The position of Shechem is clearly indicated in the Bible. It was west of Jordan ; in the territory allotted to Joseph (see Gn 48-^, where ' portion ' is the translation of shSch(ni) ; in the hill-country of Ephraim (AV Mount Ephraim), within the limits of the tribe of Ephraim (Jos 20' 21^, I K 12'", 1 Ch G^ T^, cf. Jos 17'), and immedi- ately below Gerizim (J^ 9'). It was beyond Shiloh on the high road from Jerus. to the north (Jg 21'"), to the west of Michmethath (Jos 17'), and not very far from Dothan (Gn 37"""). The evidence outside the Bible is decisive : Josephus distinctly says (Ant. IV. viii. 44) that Shechem was between Ebal and Gerizim. Eusebius {Onom. s. 2ux^^, Aoufd, 'tepi^ifffos) places it in the suburbs of, or close to, Neapolis; whilst Jerome (jBp.PdM. xvi.), Epiphanius [adv. Hcvr. iii. 1055), and later writers identify it with Neapolis, the present Niibliis. Shechem is supposed to have been destroyed during the Jewish War, and to have been rebuilt by Vespasian, who named it Flavia Neapolis. It is so called on coins (Eckhel, Doc. Num. iii. 433), and by Justin Martyr, who was a native. Joseplius says {B.I IV. viii. 1) that Neapolis was anciently called Mabortha, or Mabartha — a name which Pliny gives {HN v. 13) in the form Mamortha. This word has been variously explained. Reland conjectures (Z)ti. Mis. i. 138-140) that the readings should be corrected from coins which have Morthia — the classical form, according to his view, of Moreh. Tomkins (^Aro- /11m and his Aqe, p. 90) connects Mabortha, Morthia, with Rlartu, the Sumerian form of the name Amorite, and takes it as evidence of a pre- Semitic occupation of the site. He quotes the view of Sayce, wlio sees Martu in ' the terebinth of Morel).' Ritter {Pal. 646) considers that the name refers to the 'pass' or valley in which the town is situated. Olshausen, Hitter (as above), Gu^rin {Samarie., i. 420), and Riehm {HWB) take it to mean a ' thoroughfare,' or place of ' passage ' or 'crossing' (Hn-iji'p mndbartd) — a name very applicable to a town situated in the natural pas- sage or valley from the Mediterranean to the Jordan, or on the caravan road from Judaea to Galilee. Neubauer {Gfog. du Talm. 169) sees in the word a corruption of the Aram.Tan unsiia {mabarakhta), ' blessed town,' .and supports his view by the statement in the Talmud that the Samaritans called their mountains ' the mountains of blessing.'
When Abram entered the land of Canaan, he camped by the oak (AV * plain,' RVm 'terebinth") of Moreh, at or near ' the place of Shechem ' (AV Sichem), and there built ' an altar unto the LoriD (Gn 12«-'). Some authorities maintain, from the expression 'place of Shechem,' that the city did
SHECHEil
SHECHEM
4S.j
act then exist ; but the word ' place ' (Gesen. Lex.) is applied to inhabited towns in Gn IS'-" 19'- and 29-. It is also most unlikely that the Cananiiites, who were ' then in the land,' would have overlooked or neglected to occupy a well-watered site which possessed so many natural advantages. The oak of Moreh, or a successor, is apparently mentioned aa ' the oak which was by Shecheni ' (Gn SS*), ' the oak that was in the sanctuary of the Lord' (Jos 24'-*), ' the oak of the pillar that was in Shecheni ' (Jf; 9"). 'The oak of Meonenim' (Jg 9"' 'the diviners' tree ') is possibly also the tree of Gn 12", but, Moore thinks, not of Jg 9".
When Jacob ' came from Paddan-aram,' Shechem was a Hivite city under the rule of Hamor the father of Shechem. The patriarch pitched his t€nt to the cast of the city on ground wliidi he afterwards purchased from Hamor, and bequeathed to the children of Joseph. Here Jacob erected an altar, and sunk a well for his family and cattle; and here Joseph wa-s buried (Gn 33'*"-" 34= 48-, Jos 24*", Jn 4»- «■ '■■', Ac 7'"). The size of the ' parcel ' is unknown, but it possibly included the oak beneath which Jacob concealed the gods and trinkets of his household before moving to Bethel (Gn 35*). From the account of the capture and pillage of Shechem, perhaps alluded to in Gn 4S-, and of tlie events which followed the defilement of Dinah, it would appear that the Shecliemites were a peaceful, un- circumcised people, who possessed sheep, oxen, and other wealth (Gn 3410. ^i • »■ as-as ; Jos. Ajit. 1. \\i. 1). The mas.sacre of the Shecheinites (if indeed it belongs to the patriarchal period, but see arts. Ha.Mor, Simeon) does not seem to have aroused the ill-will of the surrounding tribes, for, whilst Jacob lived at Hebron, his sons pastured his flocks at Shechem in peace (Gn 37'=''*).
Shechem acquired additional importance and sanctity from the promulgation of the Law in its immediate neighbourhood (Dt 27'*"'*, Jos 8^"'*) ; and from the renewal of the covenant with God when Joshua, towards the close of his life, gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and set up a ^eat stone, as a witness, under ' the oak th.at was in ( AV by) the sanctuary of the Lord ' (Jos 24'- "■^--'']. Joshua made Shechem a city of refuge, and gave it to the Levites (Jos 20' 21-', 1 Ch (i'" ; cf. Hos 6" (RV); Jos. Ant. v. i. 24). Yet under the Judges we find a temple of Baal-berith in or near the town (Jg '.)*■*'}, and the population is plainly Canaanite.