Get Affordable VMs - excellent virtual server hosting


browse words by letter
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

shechem

shechem


  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Shechem 
  shoulder.  (1.)  The  son  of  Hamor  the  Hivite  (Gen.  33:19;  34). 
 
  (2.)  A  descendant  of  Manasseh  (Num.  26:31;  Josh.  17:2). 
 
  (3.)  A  city  in  Samaria  (Gen.  33:18),  called  also  Sichem 
  (12:6),  Sychem  (Acts  7:16).  It  stood  in  the  narrow  sheltered 
  valley  between  Ebal  on  the  north  and  Gerizim  on  the  south,  these 
  mountains  at  their  base  being  only  some  500  yards  apart.  Here 
  Abraham  pitched  his  tent  and  built  his  first  altar  in  the 
  Promised  Land,  and  received  the  first  divine  promise  (Gen.  12:6, 
  7).  Here  also  Jacob  "bought  a  parcel  of  a  field  at  the  hands  of 
  the  children  of  Hamor"  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"  (Gen.  33:19; 
  35:4;  Judg.  9:37).  (See  {MEONENIM}.)  Here  too  after  a 
  while  he  dug  a  well  which  bears  his  name  to  this  day  (John 
  4:5,  39-42).  To  Shechem  Joshua  gathered  all  Israel  "before  God," 
  and  delivered  to  them  his  second  parting  address  (Josh. 
  24:1-15).  He  "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  Ebal  and  Gerizim  (Josh.  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"  (comp.  Gen. 
  28:18;  31:44-48;  Ex  24:4;  Josh.  4:3,  8,  9),  possibly  the  old 
  "oak  of  Moreh,"  as  a  silent  witness  of  the  transaction  to  all 
  coming  time. 
 
  Shechem  became  one  of  the  cities  of  refuge,  the  central  city 
  of  refuge  for  Western  Palestine  (Josh.  20:7),  and  here  the  bones 
  of  Joseph  were  buried  (24:32).  Rehoboam  was  appointed  king  in 
  Shechem  (1  Kings  12:1,  19),  but  Jeroboam  afterwards  took  up  his 
  residence  here  This  city  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  our 
  Lord's  conversation  with  the  woman  of  Samaria  (John  4:5);  and 
  thus  remaining  as  it  does  to  the  present  day  it  is  one  of  the 
  oldest  cities  of  the  world.  It  is  the  modern  Nablus,  a 
  contraction  for  Neapolis,  the  name  given  to  it  by  Vespasian.  It 
  lies  about  a  mile  and  a  half  up  the  valley  on  its  southern 
  slope,  and  on  the  north  of  Gerizim,  which  rises  about  1,100  feet 
  above  it  and  is  about  34  miles  north  of  Jerusalem.  It  contains 
  about  10,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  about  160  are  Samaritans  and 
  100  Jews,  the  rest  being  Christians  and  Mohammedans. 
 
  The  site  of  Shechem  is  said  to  be  of  unrivalled  beauty. 
  Stanley  says  it  is  "the  most  beautiful,  perhaps  the  only  very 
  beautiful,  spot  in  Central  Palestine." 
 
  Gaza,  near  Shechem,  only  mentioned  1  Chr.  7:28,  has  entirely 
  disappeared.  It  was  destroyed  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  and 
  its  place  was  taken  by  Shechem.  (See  {SYCHAR}.) 
 
 
  From  Hitchcock's  Bible  Names  Dictionary  (late  1800's)  [hitchcock]: 
 
  Shechem,  part  portion;  back  early  in  the  morning