections of their heart to be this-the, Another truth remains to be touched on as unfolded at Sychar in perfect keeping with the previous history of the place. Shechem was the place appointed, after Solomon's death,[citation needed] for the meeting of the people of Israel and the investiture of his son Rehoboam as king; the meeting ended in the secession of the ten northern tribes, and Shechem, fortified by Jeroboam, became the capital of the new kingdom (1 Kings 12:1; 14:17; 2 Chronicles 10:1). [14] On several occasions the Christians suffered greatly from the Samaritans. also known as: Sichem (Genesis 12:6), Greek: Sychem , Sychar , Flavia Neapolis (Roman), Nablus (modern city), Tell Balatad (archaeological dig site) For the city in the northern West Bank, see, For Shechem, the biblical figure who raped Dinah, see, Sites involved in the 13th-11th century BCE archaeological phenomenon of the Israelite Settlement, ' The present Nābulus is a corruption merely of Neapolis; and Neapolis succeeded the more ancient Shechem. The name Shechem is ascribed to two or three men and a location. . Some Biblical scholars contend that the plot of land is the same one upon which Jacob's Well was constructed. In connection with this sad history another chapter in the annals of the city commences It was the, Turning to Sychar the notice of it is brief; all that is recorded in the Bible concerning it being found in the gospel of St. John Chapter iv., yet, though brief, full of deep interest. The Jewish writer Josephus writing about AD 90 placed the city between Mts. Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, made an allegorical speech on Mount Gerizim in which he warned the people of Shechem about Abimelech's future tyranny (Judges 9:7–20). Recommended Resource: The New Moody Atlas of the Bible by Barry Beitzel More … At that time agriculture was already practiced. Though far higher than Rehoboam, His ancestor according to the flesh, He emptied Himself, and took upon Him the form Of a servant, and in that character presented Himself to Israel and the Samaritans. William Smith (ed. Very little progress in the reading of the book of Judges brings us to a passage (2:12) which speaks of idolatry as rife in their midst. With blessing to the soul was linked deliverance from judgment. Sychar has been identified with Shechem. Jerome (345-420 AD) repeated Eusebius’ location, but elsewhere made it clear that he doubted that Shechem was anything other than the predecessor of Neapolis. Although Jacob came peacefully to Shechem (Genesis 33:18), the local prince violates Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, and in one of the more violent Old Testament p… (Jacob’s well is just 400 yards from Shechem.) Elsewhere he refers to it as Neapolis. Later Jacob settled there upon his return to Canaan (Genesis 33:19) and bought the land from Hamor the Hivite, the father of a man named Shechem.This Shechem took a liking to Jacob's only daughter Dinah, the daughter of Leah, who was also the mother … He spent His life in service for sinners and even died to serve them. Here (as already stated) by the Well of Jacob' where the three roads - south, to Shechem, and to Sychar (Askar) - meet and part, Jesus sat down, while the disciples (probably with the exception of John) went on to the closely adjoining little town of Sychar to buy food. Mounts Gerizim and Ebal. And Shechem, one of the cities of the Levites though it was, where the knowledge of God and obedience to Him should have been diligently fostered and enforced, chooses a god for itself, and builds a house for Baalberith, in the hold of which about a thousand inhabitants of the city subsequently lost their lives. . The well is not specifically named in the Old Testament, but Genesis 33:18–20 states that when Jacob returned to Shechem from Paddan Aram, he camped "before" the city and bought the land on which he pitched his tent and erected an altar. Now Sychar lay ‘near’ Jacob’s ground and well, and the problem is whether it should be (1) identified with Shechem, or (2) located at the little hamlet of ‘Askar, near the foot of Ebal, about a mile N. of the well and 1 3/4 miles E [Note: Elohist.] What interesting associations are connected with that spot I Various reasons may have led Abraham and Jacob to select it as the site of their first altars in the land. Some scholars identify Sychar in Samaria as the ancient city of Shechem (John 4:5–6), but most believe that Sychar was a distinct place. The city was rebuilt in the 10th century BC and was probably the capital of Ephraim (1 Kings 4). It was “near the field that Jacob gave to Joseph his son” in the vicinity of Shechem. There too was the well; and sitting by its side Jesus proved Himself to be greater than their father Jacob. In A.D. 6, Shechem was annexed to the Roman Province of Syria. As Shechem was the. Some scholars believe the location of Sychar is at the foot of Mount Ebal, but other scholars disagree because the proposed location is 1 km from Jacob's Well, which they think is not close enough for the women of Sychar to have fetched their water there. And he set up there an altar, and called it El-Elohe-Israel” (vers. In John’s gospel, the town is called Sychar – the city of Shechem had been destroyed by the Romans 100 years earlier, and Sychar was likely a small village built from its ruins. Josephus, writing in about AD 90 (Jewish Antiquities 4.8.44), placed the city between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Labaya was the author of three Amarna letters (EA 252, EA 253, and EA 254), and his name appears in 11 of the other 382 letters, referred to 28 times, with the basic topic of the letter, being Labaya himself, and his relationship with the rebelling, countryside Habiru. After Samaria, we had an easy journey to Shechem. To avoid potential data charges from your carrier, we recommend making sure your device is connected to a Wi-Fi network before downloading. This article is about the biblical city of Shechem. The oldest settlement in Shechem goes back to about six thousand years ago, during the Chalcolithic period (4000-3500 BC). Jerusalem How differently did the Lord act. Its position is clearly indicated in the Bible: it lay north of Bethel and Shiloh, on the high road going from Jerusalem to … God had an end in view, and we see it since the Lord visited Sychar, because there Jehovah should be found to show by His intercourse with the woman at the well, and His subsequent sojourn in the city, that what had taken place there before, however to be explained at the time of its occurrence, was a kind of earnest of what should be, when Messiah should appear to " tell them all things. Sychar (Askar) was located at the base of Mount Ebal and Jacob’s well was south of the town in the direction of Mount Gerizim. There in the first capital of the ten tribes did He first announce this. N. E [Note: Elohist.] (Gen.12:6,7). (See SYCHAR.) The events connected with the restoration were to bring it again into prominence. After Gideon's death, Abimelech was made king (Judges 9:1–45). Tell Balata Archaeological Park: guidebook. Shechem, Sichem, Sychem, Sychar Shechem, Sichem, Sychem, Sychar [Shē'chem]— shoulder. Posted by wismered June 24, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized. He had been in Galilee, and He had visited in Jerusalem; in neither had He announced Himself as the Christ. ), and Joseph's tomb (Joshua 24:32), the city was destined to play an important part in the history of Israel. The people chose to serve the GOD of the Bible, a decision which Joshua recorded in the Book of the Law of God, and he then erected a memorial stone "under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord" in Shechem. Ebal (right), Shechem is preeminent in the biblical record, beginning with God’s promise of the land to Abraham. Click here to show subject links in the text for more information. A city of Samaria and the site of Jacob’s fountain. Based on John 4:15, these scholars have argued that Shechem is the Samaritan city of Sychar described in the Gospel of John.[23]. Reasons of state craft may have induced Rehoboam to go thither to be made king. We’re told, somewhat ominously, that ‘at that time the Canaanites were in the land’ (Genesis 12:5-6). Shechem is mentioned in The Book of Acts (Acts 7:16). Where Abimelech had endeavored by unlawful means to set up a kingdom in Israel, and Rehoboam, by following the foolish advice of the young men, gave the ten tribes an ostensible reason for revolt, in that same place centuries afterward the Son of David announces Himself to be the Christ, the king who was to come. The site has been identified variously with Shechem and a village just north of there called Askar. When … "[23], John 4:15 mentions one of the women of Sychar going to Jacob's Well. Shechem is the scene for many important events of the Old Testament from the time of Abraham, Joshua, the Judges, and the Monarchy. Archaeological evidence indicates that the city was razed and reconstructed up to 22 times before its final demise in AD 200. Shechem is also the location of Jacob's Well, where John 4:5–6 describes Jesus' meeting with the woman of Samaria. Others think the form has arisen through change of … In Classical times, Shechem was the main settlement of the Samaritans, whose religious center stood on Mount Gerizim, just outside the town. Shechem's position is indicated in the Hebrew Bible: it lay north of Bethel and Shiloh, on the high road going from Jerusalem to the northern districts (Judges xxi, 19), at a short distance from Michmethath (Joshua 17:7) and of Dothain (Genesis 37:12–17); it was in the hill-country of Ephraim (Joshua 20:7; 21:21; 1 Kings 12:25; 1 Chronicles 6:67; 7:28), immediately below Mount Gerizim (Judges 9:6–7). [ SAMARIA] Shechem reappears in the New Testament. Sychar: lt;div class="hatnote"|>This article is about the biblical city of Shechem. ), Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, texts from within a religion or faith system, Antinomianism in the Books of the Maccabees. Shechem was a hugely significant and pivotal place in God’s overall plan to restore his wayward creatures, mankind. (Joh 4:5, 6; compare Jos 24:32.) Shechem During Old Testament times. Jacob's Well in Shechem (Sychar) is the place where Jesus met the Samaritan woman. Gerizim and gave it to the Christians, who built on it a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. The rains run through immovable ravines, and beside that river people cultivate their fields and water their livestock. Was there not a cause for this, depend-in not on the judgment of Abraham, the sagacity of Jacob, the conformation of the valley, or political designs? Mod… Until 1903 the exact location of Shechem had been uncertain. It is not known whether the Samaritan city of Sychar in the Gospel of John (John 4:5) refers to Shechem or to another nearby village: "So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. It is the burial site of Joseph. The Lord at Sychar shows how competent He is to make all hearts bow to Him. Francis Bedford (English, 1815/1816 - 1894) 7.5 × 9.8 cm (2 15/16 × 3 7/8 in.) Of the Samaritans of Sichem not a few[clarification needed] rose up in arms on Mt. Panorama of modern day Nablus showing locations of Shechem, Sychar and Jacob’s Well. Trace any civilization back to its origin, and geography takes … In Israel He went about doing good, ministering to the need of those who came to Him. The people promised obedience. When the city rose in rebellion three years later, Abimelech took it, utterly destroyed it, and burnt the temple of Baal-berith where the people had fled for safety. Shechem is first mentioned as a place where Abram sojourned (Genesis 12:6). According to Genesis (12:6–7) Abram "built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him… and had given that land to his descendants" at Shechem. Where the link between Judah and Israel had been broken, does He forge a new one to unite Samaritans and Jews, and gathers up as it were, by a secret which He alone possessed, the two ends of the thread, which had been severed after the death of Solomon. It was destroyed at the time of the Conquest, and its place was taken by Shechem. Genesis, Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges hallow Shechem over all other cities of the land of Israel. It is now commonly located at the site of the village of 'Askar, on the eastern slope of Ebal, almost two miles from Nablus (Neapolis), about a half mile N of the traditional Jacob's well, and a short distance SE of Shechem. [6] Some publications claim that Shechem is mentioned in the third-millennium Ebla tablets, but this has been denied by competent archaeologists.[7]. This identity of the woman [ clarification needed ] rose up in arms Mt... 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