After Gideon's death, the men of Shechem made Abimclccli, his son by a Shechemite concubine, king by the oak (IIV ' plain ') of ' the pillar that was in Shechem ' ; and it was during, or immedi- ately after, the ceremony that Jotham delivered his parable of (he trees from Mount Gerizim (Jg 8^' yi-3. «-Mj When Abimelech had reigned three years the Shechemites rose against him, but he soon re- took the city, and, after destroying it, sowed the iite with s.ilt. He also set lire to and burned the temple of 15aal-berith, in which a portion of the garrison had taken refuge (Jg 9*^"°'^; Jos. Ant. v. vii. 4). In consequence of its central position and ■acred associations, all Israel assembled at Shechem to make Rehoboam king (1 K 12', 2 Ch 10'); but the LTuat disruption followed, and the ten tribes revolted, and made Jeroboam their king. Jeroboam rebuilt or fortiticd the town, and built himself a palace there (1 K 12'"; Jos. Ant. vill. viii. 4). The position, however, wn.s not a strong one, and the cajiital of the new kingdom wa.s first moved to Tirzah and then to Samaria— sites more capable of defence against the attack of an enemy. \Vlien Samaria became the political and religious centre of the Northern Kingdom, Shechem lost its import- ance, and it is not once mentioned during the monarchy. The town wa.s, however, inhabited after the fall of Jerusalem (Jer 4P), and became
the chief town of the Samaritans (Sir 50-'; Jos. Ant. XI. viii. 6). About u.C. 132 it was taken by John Hyreanus, and the temple on Mt. Gerizim destroyed (Jos. Ant. XIII. ix. 1 ; BJ I. ii. 6).
Shechem was probably destroyed during the Jewish War, and its place taken by Flavia Nea- polis, built by Vespasian a short distance to ihe west of the ancient site. Coins struck at Neapolis during the reign of Antoninus Pius represent Geri- zim with a large temple on its summit, approached by many steps cut or built in the side of the moun- tain. This temple, according to the Samaritan Chronicle, Dion Cassius (xv. 12), and Damascius (Phot. Bihl. p. 1055), was built by Hadrian, and dedicated to Jupiter. In the reign of Zeno the .Samaritans attacked (A.D. 474) the Christians at Pentecost, and wounded the bishop, Terebinthus, whose name was perhaps taken from the terebinth or oak of Moreh. In consequence of this, the emperor deprived the Samaritans of Gerizim and gave the mountain to the Christians, who built a church on it which they dedicated to the Virgin. Justinian afterivards surrounded the church with a strong wall, and rebuilt five churches in Neapolis which the Samaritans had destroyed (Procop. De .£iUf. v. 7). The only known bishops of Neapolis areGermanus, who attended the Councils of Ancyra and Nicjea, Terebinthus, Procopius, Ammonas, and Joannes, who was present at the Council of Jerusalem (A.D. 536). In 1184 Ndblus was pill.aged by Saladin, and in 1834 by the soldiers of Ibrahim Pasha. In 12U2 and again in 1837 the town sutlered greatly from severe earthquakes.
Near the centre of Palestine the range of hills which traverses the country from north to south is pierced by a remarkable pass — the only one conspicuous irom the sea. The pass, w Inch lies between Ebal and Gerizim, is the Vale of Shechem. The valley rises gradually eastward to a grand natural amphitheatre, with its southern end re- cessed in Gerizim and its northern in Ebal. Here the gently swelling ground of the arena separates the waters of the >Iediterranean from those of the Dead Sea ; and here, in all probability, was held ' the great inaugural service of all Israel on taking possession of the country.' Eastward of the water- parting, the ground falls gradually between Ebal and Gerizim to the rich level plain of el-Mukhna ; and near the spot where the valley merges into the plain are the traditional sites of ^Jacob's Well and Joseph's Tomb. The beauty of the Vale of Shecliem and its exuberant fertility have often been described. The soft colouring of the land- scape, the fresh green of the gardens that slope down on either side, the gi'ey olive trees, the joyous notes of the numerous birds of song, and the ' mighty burst of waters from the flank of (iirizim,' make the vale the most beautiful spot in (.^cntral and Southern Palestine. Amidst tliis wealth of verdure, clinging as it were to the lower slopes of Gerizim, lies Nablus [Ncnpulis), the ' little Da- mascus' of the old Arab writers, and a little to the east, between the modern town and the water- parting, probably lay Shechem. The natural attractiveness of the locality, its central position on the highland road from north to south, and the facilities for communication on tlie one hand with Sharon and the Mediterranean, and on the other with the Jordan Valley and the trans-.lordanio regions, marked it out as a place of importance from the remotest period. A trade route, to which allusion is made in Hos 6°, and which the Psalmist may have had in his mind when he connected Shechem with the valley of Succoth (Ps OH" 108'), ran at a very early date from the coast districts,
Sast Shechem to Gilead. The connexion with the istricts east of Jordan remained almost to the present day, for, until recently, Gilead was gov