But Jerome's view soon became the prevailing one, and has continued to be so. Robinson adheres stronglj' to it; and in regard to one of the chief objections urged on the other side, that Jacob's well, which stands at the entrance into the valley where Shechem or Nablus is situated, is about a mile and a half from the town, so that a woman would hardly have gone so far to draw water, since there was plenty of good water near at hand, he thinks that the town probably had extensive suburbs in the Gospel age which did not exist in the time of Eusebius. and might have approached quite near to the well of Jacob — just as Jerusalem anciently extended much farther north and south than at the present day (Researches, iii, 121). Porter takes the same general view, and says, in regard to the distance of the well, that persons " who use such arguments know little of the East. The mere fact of the well having been Jacob's would have brought numbers to it had the distance been twice as great. Even indepen- dent of its history, some little superiority in the quality of the water, such as we might expect in a deep well, would have attracted the Orientals, who are, and have always been, epicures in this element" (Handbook for Pal. p. 342). It may be added that there is no need for supposing this well to have been the one commonly frequented by the people of Nablus. The visit of the
woman to it may have been quite an occasional one, or for some specific pin^jiose.
2. It has been tliought that Sychar may be identified with the little village oi Askar, on the south-eastern declivity of Mount Ebal (Van de Velde, J/ewoiV, p. 350; Thomson, Land and Book, ii, 206). The etymology, however, is against it, and also the topograph)'. Our Lord was on his way to Galilee. The great road runs ]>ast the mouth of Wady Nablus. Jacob's well is on the southern side of the opening ; and Askar about half a mile distant on the northern side. The main road passes quite close to both. Our Lord sat down by the well while the disciples turned aside into the city to buy bread. Had Askar been the city, this would have been unnecessary; fur by continuing their route for a short distance farther they would have been within a few paces of the city. There is, besides, a copious spring at Askar. In the Qinnierlij Statement of the " Pal. Ex- plor. Fund," for July, 1877, p. 149 sq., Lieut. Conder gives a further description of the village of Askar, and some additional reasons for identifying it with Sychar; but they are not conclusive.
Sy'chem (Acts vii, 16). See Shechem.
Sy'chemite (Judith v, 16). See Shechemite.
Sycites, in Greek mythology, was a surname of Bacchus in Lacedajmon, as having been the first to plant the fig (ovki'i).
Sydesmen (more properly Synodsmen) are Church oflicers, anciently appointed to assist the church-war- dens in making presentments of ecclesiastical offences at the bishop's synods or visitations. By the 90th can- on, they are to be chosen yearh', in Easter week, by the parish priest and parishioners, if these can agree ; otherwise they are to be appointed by the ordinary of the diocese. Of late years this office has devolved on the church-wardens. The old English term for sydes- men was "sithcondmen," or "sithcundmen," — Lee, Gloss, of Liturg. Terms, s. v.
Sye'lus (Suj/Xoc v. r. 'HainfKog and j) avvococ), a corrupt Greek form (1 Esdr. i, 8) for Jehiel (q. v.) of the Heb. (2 Chron. xxxv, 8).
Sye'ne (Heb. Seventh, HSflG; Sept. "Slvipirf, Vulg. Syene), a town of Egypt on the frontier of Cush, or Ethi- opia. The prophet Ezekiel speaks of the desolation of Egypt "from Migdol to Seveneh, even unto the border of Cush" (xxix, 10), and of its people being slain " from Migdol to Seveneh" (xxx, 6). Migdol was on the east- ern border [see Migdol], and Seveneh is thus rightly identified with the town of Syene, which was always the last town of Egypt on the south, though at one time included in the nome Nubia. Its ancient Egj'p- tian name is Sun (Brugsch, Geoyr. Inschrft. i, 155, tab. i. No. 55), preserved in the Coptic Souan, Senon, and the Arabic Aswan. The modern town is slightly to the north of the old site, which is marked by an inter- esting early Arab burial-ground, covered with remark- able toinbstones, having inscri])tions in the Cufic char- acter. Champollion suggests the Coptic derivation sa "causative," and ouen or ouen, "to open," as if it signi- fied the opening or key of Egypt (UEyypte, i, 161- 166), and this is the meaning of the hieroglyphic name. — Smith. It is the natural bomidary of Egypt at the south (Ptolemy, ix, 5; Pliny, Hist. Nat. v, 10; xii, 8; Strabo, p. 787, 815), l)eing situated at the foot of the first cataract on the Nile (iMurray, Handbook for Eyypt, p. 463), See Jour. Sac. Lit. Oct. 1851, p. 158. See Egypt.
Syene is represented by the present Aswan or Es- Sudn, which exhibits few remains of the ancient citA', except some granite columns of a comparatively late date and the shrine of a small temple. This building has been supposed by late travellers to have contained the famous well of Strabo (Geog. xvii, p. 817), into which the rays of a vertical sun were reported to fall at the summer solstice — a circumstance, says the