Shechem

From: Concise Bible Dictionary: S By: George A. Morrish

• 2 min. read • grade level: 9

1. The first city of Canaan visited by Abram (Gen. 12:6⁶And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. (Genesis 12:6)), where it is called SICHEM. When Jacob returned to Palestine, Hamor the Hivite was its king. It was attacked and plundered by Simeon and Levi. The bones of Joseph were buried there. At the distribution of the land it fell to the lot of Ephraim, and became a Levitical city and a city of refuge. It was there that Joshua delivered his last address to the people. Under the Judges the city was taken by Abimelech, when about a thousand men and women took refuge in the tower, which was destroyed by fire. The tribes assembled there to crown Rehoboam, and, on the division of the kingdom, it became the headquarters of Jeroboam (Gen. 33:18¹⁸And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city. (Genesis 33:18); Gen. 37:12-14¹²And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. ¹³And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. ¹⁴And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. (Genesis 37:12‑14); Josh. 20:7⁷And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. (Joshua 20:7); Josh. 21:21²¹For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs, (Joshua 21:21); Josh. 24:1,25,32¹And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. (Joshua 24:1)
²⁵So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. (Joshua 24:25)
³²And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. (Joshua 24:32); Judg. 9:1-57¹And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying, ²Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. ³And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. ⁴And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him. ⁵And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself. ⁶And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. ⁷And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. ⁸The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. ⁹But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honor God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? ¹⁰And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. ¹¹But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? ¹²Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. ¹³And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? ¹⁴Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. ¹⁵And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. ¹⁶Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done unto him according to the deserving of his hands; ¹⁷(For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian: ¹⁸And ye are risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother;) ¹⁹If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: ²⁰But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. ²¹And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother. ²²When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, ²³Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: ²⁴That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren. ²⁵And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him in the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech. ²⁶And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. ²⁷And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech. ²⁸And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? ²⁹And would to God this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thine army, and come out. ³⁰And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. ³¹And he sent messengers unto Abimelech privily, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed and his brethren be come to Shechem; and, behold, they fortify the city against thee. ³²Now therefore up by night, thou and the people that is with thee, and lie in wait in the field: ³³And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city: and, behold, when he and the people that is with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion. ³⁴And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies. ³⁵And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose up, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait. ³⁶And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men. ³⁷And Gaal spake again and said, See there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim. ³⁸Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them. ³⁹And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. ⁴⁰And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even unto the entering of the gate. ⁴¹And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem. ⁴²And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech. ⁴³And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and, behold, the people were come forth out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them. ⁴⁴And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entering of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them. ⁴⁵And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt. ⁴⁶And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into an hold of the house of the god Berith. ⁴⁷And it was told Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together. ⁴⁸And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done. ⁴⁹And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them; so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women. ⁵⁰Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. ⁵¹But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower. ⁵²And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. ⁵³And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his skull. ⁵⁴Then he called hastily unto the young man his armorbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. ⁵⁵And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. ⁵⁶Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: ⁵⁷And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal. (Judges 9:1‑57); 1 Kings 12:1,25¹And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. (1 Kings 12:1)
²⁵Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. (1 Kings 12:25); 2 Chron. 10:1¹And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king. (2 Chronicles 10:1); Psa. 60:6⁶God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. (Psalm 60:6); Psa. 108:7⁷God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. (Psalm 108:7); Jer. 41:5⁵That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord. (Jeremiah 41:5)).

Shechem was called Neapolis by the Romans, of which its present name, Nablus, is supposed to be a corruption. It lies 32° 13’ N, 35° 16’ E. Its vicinity is luxurious in fruit and flowers. It is still partially inhabited by Samaritans, who have a synagogue there, and yearly keep the Passover.

It is called SYCHEM in Acts 7:16¹⁶And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem. (Acts 7:16), where it says that Abraham bought a sepulcher there. This is thought to clash with Genesis 33:19¹⁹And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. (Genesis 33:19), which speaks of Jacob buying it. But nothing is said in the latter passage about a sepulcher: Jacob bought a piece of ground to spread his tent in. Bengel says of this alleged discrepancy in Stephen’s address, that “the brevity which was best suited to the ardor of the Spirit gave Stephen just occasion, in the case of a fact so well known, to compress these details in the way he has done.” (For further details concerning Stephen’s address see Bible Handbook, New Testament, pages 144-6.)